Victor Cesar Bota

Victor Cesar Bota
Born	Victor Cesar Bota (1972-11-07) November 7, 1972 São Paulo, Brazil
Occupation	Film director / writer / producer
Years active	2003–present

Victor Cesar Bota (born November 7, 1972), a Brazilian fashion photographer, film writer/director, began his artistic life as a painter.

Early life

Bota began his artistic life as a painter when he was exposed to art at an early age by his grandmother Zaira O’Farill Cesar, who was a painter and his mother Cidalia Cesar, who is an architect, making it a natural progression for him to work in arts.

In 1984, while living in Rio de Janeiro, Bota befriended Renzo Gracie, who later became the subject of one of his projects.

In 1991, Bota started studying Fine Arts and he finished high school at the Miami Beach Senior High School. In the 1990s, Bota lived between New York, Miami, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Seattle. In 1993, at the age of 21, while in Seattle at the peak of the grunge movement, Bota started fully dedicating himself to the visual arts.

In 1999, upon his move to New York City, Bota rapidly assimilated into the city's cosmopolitan and vibrant culture and began experimenting with fashion photography and film-making. In 2000, Bota studied film at NYU Tisch School of the Arts.^[1]

On Saint Marks Place, Bota owned and operated the renowned Medusa Tattoo, one the few original East Village, Manhattan tattoo shops that survived after tattooing was legalized in New York City in 1997. Medusa Tattoo catered to several celebrities including Britney Spears, Julian Casablancas and served as the launch pad for many of New York City’s well known tattoo artists such as John Reardon, Eli Quinters, Chris Torres, Steve Boltz and others. In 2004, Bota and his partner, John Paras, moved Medusa Tattoo to 120 E 7th Street. In 2009, Bota closed Medusa Tattoo and started to fully dedicate himself to photography and film.

Career

While photographing fashion in New York City, Bota directed the short film “Freeman”. Co-produced by Fernando Meirelles' O2 Filmes, "Freeman" was a selection of several film festivals including the Brussels Film Festival, Palm Springs International Film Festival, Montreal Film Festival, Festival de Brasília, Belo Horizonte Film Festival, São Paulo International Film Festival and Festival do Rio.

Bota's music video "Call My Name" was nominated in the MTV Video Music Brazil Awards and this led to more work directing with Sony | BMG. Such as Wanessa Camargo – "Amor Amor", Medulla – "Munição na Mamadeira" and Forro in the Dark – "Nonsensical". Bota directed The Gracies and the Birth of Vale Tudo a documentary film about the legendary family and the remarkable creation and expansion of Ultimate Fighting Championship around the world. The music was by Mauro Refosco, Forro in the Dark and Ilhan Ersahin and others from Nublu Records. The Gracies and the Birth of Vale Tudo was screened at the São Paulo International Film Festival and Festival do Rio.^[2]

References