Eduardo Lubiazi started his career as a media planner because he desperately wanted to work at an advertising agency but didn’t believe he belonged in the creative department. So he spent several years tending to numbers and Excel spreadsheets like they were delicate houseplants. After five years in agencies, he realized the only way to work with creativity every day was to leave, so he became a filmmaker and, together with his long-time partners Yuri Maranhão and João Machado, co-founded the film production company The Youth.

Eduardo launched The Youth knowing absolutely nothing about the audiovisual industry. Through research, countless experiments, and more trial-and-error than he’ll admit, he discovered himself as a scene director, screenwriter, and executive producer. For the last 15 years he has been building, brick by brick, a bold and creative culture within the company a culture that, under his creative leadership, has repeatedly been recognized by the industry’s top awards.

He still directs his own projects, acts as creative director for the company’s diverse talents, and serves as executive producer. And yes, Eduardo finds it oddly uncomfortable to talk about himself in the third person. But he does it anyway, for dramatic effect.