Emílio Ribeiro

Emílio Ribeiro is a professor, linguist, film critic, writer, and filmmaker. He has been teaching English Language and Literature in the Department of Foreign Languages at the State University of Rio Grande do Norte (UERN/Brazil) for almost twenty years. He is a member of the "Gothic Studies" Research Group and a professor in the Postgraduate Program in Language Sciences at UERN, where he supervises research on cinema and contemporary film adaptations of Gothic literary works. He is a critic and researcher in the field of cinema and film adaptations, with several academic publications, including the book "The Gothic and its Monsters: Literature and Horror Cinema” (O gótico e seus Monstros: a literatura e o cinema de horror), published in 2021. Furthermore, he holds a PhD in Linguistic Studies from UNESP (Brazil), with a thesis on film adaptations of H. P. Lovecraft's Gothic literature. He completed a research internship at the world's largest center for film adaptations, the Centre for Adaptations at De Montfort University in Leicester, England. He is the director of Mistério Filmes, an independent film production company he founded in 2024 with the support of friends who are also passionate about auteur cinema. Umbuzeiro (Umbu Tree) is his first film as screenwriter and director. Before becoming a film, Umbuzeiro had already won the award for Second Best Short Film Screenplay in Brazil at Grande Prêmio de Roteiro of Sorocaba Festival, São Paulo, in 2025. Umbuzeiro was completed in February 2026. The film was recently selected for the Official Selection of the 2nd Curta Varginha, a non-competitive showcase in Minas Gerais (screening on March 14). It was also selected for the Official Selection of the First-Time Filmmaker Sessions, promoted by the Lift-Off Global Network in England, an event that brought the film its first international award: Audience Choice, as the most voted film by the public. Umbuzeiro was also selected for the Saria Film Festival in Orlando, Florida, and for the Inland Independent Film Festival, an international film festival held in Araraquara, São Paulo, where it received two awards: the Inland Vision Award, presented to the film distinguished by its unique authorial voice, and Best Director, recognizing the best direction among all films in the festival.