What 'Bingo' Director Daniel Rezende Learned From Being a Film Editor

“You look at it, you know it’s right.” That’s what Daniel Rezende came to realize when he was directing “Bingo: The King of Mornings.”

Rezende is an Oscar-nominated film editor for “City of God” and has also worked on “The Motorcycle Diaries” and “The Tree of Life,” so he knows how to follow his instincts. And he told TheWrap’s Awards Editor Steve Pond how his experience as an editor shaped his work when directing his feature film debut.

“There’s no such thing as a rule on how to make a movie,” Rezende said at The Wrap’s Awards and Foreign Screening Series at the Landmark Theatres in Los Angeles Thursday night. “As an editor, I always learned that the footage will tell you how to cut. It’s not you to tell the footage how to cut it.”

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“Bingo,” Brazil’s official submission to the 2018 Foreign Language Oscars race, tells a dramatized account of the life of Arlindo Barreto, who came to fame playing a Brazilian incarnation of Bozo the Clown while privately battling a drug addiction. No one knew Barreto’s name as his character became a massive Brazilian TV star, and Rezende said that’s a struggle he can relate to as an artist.

“Maybe I always wanted to be a director, and then I found film editing as something I fell in love with by accident,” Rezende said. “It’s a character driven movie with a very human issue about being validated as an artist and a person and someone who wants to find his place in the spotlight, and when he does, he’s behind a mask and no one knows who he is. I thought it was a very interesting character to play with.”

Being a first time director posed the same challenges for Rezende as it does for any new filmmakers, but in “Bingo” you can see how Rezende found his footing, such as in some daring, long tracking shots in which the camera sweeps the room and flies out a nearby window.

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In another pivotal moment, the camera tilts on its side as Bingo dejectedly walks down a long hallway, the lights flickering off as he goes. This proved to be one of those moments when Rezende knew what he was looking at was just right.

“You don’t always know everything you want, but you have to know where you want to go, or you have to be a very good liar,” Rezende said. “Even in my career as an editor, I always wanted to not repeat myself. I always wanted to do things I’ve never done before or try challenges that I had no idea how to solve that challenge.”

“Bingo” is a rare film in Brazil to highlight the country’s pop culture heritage, but as Rezende looks to what’s next in his career, he believes this story can cross borders.

“I don’t want to close any doors. I want to be editing for directors I admire and do respect, but I want to be telling my own stories,” Rezende said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re an artist or a director or an actor, we want to be validated and recognized by our parents, by our sons, by our friends, by our work. That is universal.”

The Evolution of Jennifer Lawrence, From 'Winter's Bone' to 'Red Sparrow' (Photos)

Jennifer Lawrence has come a long way from her showbiz beginnings on TBS' "The Bill Engvall Show" in 2007.
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JLaw made one of her first red carpet appearances at the premiere of "The Burning Plain" at the 2008 Venice Film Festival.
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Lawrence won critical raves as Ree Dolly in the 2010 independent film "Winter's Bone," for which she earned her first Oscar nomination.
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Here's Lawrence at the 2011 Annual Palm Springs International Film Festival Awards Gala.
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And here she is arriving at the 2011 Golden Globe Awards for "Winter's Bone."
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Lawrence scored a nomination for "Winter's Bone" at the 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Lawrence appeared at 2011 Academy Awards, getting her first Oscar nod for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "Winter's Bone."
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Here's Lawrence as Mystique in 2011's "X-Men: First Class."
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Jennifer Lawrence mesmerized in an undulating blue dress at the 2012 People's Choice Award, where she scored two nominations for "X-Men: First Class."
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She became a box office sensation playing bow-and-arrow wielding heroine Katniss Everdeen in 2012's "The Hunger Games."
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Lawrence was solid gold at the 2012 Los Angeles premiere of "The Hunger Games," one of the roles that catapulted her to worldwide stardom.
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Lawrence crossed the pond for the European premiere of "Hunger Games" in style.
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And she sparkled in emerald at a 2012 screening of "The Hunger Games" in New York City.
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JLaw greeted adoring admirers at a "Hunger Games" fan event in Madrid.
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Lawrence went with a two-tone look at the 2012 Academy Awards announcement, one year before winning her first Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Here's Lawrence in her Oscar-winning role as the troubled Tiffany Maxwell opposite Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Lawrence stepped out at the New York premiere of "Silver Linings Playbook."
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JLaw sizzled in a cutout dress at the 2013 Critics' Choice Movie Awards, where she snagged two Best Actress awards for "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Hunger Games."
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Lawrence posed with her Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Award in the press room during the 2013 Golden Globes.
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Lawrence wore navy at the 2013 Screen Actors Guild Awards, where she picked up a trophy for "Silver Linings Playbook."
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Lawrence took a memorable fall when climbing the stage to accept her Oscar at the 2013 Academy Awards.
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She eventually made it to the stage to grab hold of her Best Actress award for "Silver Linings Playbook" at the 2013 Academy Awards.
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And then she changed into a metallic anthracite dress for the post-Oscars Vanity Fair party in 2013.
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Lawrence reprised her role as Katniss Everdeen in 2013's "Hunger Games: Catching Fire."
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JLaw went with all white at a "Hunger Games: Catching Fire" party at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival.
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Lawrence sizzled in a sheer dress at the 2013 Los Angeles premiere of "Hunger Games: Catching Fire," a role for which she would win an MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance.
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Lawrence played Rosalyn Rosenfeld, the wife of a con artist, in 2013's "American Hustle."
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Lawrence lit up the press room at the 2014 Golden Globes after winning the award for Best Supporting Performance in a Motion Picture - Drama, Musical or Comedy for "American Hustle."
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Lawrence wore a patriotic sequined look when she snagged a trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for "American Hustle" at the 2014 Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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Lawrence stood out in bright orange at the 2014 Academy Awards, where she was nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for "American Hustle."
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Lawrence literally sparkled in a dress with a shattered-glass effect at the 2014 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
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Lawrence took aim as Katniss Everdeen in 2014's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1."
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JLaw embodied the "China: Through The Looking Glass" theme at the 2015 Met Gala in New York.
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Lawrence took aim again in 2015's "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2."
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Lawrence crossed the pond for the 2015 world premiere of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2" in Berlin.
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And continued to the "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2" London premiere.
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Lawrence went gothic at "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2" New York premiere in 2015.
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JLaw starred as Miracle Mop magnate Joy Mangano in 2015's "Joy."
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Lawrence blended into a white background at the New York premiere of "Joy" in 2015.
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JLaw stood out in red at the 2016 Golden Globes, where she took home the trophy for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for "Joy."
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Lawrence arrived at the 2016 Academy Awards in February, where she was nominated for her title role in "Joy."
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In April 2016, Lawrence joined co-star Chris Pratt on stage at CinemaCon in Las Vegas to promote their upcoming romantic sci-fi movie "Passengers."
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Here's JLaw reprising her role as Mystique in 2016's "X-Men Apocalypse."
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Lawrence sparkled in blinding silver at a May 2016 "X-Men Apocalypse" event in London.
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Lawrence seemed to be having a great time when she stopped by "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in May 2016.
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Lawrence starred as stranded space traveler Aurora Snow in "Passengers."
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Lawrence and "Passengers" co-star Chris Pratt got together after an interstellar journey goes awry.
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JLaw played a stay-at-home housewife whose world is turned upside down by the arrival of a mysterious couple in "mother!," directed by then-boyfriend Darren Aronofsky.
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She played a secret agent seeking her own agency -- as in, self-determination -- in the 2018 spy thriller "Red Sparrow."
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