Filipe Melo
Filipe Melo (born 13 September 1977) is a Portuguese musician, film director and comic book writer. Early life. As a teenager, Filipe Melo was a computer hacker. He was arrested by the Polícia Judiciária at age 15, for illegally making phone calls without paying. After this, he was denied access to computers until his 18th birthday. Music. An accomplished jazz pianist, Melo studied at the Hotclube in Lisbon and at the Berklee College of Music with Joanne Brackeen. In Portugal, he did sideman work for many international musicians including Benny Golson, Seamus Blake, Jorge Rossy, John Ellis, Omer  Avital, Peter Bernstein, Donald Harrison, Andrea Bocelli, Jesse Davis, Paulinho Braga, Sheila Jordan, Herb Geller and Martin Taylor. Films. His first short film was "I'll See You in My Dreams", winner of Fantasporto, a nominee for the Méliès d'Argent and 12 more international awards. "I'll See You in My Dreams" is now considered to be the first Portuguese zombie film. He wrote and directed "Um Mundo Catita" with Manuel João Vieira, a TV show in 6 episodes, and also directed 2 music videos for the band Moonspell. In 2018, he directed "Sleepwalk", a short film based on one  of his short stories. Comic Books. Melo wrote "The Adventures of Dog Mendonça & Pizzaboy", a series of three graphic novels published by Tinta-da-China and Dark Horse Comics. The books feature forewords from filmmakers John Landis, George A. Romero, Tobe Hooper and Lloyd Kaufman. He frequently works with Argentinian artists Juan Cavia and Santiago Villa. In 2012 he was invited to write a story for the Eisner award-winning anthology "Dark Horse Presents", also featuring works by Frank Miller and Mike Mignola. His latest book, “Ballad for Sophie” was published by Top Shelf / IDW in 2021. Interview in Falar  Criativo podcast