João Silvério Trevisan
João Silvério Trevisan (born June 23, 1944 in Ribeirão Bonito, São Paulo) is Brazilian author, playwright, journalist, screenwriter and film director. In his much-diversified oeuvres, he has published eleven books, among them great works of fiction, essays, short stories, and screenplays. Trevisan has been influential as a literary and cultural critic, particularly on gay and lesbian issues and his works have been translated into English, Spanish, and German. Career. Early in his career in 1970, Trevisan wrote and directed a feature film, "Orgia ou o Homem que Deu Cria", which was censured by the Brazilian military  regime for almost ten years. In 1976, however, Trevisan wrote his first book, "Testamento de Jônatas Deixado a Davi", and in 1983, "Em Nome do Desejo". He subsequently emerged as one of Brazil's more important literary figures due to the enormous quantity and quality of work produced over the course of his career on a variety of topics. In 2010, one of his many short stories, "The Secret Friend", was adapted to a short film directed by Flavio Alves. The film was shot in Brooklyn, and entered more than 80 film festivals and won 21 awards all over the  world, including "Best of the Fest" at Palm Springs International Film Festival, the "Storyteller Award" at Savannah Film Festival, and the "Van Gogh Award" at the Amsterdam Film Festival, among others. Literary prizes. Trevisan's best-known literary work, "Two Bodies in Vertigo"o is part of the anthology "The 100 Best Brazilian Story Tales of the Twentieth Century". He has been honored three times with "Premix Jabuti", which is the most prestigious Brazilian literary award and three times with the Association of Art Critics of São Paulo (APCA) Award, as well as several other honors. Yet, despite the numerous awards  and distinctions, his work has been ignored by the Brazilian mainstream media. Gay activism. Between 1973 and 1976, Trevisan lived in Mexico and in the United States, where he had direct contact with the gay rights movement. Not surprisingly, in 1978, he founded, "SOMOS", the first gay rights organization in Brazil and, in the same year, the first gay news publication, O Lampião da Esquina. In 1982, he started research for his book, "Devassos no Parais"o (Perverts in Paradise), which became at the time the most comprehensive study of the history of homosexuality in Brazil. Personal life. He currently resides  in São Paulo, Brazil.