João Pedro Rodrigues was born in Lisbon in 1966. After studying biology at Lisbon University he attended the Lisbon Film School, where he obtained his diploma. His public film career began at the 54th Venice Festival in 1997 with the short PARABÉNS!, which won the Special Jury Prize. In the same year he made ESTA É A MINHA CASA and VIAGEM À EXPO, a two-part documentary. In 2000 he directed his first fiction feature, Phantom, which was screened in the 57th Venice Festival’s Official Competition. In 2005, ODETE won several awards including a Cinémas de Recherche Special Mention at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. His feature project TO DIE LIKE A MAN was selected in 2007 by Cinéfondation for L’Atelier in Cannes and was released in 2009.