Meirelles is a Brazilian producer, director and screenwriter. He studied architecture in São Paulo, but soon became more interested in film and so, along with several friends, started to make experimental films. They founded a small independent production house called Olhar Eletrônico. After a few years of working for an independent TV station, in the 1980s he turned to commercial work, making commercials and directing TV programs for children. In the early 1990s he founded the production house O2 Filmes with two colleagues. He made his feature film debut with the family film The Nutty Boy 2 (Menino Maluquinho 2: A Aventura, 1998), after which he made Maids (Domésticas, 2001). His third film City of God (Cidade de Deus, 2002) brought him international fame and many awards at festivals around the world. Thanks to this success, he made his next two films as international co-productions The Constant Gardener (2005) and Blindness (2008). He also co-directed and produced the TV show Cidade dos Homens (2002 - 2005). During 2009, he directed the film and TV series Som e Fúria, about a theatre group’s attempt to stage Shakespeare’s drama.