José Padilha is an award-winning Brazilian director of the Brazilian films Bus 174,Tropa de Elite - which earned him a Golden Bear award at the 2008 Berlin International Film Festival - and Tropa de Elite 2.

The films form part of a trilogy, looking at the influence of media, police and, finally, polticians. His film Secrets of the Tribe premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.  This documentary explores the allegations, first brought to light in the book Darkness in El Dorado, that anthropologists studying the Yanomami Indians in the 1960s and 70s engaged in bizarre and inappropriate interactions with the tribe, including sexual and medical violations.