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Manuela Dias
Manuela Dias
Born	11 April 1977 (age 47); Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Occupation(s)	Former actress, author, and screenwriter
Years active	1996–present
Children	1

Manuela Dias (born 11 April 1977) is a Brazilian former actress, author, and screenwriter. She performed on television as an actress in 1996 as a co-protagonist on Dona Anja, followed by her being on the cast of the 1998 film Brida. Since 2000, she has started a career in writing, also doing screenwriting, such as with the TV series Bambuluá. She was nominated for an International Emmy for her 2016 mini-series Justiça. In 2019, she created her first telenovela Amor de Mãe, on Rede Globo.

Biography

Dias was born in 1977 in Salvador, Bahia. She is the daughter of actress Sônia Dias, who in part inspired her to write Amor de Mãe.^[1] She graduated with a degree in journalism from the Federal University of Bahia.^[2] She later graduated with a degree in film from Escola de Santo Antonio de los Baños in Cuba, where she was a student of Gabriel García Márquez.^[1]

In 2006, Dias participated in the Sundance Film Festival as a co-editor in the long film Only God Knows, directed by Carlos Bolado.^[3] She later became a screenwriter in five short-films, among them Deserto Feliz (2007), directed by Paulo Caldas [pt]; Transeunte, directed by Eryk Rocha; and O Céu Sobre os Ombros, by Sérgio Borges, where they won five awards at the Festival de Brasília in 2010.^[4] In 2011, the long film A Hora e a Vez de Augusto Matraga, directed by Vinícius Coimbra [pt] and screenplayed by Dias, was featured at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival and won five prizes, among them the Best Film award by the jury and by popular vote.^[5]

She later began to transition to writing for television, writing shows for TV Globo. She collaborated in series such as Aline, A Grande Família, Fama, and Sandy & Junior, and in telenovelas such as Cordel Encantado and Joia Rara. In 2014, she produced her first long film, Love Film Festival, with Leandra Leal and Manolo Cardona.^[6] While at Rede Globo, she wrote the screenplay for Ligações Perigosas at the beginning of 2016.^[7]

Dias wrote her first story while at Rede Globo directing the mini-series Justiça.^[8] In 2017, her draft for a novel was approved, with a provisional release for 2019 as her first novel. Her original series Amor de Mãe debuted in November 2019, with the series directed by José Luiz Villamarim [pt].^[1] The series was, along with Salve-se Quem Puder, productions that were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. It returned to production in March 2021.^[9]^[10]

Personal life

As of 2020, Dias is in a relationship with actor Murilo Benício. She has a daughter, Helena, who also inspired her to write Amor da Mãe.^[1]

Filmography

As screenwriter

Television

Telenovelas

Year	Title	Position	Co-writers	Broadcaster	Notes
2011	Cordel Encantado	Collaborator	Duca Rachid [pt] Thelma Guedes [pt]	Rede Globo
2013	Joia Rara	Collaborator	Duca Rachid [pt] Thelma Guedes [pt]
2019–21	Amor de Mãe	Creator			^[11]

Series and mini-series

Year	Title	Position	Co-writers	Broadcaster	Notes
2000–01	Bambuluá	Screenwriter	Roberto Talma [pt]	Rede Globo
2002	Sandy & Junior		Adriana Avellar [pt] Sarah Lavigne Thiago Marinho		Season 4
2008	Faça Sua História		João Ubaldo Ribeiro Geraldo Carneiro
2008	Xuxa e as Noviças		Cláudio Torres Gonzaga		Year end special
2009	Geral.com		Claudio Lobato		Episode: "Baseado em Fatos Reais"
2009–11	Aline		Mauro Wilson
2012	Acampamento de Férias		Renato Aragão		Season 3
2012	A Grande Família		Cláudio Paiva [pt]		Season 12
2016	Ligações Perigosas	Creator			^[7]
2016	Justiça	Creator			^[8]

Film

Year	Title	Notes
2007	Deserto Feliz
2010	O Céu Sobre os Ombros	^[4]
2010	Transeunte
2011	A Hora e a Vez de Augusto Matraga	^[5]
2014	Love Film Festival
2015	A Floresta que se Move
2021	Pixinguinha, Um Homem Carinhoso	Co-writer