Viana is a Brazilian producer, director and screenwriter. Even though he studied to be an engineer at the University of Rio de Janeiro, he has been producing and directing for film and television for four decades. He has produced fourteen feature films and as a director made many videos, documentaries, TV programs, series and short films. He directed eight feature films Minha Namorada (1970), O Doce Esporte do Sexo (1971), Os Condenados (1973), Morte e Vida Severina (1977), Land of Indians (Terra dos Índios, 1979), Avaete, Seed of Revenge (Avaeté - Semente da Vingança 1985), Villa-Lobos: A Life of Passion (Villa-Lobos - Uma Vida de Paixão, 2000) and Bela Noite Para Voar (2009).