Pedro Varela

Pedro Varela started his career on the stage, first as an actor and later as a director. That experience shaped his perspective and his way of telling stories. Between travels, countries, and different periods living outside Portugal, between Rio de Janeiro and Los Angeles, his path naturally led him behind the camera. Back in Lisbon, with a new outlook and a different sense of time, he began writing and directing for cinema and television, creating series and films that became benchmarks for their auteur approach, inherited from theatre and from an intimate way of working with actors. Among his works are the creation and direction of the multi-award-winning series Os Filhos do Rock (2013) and Esperança (2022), the latter winner of the Golden Globe for Best Fiction Project. His first feature film, A Canção de Lisboa, was the most watched Portuguese film of 2016. In 2024, Vidro Fumê, an international co-production that he wrote and directed, premiered in cinemas in Brazil and Portugal. Since the early 2010s, he has developed a continuous and rewarding relationship with advertising, where he found creative freedom and close collaboration with agencies and creative directors. He has directed campaigns for major brands, becoming a reference in both national and international advertising, earning his first Cannes Lion and several national awards and Grand Prix. More recently, he premiered the series Nazaré, Making Giants (2026), co-produced with Red Bull Studios. His latest creation is the miniseries AZUL, set to premiere this year.