Rodrigo Rodrigues

Rodrigo Rodrigues is an Italo-Brazilian filmmaker and film director specialized in Visual Effects, producer, including experiences in Acting, theatre director, theatrical producer, TV presenter, and set and costume designer, and author based in London, United Kingdom. : Best Film and was nominated for Best Visual Effects at the London International Film Festival.

His current work includes Writing, producing, directing film in Brazil and United Kingdom and hosting the national television segment "Design Cinema (The Treehouse Show), during the fifth season of the program Cultura & Design on TV Cultura, in co-production between JCG FILMES and Rodrigo Rodrigues Studios.

Rodrigues developed a facial expression technique for actors that was taught in workshops at the Gaiety School of Acting and was the basis for his book Facial Expression for the Actor. He created the Irish theatre group The Dublin Core and won the Irish Times Theatre Awards for best costume designer for the play The Trojan Women, which used costumes made from recycled materials.

Early life and education Rodrigo Rodrigues was born in São Paulo, Brazil, with West African, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese origins. He was introduced to the performing arts by his mother, Terezinha Benatti, at age seven and began to regularly perform at the school theatre by eleven years old. In 1993, he attended drama school Escola de Arte Dramática de Jundiaí.

Rodrigues completed acting courses at Teatro Escola Claudio Melo from 1997 to 1998. In 1999 he continued studies in the arts, including enrollment into Escola de Teatro Ewerton de Castro, and studied filmmaking at the Irish Film Academy. He also studied at the Kazuo Ohno dance studio, Hodogaya in Yokohama, Japan, to develop his studies of Butoh.

Rodrigues later focused on media production, earning a First-Class Honours Bachelor of Science in Visual Effects for Film and TV from the University of West London, and a Master of Arts in Film – Directing Fiction (with Distinction) from Queen Mary University of London.

Career

Acting

Theatre Rodrigues has performed and produced various plays in his career since the age of 7, including The Bacchae, which was directed by José Celso Martinez Corrêa, a Brazilian actor, playwright and director. He also starred in the pilot multimedia play Action Movie alongside Laurence Kinlan.

Rodrigues toured with the Big Telly Theatre Company, a professional theatre company in Northern Ireland, and played the role of Sinbad at the Water Show as well as in the musical, directed by Zoe Seaton and Paul Boyd. During that time he was invited to act in the film The Looking Glass.

Film and TV

Rodrigues has been a film maker, actor, director, script writer and costume in the film and television industry. Rodrigues appeared in the Irish drama serial Fair City and Flight of the Earls with Academy Awards nominee Stephen Rea. He also developed the concept and directed the music video for DJ Tocadisco and co-produced and starred in a Felix da Housecat music video.

In 2005, Rodrigues starred in the film Paranoia by Colin Downey, which was screened at Cork Film Festival and won Best Photography at Portobello Film Festival. In 2007, Rodrigues starred in Waterfall alongside Rachel Rath, Tatiana Fellipo, Michael Parle, which went to the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival.

In 2011, Rodrigues portrayed the character Max in The Looking Glass , a film by Colin Downey, alongside Natalia Kostrzewa, Patrick O`Donell, Michael Parle and Eddie Webber. In 2014, he was in the cast of Londinium alongside Brian Croucher. In 2015, Rodrigues appeared in the films 1603 and The Levellers starring Shane Hart, Jadey Duffield and Brian Croucher. He also contributed as a costume designer to Londinium, 1603, and The Levellers.

In 2016, Rodrigues was announced to play the role of The fantasist in Roth, alongside BAFTA winner Patrick Bergin. Rodrigues directed his first feature film Goitaca, to be released in 2020, with City of God`s Leandro Firmino, Lady Francisco, Marlon Blue, Luciano Szafir and Christianne Oliveira. The film was noted for its production methodology where all sets and costumes were built using organic and recycled materials.

Rodrigues also directed, wrote, and produced the historical epic Onde há vida, há esperança (Where there is life, there is hope), which details the mass Italian emigration to Brazil in the late 19th century, focusing on the story of Santo Cereser (born 1838), who left Prata di Pordenone (Friuli) in 1887. The film is described as an homage to the thousands of Italian families who sought a new existence abroad. The feature utilizes extensive VFX and modeling, with dynamic scenes filmed in London studios for the reconstitution of historical settings like the Port of Genoa, leveraging Rodrigues's technical expertise.

The film features a renowned cast, including Marlon Blue (From Goitaca) as the protagonist Santo Cereser, along with Luciano Szafir, Leandro Firmino (Li'l Zé from City of God), Alexandre Rodrigues (Buscapé from City of God), Waldyr Gozzi, Renata Pirillo, and Luciana de Rezende.

The film is a key element of the 2022 Pacto de Amizade (Patto di amicizia) signed between the Brazilian city of Jundiaí and Prata di Pordenone (Italy), acting as a cultural bridge between the two communities. The journey of the film included four major events:

Teaser Launch (September 2022): The official teaser was presented at the Teatro Polytheama (Jundiaí), with the signing of the sister-city pact and featuring a performance by the Valinhos Philharmonic Orchestra. As a social counterpart for the partnership with the official sponsors of the film, Cereser (CRS Brands) and Castelo Alimentos S/A, which made their contributions through the Brazilian art and culture subsidy, the Lei Rouanet, the event at Teatro Polytheama featured the exhibition of the making-of and the film's first teaser. This presentation was accompanied by a live performance of the original soundtrack, produced by Vitafone Música & Filmes, with musical composition by Vitor Zafer and Kaique Fontes. The original song, "La vita ancora," was composed by Konstantinos Bampaliaris and Rodrigo Rodrigues. The event was highly successful, drawing an attendance of 1,200 people. Brazilian Premiere (June 2024): The film held its pre-screening premiere at Moviecom Cinemas in Jundiaí, with packed theaters and coverage by national television (Rede Bandeirantes TV, SBT and Local TV TEC). The event was attended by descendants of the Cereser family, who were immortalized by the film. The opening event featured a performance by the Banda Sinfônica do Exército Brasileiro (50 musicians), which performed as guests arrived and for the event's opening. Open-to-the-public screenings (June 2024): at Moviecomarte, located in Moviecom Cinemas at Maxi Shopping Jundiai. Italian Premiere (October 2025): The film had its first Italian absolute screening at the Teatro Pileo in Prata di Pordenone, the ancestral town of the Cereser family, with the patronage of the local Municipality.

Rodrigues, who created the film's narrative, stated that Santo Cereser is a "symbol of resilience and unwavering love," and that the story is an "ode to hope, courage, and redemption," an heritage that inspires future generations.

Teaching In 1997, Rodrigues opened Espaço Cultural Porão, a cultural college of art space containing four floors with available rooms to create and experiment with various art forms. In 2002, Rodrigues taught one of his own acting techniques, Facial Expressions For Actors, to the students at the Gaiety School of Acting, which included Aidan Turner from The Hobbit. Rodrigues created, managed and taught the theatre group The Dublin Core, an Irish Times Theatre Awards winning Theatre Group. Rodrigues teaches film making workshops every year at Rodrigo Rodrigues Studios in Paraty, Brazil, which includes acting, sets, props and costume making.

Ko Method

The spiritual science of acting Rodrigues developed the Ko Method, a technique that gives actors an understanding of constructing a range of diverse characters. The technique is based on a scientific and spiritual approach towards the study of universal understanding. It also focuses on human body mechanisms and the experimentation partial movements to find understanding and connectivity within the totality of life's mechanism.

Facial expressions for actors The objective of this technique is for an individual to learn how to control their reality in relation to movement, explanation, wording and speech.

Rodrigues`s book Facial Expressions for Actors provides analysis of different points of view and perspective from around the world in search of something hidden that requires investigation and reasoning. This groundbreaking method which has been scientifically proven shows that when licking one's arm, the subject becomes more self confident. The book explains that through the development of facial muscles, individuals reach understanding of the universe and learn to access a state of equilibrium within one's own interpretation of their own sybaritic self.

Rodrigues's ecological approach to costuming technique was mentioned in Brazilian media, including Veja and ISTOÉ.

In 1998, Rodrigues received the Best Theatre Production award from the Cultural Map Awards of the government of São Paulo State for his play Mitos e Lendas, which he wrote, directed, produced and performed.

The DENETRAN Brazilian National Awards awarded Rose Cereser the Best Project Award in 2001 for Amigos do trânsito, which Rodrigo directed, acted and presented.

Filmography +Movies Year Title Role Notes 2005 Fair City Salsa Instructor 2005 Paranoia Kim 2006 Fair City Phelipe /Choreographer 2007 Waterfall Luis 2007 W.C. Gentleman 2007 Imeacht Na N`Iarlai Ambassadoir Na Spainne (TV-Mini-Series Documentary) 2011 The Looking Glass Max 2014 Sri-Lanka The Unforgivable Land Director (Documentary) 2015 World Most Talented Judge Channel Watch / BBC 2016 Londinium 2025Where there is life, there is hopeWriter / Director / ProducerFilm (Brazil/England)

Discography +Video Year Artist Single Role Notes 2006 Harlot Felix da Housecat Principal 2007 DJ Tocadisco Music Loud (Director) 2007 LadyVeda Daddy (Director) 2013 Guto e Gabriel Ingrata (Director)

Awards and nominations