Lula Carvalho

Lula Carvalho, is a Brazilian cinematographer.

His body of work includes Brazilian productions such as Elite Squad (2007) and its sequel (2010), as well as American productions such asRoboCop (2014) and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014).

As of 2022, Carvalho is a member of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Career Carvalho grew up on film sets, working with his father, the acclaimed cinematographer Walter Carvalho. He learned how to load film magazines for the camera department at age of 10, started working as a second camera assistant upon finishing high school and became a professional first photographer assistant at age of 20.

Carvalho pulled focus on over nineteen acclaimed Brazilian features, including Fernando Meirelles' City of God, Walter Salles' Behind the Sun, and Héctor Babenco's Carandiru.

During this time, Carvalho also worked at second units as a cinematographer and as a camera operator on features. He also completed cinematography and still photography classes at New York University and the School of Visual Arts in New York.

In 2005, Carvalho shot his first feature as a cinematographer, Incuráveis, directed by Gustavo Accioli. He went on to shoot Elite Squad, directed by José Padilha which won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival; A Festa da Menina Morta, directed by Matheus Natchergaele which was an official selection in Un Certain Regard at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival; December, directed by Selton Mello; Budapest, directed by Walter Carvalho along with three documentaries.

In 2008, Carvalho was awarded the Best Cinematography Prize by both the Brazilian Cinema Academy and the International Press Correspondents Association in Brazil (ACIE) for Elite Squad, which also led him to a nomination in the 2008 Camerimage Festival, in Poland. Elite Squad: The Enemy Within, the follow-up to Elite Squad, and Carvalho was once again awarded the Best Cinematography Prize by both the Brazilian Cinema Academy and the International Press Correspondents Association in Brazil (ACIE), in 2011. In 2008 Carvalho shot the Argentinian Production Felicitas and was finalist for the Condor Award 2010 for that.

In 2012, Carvalho shot the science fiction RoboCop, his first American feature. In 2013, he shot Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, as well as its sequel in 2016. And in 2014, he shot the Netflix series Narcos, in Colombia.

In 2013, Carvalho won the ABC (Association of the Brazilian Cinematographers) Award for the movie A Wolf at the Door, and again won the ABC Award for Bingo: The King of the Mornings in 2015.

In 2017, Carvalho shot episodes of the Netflix's Narcos Mexico, The Mechanism and the Brazilian documentary Police Killing which won the first prize of It Is All True Film Festival, participated in the IDFA festival and was short listed for the Academy’s best documentary.

In 2019 shot the non fictional Amazon Series All Or Nothing following the Brazilian national soccer team throughout its participation at the South American Cup.

He is now based in Brooklyn, New York.

Filmography Short film Year Title Director Notes2004 Uma Estrela Pra Ioiô Bruno Safadi A Última Fábrica Felipe Nepomuceno 2007 Trópico das Cabras Fernando Coimbra 2014 Useless Landscape José Padilha Segment of Rio, I Love You 2015 BlumeFelipe Nepomuceno 2019 Estrondo 2020 Cidade Inerte Vellas 2026 Buyback Jared Goodman

Feature film

Documentary film

Documentary short Year Title Director Notes 2001 Atrocidades Maravilhosas HimselfRenato MartinsPedro Peregrino 2006 Brasil Felipe Nepomuceno 2013 O Sonho de Ser Camisa 10 Pedro von Krüger With Jacques Cheuiche 2014 Caetana Felipe NepomucenoPedro von Krüger

Television Year Title Director Notes 2006 Estúdio 66 2011 Força-Tarefa José Alvarenga Jr.Rogério Gomes 2 episodes Falcón Pete Travis Episode "The Blind Man of Seville" 2015 Narcos José PadilhaGuillermo NavarroAndrés BaizFernando Coimbra 8 episodes 2018 The Mechanism José Padilha Episode "Lava Jato"2020 Narcos: Mexico Andrés Baiz Episode "Salva El Tigre" 26 Poemas Hoje 2023 The Gilded Age Michael EnglerCrystle Roberson 4 episodes 2025-2026 The Night Agent Guy FerlandAna Lily AmirpourMillicent SheltonParis BarclayBilly Gierhart 12 episodes