Fábio Barreto

Fábio Villela Barreto Borges (June 6, 1957 – November 20, 2019) was a Brazilian filmmaker, actor, screenwriter, and film producer. He was best known for directing O Quatrilho (which was the first Brazilian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in more than 30 years) and Lula, o filho do Brasil, a biography based on President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's early life, which had been the most expensive film in the history of Brazilian cinema upon its release. Barreto slipped into a coma in 2009 after being involved in a car accident in Rio de Janeiro and, in August 2014, was reported to be in a minimally conscious state. He died on November 20, 2019, after almost 10 years in a coma.

Career He started his career in 1977, at age 20, directing the short subject A estória de José e Maria. Since then, he acted in two films — Nelson Pereira dos Santos' Memórias do Cárcere (1984), and his father's For all - O trampolim da vitória (1997) — and directed nine feature films, the Brazilian version of Desperate Housewives, an episode of TV series Você Decide and two other short films.

Personal life He was married to actress Dora Pellegrino, with whom he had a daughter, Mariana. He was married to actress Déborah Kalume since 2003, with whom he had João (b. 2006). He was also the father of Lucas (with Amanda Martins) and Júlia Barreto Borges (with his first wife, actress Marcia Barreto) who starred in his films Luzia Homem (1987), O Quatrilho (1995), and Nossa Senhora de Caravaggio (2006).

Car accident On December 19, 2009, at around 10 p.m. (UTC-3) Barreto was involved in a car accident in Botafogo, a southern neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro. According to firefighter Wagner Generoso, a car came too near to the filmmaker's vehicle, which hit a stone wall, flew to another lane and overturned. He was sent to Hospital Miguel Couto in Leblon, where he faced a three-hour surgery that same night, and later transferred to the Hospital Copa D'Or. On the following day, he was submitted to an operation to reduce the brain swelling. He underwent a tracheostomy to help him breathe. According to the neurosurgeon Paulo Niemeyer Filho, the director had an acute subdural hematoma and a contusion in the temporal lobe on both sides. "The skull's left side was removed and placed in the patient's rib. It will be stored there until it is put back in its place", he said.

Several friends of Fábio visited his family in the hospital, such as fellow filmmakers Guel Arraes, and Sérgio Rezende, Nossa Senhora de Caravaggio star Cristiana Oliveira, Frei Betto, Glória Pires' husband, singer Orlando Morais, O Quatrilho star Patrícia Pillar, and her husband, former presidential candidate Ciro Gomes. President Lula called the Barreto family to provide solidarity and wish Fábio a quick recovery. On February 3, 2010, Barreto left the intensive care unit of the Hospital Copa D'Or, although he remained unconscious. In August 2014 he was reported to be "minimally conscious" and had responded to some stimuli but had yet to fully emerge from his coma.

Death On November 20, 2019, after 10 years in coma, Barreto died in his house in Rio de Janeiro. 2009 - Lula, o filho do Brasil 2007 - Donas de Casa Desesperadas (Brazilian version of Desperate Housewives) 2007 - Nossa Senhora de Caravaggio 2002 - A Paixão de Jacobina ("Jacobina Passion" — about Jacobina Mentz Maurer one of the leaders of the Muckers' Brazilian insurrection) 2000 - De Conversa em Conversa (short) 1997 - Bela Donna 1995 - O Quatrilho 1992 - Você Decide (TV series) 1988 - Luzia Homem 1986 - O Rei do Rio 1984 - India, Daughter of the Sun 1978 - Mané Garrincha (short) 1977 - A Estória de José e Maria (short)

As actor: 2006 - Noel: The Samba Poet as Saturno 1997 - For All: Springboard to Victory 1984 - Memórias do Cárcere as Siqueira Campos