About me

Eduardo Rajabally

I was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1970, and began my career as a journalist in two of the biggest newspapers in the country, besides writing for some magazines. I’ve migrated to television in 1995, and started progressively developing my skills as a tv professional.

I’ve been working as a documentary and tv series director since the end of the 90’s. I also work sometimes as a scriptwriter in my own projects.

In all these years as a director, I’ve conducted over 3.000 interviews, for my documentaries and tv shows. Among politicians, artists, personalities, actors and musicians, here are some of the people I’ve interviewed: former Brazilian presidents Lula and Fernando Henrique Cardoso; singers such as Roberto Carlos, Erasmo Carlos, Jorge Benjor, Caetano Veloso, Gilberto Gil and Rita Lee; international actors like Willem Dafoe, Antonio Banderas, Patrick Swayze, Vanessa Redgrave and Jean Claude Van Damme; personalities like Pelé, Gisele Bundchen, film director Walter Salles, actress and Oscar nominee Fernanda Montenegro, tv host and journalist Marília Gabriela, comedian Chico Anysio, football players like Zico and Romario, FI pilot Ayrton Senna, Jean-Midhel Cousteau, historian Eric J. Hobsbawm and navigator Amyr Klink.

I’ve directed more than 350 episodes for tv, working for channels like BBC, Tv Globo, GNews/GloboFilmes, HBO, Disney/Star+, NatGeo, AXN/Sony, A&E, Discovery Channels, Animal Planet, GNT, Multishow, Telecine and OFF Channel (TV Globo cable channels), TV Brasil, TV Cultura and TVE (Brazilian public channels), Canal Brasil, Canal Cuatro Spain, TVI Portugal, ESPN and Eurochannel.

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I have a deep and special interest in discovering new stories and getting in touch with people of all kinds – listening to them. This is more than a science to me, it’s a kind of Art.

Listening to people deserves much attention and a keen observation and study of human character. It’s a never-ending search for perfecting the smallest details that are necessary to have a productive and rich conversation. Developing a sensible mind and sharp Intuition are essential to balance the rational part of the process.

I dedicate most of my work to that.

In my projects I had the opportunity to travel throughout Brazil, all its states and capitals, most of its national parks and ecosystems. I was able to visit and discover its biological and human diversity – both social and cultural. There are few places I haven’t been yet in Brazil.

I have been trying to steer my career in a way to be involved in projects that deal with Brazilian themes and subjects, which I’ve been studying for quite a long time now. From scientific ones (biological, anthropological, historical, geographical and social) to more diverse ones (spiritual, religious, folkloric, artistic and musical).

I also had the opportunity to film in many Latin American countries, in the US, in Europe and in Asia as well. That certainly gave me another perspective of those countries, different from the usual tourist travel and, besides, a different view of my own country.

I have a profound interest for the study of sacred scriptures and compared religions. This has a central role in all I do. To put all I learn in perspective and strive to make it a reality in my everyday life is the big challenge I am constantly working on.

In 2020, after directing and releasing the first Brazilian documentary on Circular Economy (“Future-proof Present” – GloboFilmes/2020), I’ve decided to begin a Master’s Degree in Ecology. The idea was to study a discipline that would be very useful in many of my projects. It took me two intense years of study and getting used to express myself in scientific language. But in 2022 I finally presented my thesis and completed my Master’s Degree in Ecology.

Important to say that I have been an university teacher for more than 20 years now, teaching documentaries, TV formats, video language and audiovisual industry, specially in the non-fiction realm. I have also taught at postgraduate courses and in other institutions, like b_arco – a contemporary cultural center in São Paulo. Today, teaching is more and more a very rewarding and fullfilling activity to me.

Finally, I am a part-time musician. Electric and acoustic guitars are by my side for the last 40 years. Though I have some formal musical education (including some time at Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA), I can consider myself a self taught musician.