Flavio Alves

Flávio Alves
Flávio Alves on the set of The Secret Friend, New York, March 23rd, 2009
Born	Flávio Pimenta Alves (1969-11-30) November 30, 1969 (age 47) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Residence	New York City, New York
Nationality	Brazilian
Education	Columbia University New York University
Occupation	Film director, producer, screenwriter
Years active	2006-present
Website	http://www.FlavioAlves.com

Flávio Pimenta Alves (born 30 November 1969) is a Brazilian writer, screenwriter, and film director resident in America since 1998. His movies consistently feature elderly characters as protagonists. He is best known for the film Tom in America, starring Burt Young and Sally Kirkland.

Alves was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and served the Brazilian navy for several years before coming to America in 1997. He was granted political asylum in the United States in 1998 based on political opinion and sexual orientation after he wrote the book, Toque de Silêncio ("Call to Silence", 1997), describing his life as a gay man in the Brazilian navy. His request was granted because, according to Alves, he received death threats upon publishing his book. Although various human rights organizations, LGBT activists, and former São Paulo mayor Marta Suplicy supported his claim, it has also divided the Brazilian gay community. He attended Columbia University in New York City, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science. In the early 2000s he worked as an assistant for then-Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY) and then-New York Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY).

In 2007, Alves left politics and enrolled at New York University to study film production. While there he wrote and directed, Even in My Dreams, which received the Technisphere Award from NYU for best student film, and was screened at a variety of film festivals around the world. The film was also the winner of the Golden Palm Award at the 2009 Mexico International Film Festival, and the Golden Ace Award at the 2009 Las Vegas International Film Festival. In June 2010, Flavio released his short film The Secret Friend, starring Viola Harris and Siobhan Fallon in the major roles. The film received multiple awards and nominations after its premiere at the Palm Springs International Film Festival in 2010, where it was chosen as Best of the Fest.