Gonçalo Almeida is a Portuguese filmmaker, born in Santiago do Cacém. He began his academic path in graphic design before transitioning to cinema. In 2012, he moved to London to attend the London Film School.
During his studies, Almeida directed several experimental and documentary short films including Severed Garden, Condrong, and Phantom,
His short film Thursday Night (2017) marked his international breakthrough. Centered on a surreal encounter between two dogs, it was NOMINATED FOR THE GRAND JURY PRIZE AT THE Sundance Film Festival, the largest independent film festival in the United States and one of the most influential worldwide. The film received several accolades, including the Méliès d’Argent for Best European Fantastic Short, awarded by the Federation of European Fantastic Film Festivals, Best Portuguese Short at MotelX, Portugal’s leading genre film festival, and Best Director of Horror Shorts at Fantastic Fest, the largest American festival dedicated to genre cinema.
In 2019, Almeida premiered his first feature film, Keep Me Company, a restrained and sensory portrait of a dissolving relationship. Shot entirely along Portugal’s Alentejo coast, the film used its sparse landscapes and geographic isolation as an emotional mirror for the characters. It premiered at Fantastic Fest and was nationally distributed by NOS Audiovisuais. That same year, he was selected for Berlinale Talents, a programme of the Berlin International Film Festival that gathers 250 of the most promising emerging filmmakers from around the world.
In 2021, he directed The Girl from Saturn, also filmed on the Alentejo coast, where reality and the imaginary intertwine in a narrative marked by isolation and metaphysical overtones. The film earned him the Best Director award in the Shorts with Legs section at Fantastic Fest and was nominated for the Sophia Awards, presented annually by the Portuguese Film Academy.
In 2024, he released Atom & Void, a visually minimalist and existential short film starring a regal queen. It was selected for major international festivals including the Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, the oldest and most prestigious fantastic film festival in the world, and Fantastic Fest. The film won the Méliès d’Argent at the Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival in Estonia, the leading genre film festival in Northern Europe, and received an award at the Short Shorts Film Festival and Asia in Tokyo, the largest short film festival in Japan and one of the few Oscar-qualifying festivals in Asia.
His upcoming feature project, The Advent, is in advanced development, with production scheduled for 2026. Set entirely on the Alentejo coast, the film continues his engagement with the region’s rural landscape and imaginary. The project was selected for Less is More, a respected European script development programme for low-budget feature films supported by Creative Europe MEDIA. It also won Best Pitch at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, one of the oldest and most respected fantastic film festivals in Europe.
In 2024, Almeida JoinED Under the Volcano, an intensive filmmaking retreat led by Werner Herzog, WHERE HE DIRECTED His latest short, Quietness, premierING at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival.
FILMOGRAPHY
THE ADVENT (FEATURE FILM) 2026
RED CLOUD BLUE HEAVEN (SHORT FILM) 2025
QUIETNESS (SHORT FILM) 2024
ATOM & VOID (SHORT FILM) 2024
THE GIRL FROM SATURN (SHORT FILM) 2021
KEEP ME COMPANY (FEATURE FILM) 2019
THURSDAY NIGHT (SHORT FILM) 2017
PHANTOM (SHORT FILM) 2017
CONDRONG (SHORT FILM) 2016
SEVERED GARDEN ( SHORT FILM) 2015