Miguel Gonçalves Mendes

Miguel Gonçalves Mendes (born September 2, 1978 in Covilhã) is a Portuguese film director, screenwriter and producer. He is the author of José and Pilar (2010), a documentary about writer and Nobel Prize winner José Saramago, co-produced by Pedro Almodóvar (Talk to Her, The Skin I Live In) and his brother Agustín, and Fernando Meirelles (City of God and The Constant Gardener). In 2011, after a successful international festival circuit, the movie spurred an unprecedented popular movement in Portugal resulting on a petition signed by 1400 people (0.00014% of Portugal's population), which in turn sparked a debate over Portuguese cinema and a campaign for the Oscar nominations in Los Angeles and New York. Currently, Miguel is at the post-production stage of his new documentary, The Meaning of Life, produced by Fernando Meirelles, which has been dealing with issues to raise finishing funds.