The text above is how I, in short, present myself to the market. But it is far from defining who I am and what I intend with this seemingly free exposure. It is always uncomfortable and difficult to fable about ourselves, without flourishing or committing sincericide. The important thing here is to qualify myself to provide services to the community, whether directing films, giving courses and lectures or providing creative consultancy. On this I think it is worth drawing a few lines. After all, if you are reading this text, it is because you are interested in my involvement in some project or challenge. So let's go!

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I was born in Belo Horizonte (MG) on December 29, 1969 but it was in São Paulo (SP) that I spent practically my entire life. My path is very errant. I started at the age of 15 as an office boy at Banco do Brasil, where I was hired through a public tender. At 21 I resigned to study and work with communication. I had the privilege of collaborating, early in my career, with the late journalist Ricardo de Carvalho, at the production company Argumento. From there I went to coordinate communication at the State Attorney General's Study Center, working alongside Norma Kyriakos, another important professional and ethical reference in my life. Then I ventured as a partner in several political communication agencies, events and cultural productions, until I was invited by Sinval de Itacarambi Leão to manage and then direct Revista Imprensa, another important school of life.

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I left there to found, at the end of the 1990s, the Instituto Pensarte, the website Cultura e Mercado and the consultancy Brant Associados. I worked on this tripod as a manager, consultant, teacher, activist and cultural journalist for 20 years. During this period I wrote books, coordinated research, worked directly in the public management of culture in the country and abroad. As a consultant, I worked for large companies such as Avon, Comgás, Vale, Vivo, among others. I traveled the world as a speaker and cultural activist, collaborating in the development of the UNESCO Convention for Cultural Diversity.  

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In 2008 I didn't want any of that anymore. I received an award from the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) to carry out research on the global audiovisual industry and its effects on local cultures. CTRL-V, my first documentary, was born. After this experience, I started to prepare myself for a career change, taking on the option of the difficult profession of documentary filmmaker once and for all .  

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You must imagine that making a living from documentaries is not easy. Therefore, I continued my business activity in parallel. I opened Cemec – Center for Media and Entertainment Studies, which continued an old mission of helping to train new generations of cultural managers. I created the Creative Entrepreneurs program, opened and acted as executive director of 360Graus, the Brazilian branch of the Catalan agency Magma Cultura, focused on museum management, and more recently of SerotoninaLab , a creative coworking with event space. With time, ​ I sold or closed everything that took me out of focus to dedicate myself to  Deusdará Filmes , performing numerous audiovisual works, including documentaries and programs for television and streaming platforms.  

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I try to use the knowledge acquired as a researcher, author and entrepreneur to carry out works that manage to satisfy my creative impulse, in balance with the need to carry out concrete actions. In addition to my own and authorial works, I get involved with commissioned projects, from brands and social organizations, in addition to giving lectures, courses and creative consulting. It's always a pleasure to help find avenues for customer and partner issues and questions.   ​

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Leonardo Brant

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