João Gonzalez
João Gonzalez (born February 11, 1996) is a Portuguese film director and animator based in Porto. He is mostly known for writing and directing the multi-award-winning short film Ice Merchants, which premiered and was awarded at Cannes Film Festival the same year. On January 24, 2023, "Ice Merchants" became the first Portuguese production to ever receive an Academy Award nomination.
João Gonzalez
- Name
- João Gonzalez
- Born
- 11 February 1996
- Birthplace
- Porto
- Occupation
- Director, animator, illustrator
- Known for
- Ice Merchants
- Nationality
- Portugal
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for João Gonzalez. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q115204657 · wikipedia · João Gonzalez
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — João Gonzalez • Born — 11 February 1996 • Birthplace — Porto • Citizenship — Portuguese • Occupation — Director, animator, illustrator • Known for — Ice Merchants
Career
Career
Gonzalez did a Multimedia Arts BA at ESMAD in Porto, where he graduated in 2017, specialising in the field of animation. Recipient of a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, he did a Masters of Arts at the Royal College of Art (UK), from which he graduated in 2020. As of January 2023, he works as a director and animator in Porto, at the COLA animation collective. He is also a composer, working on the original scores of his films.
Filmography
Filmography
• The Voyager (2017) • Nestor (2019) • Ice Merchants (2022)
Recognition
Recognition
His first film and final BA project The Voyager received the International New Talent Award at the BFI Future Film Festival and Best Student Film awards at CINANIMA. His Master's film "Nestor" received the António Gaio Award at Cinanima and Best Student Film Award at the Quirino Awards. His latest film, Ice Merchants, was shortlisted and nominated for the 95th Academy Awards and received a nomination for Best European Short Film at the 2022 European Film Awards. Gonzalez is the first Portuguese animation filmmaker to be awarded at Festival de Cannes, where his film Ice Merchants won the Jury Prize for Best Short film, in competition at the Critics Week. The film has received 9 Oscar Qualifying Awards, including the Golden Hugo for Best Animation Short Film at the Chicago International Film Festival and the Best Animation Short Film Award at the Melbourne International Film Festival.
Text attribution
Licensing
Text attribution
Part of the biographical narrative on this page reuses licensed material. Its origin, revision and licence are recorded here.
The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article João Gonzalez, revision 1361386206 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Vitorino, Manuel. Uma história poética e visual de João Gonzalez venceu o Curtas. Sete Margens. 2022-07-17.
- 2.Lopes, Ricardo. "Ice Merchants" de João Gonzalez vence em Cannes. 2022-05-20.
- 3.2023 Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. www.oscars.org.
- 4.First ever Portuguese production up for an Oscar. www.theportugalnews.com.
- 5.João Gonzalez's animated short is a frosty tale of love, loss and fatherly affection. www.itsnicethat.com.
- 6.João Gonzalez. agencia.curtas.pt.
- 7.João Gonzalez. 2020.rca.ac.uk.
- 8.About. Cola Animation.
- 9.Team, Z. F. (EXCLUSIVE): Ice Merchants by João Gonzalez: Making Of Part 2 - Music and Sound. Zippy Frames. 2022-12-06.
- 10.ANIMATED FEED: VOYAGER - João Gonzalez. THE ANIMATED DAILY: Featured Animation Of The Day.
- 11.Watch Nestor. BFI Player.
- 12.The 11th BFI Future Film Festival Awards: the winners. British Film Institute.
- 13.Cinanima – International Animation Film Festival. Culturgest.
- 14.Lusa. Filme de João Gonzalez vence prémio de melhor "curta" de animação no festival de Melbourne. PÚBLICO.
- 15.Wit, Alex Dudok de. 'Klaus,' 'Tainá And The Amazon's Guardians' Triumph At 2020 Quirino Awards (Full List Of Winners). Cartoon Brew. 2020-06-29.
- 16.Team, Z. F. Klaus, Nestor, The Cubicbird in the Quirino Awards 2020 Winners. Zippy Frames. 2020-06-28.
- 17.95TH OSCARS® SHORTLISTS IN 10 AWARD CATEGORIES ANNOUNCED. press.oscars.org.
- 18.2023 Oscars.org Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. www.oscars.org.
- 19.Nominations. europeanfilmawards.eu.
- 20.João Gonzalez La Semaine de la Critique of Festival de Cannes. Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes.
- 21.58th Chicago International Film Festival announces award winners – Reel Chicago News. 23 October 2022.
- 22.I.Faleye. Melbourne International Film Festival Announces Winners of 2022 MIFF Shorts Awards. VIMooZ. 2022-08-11.
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessreference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 21 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
38,713 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Joanne TsengPerson
- Joanne WhalleyPerson
- Joanne WoodwardPerson
- João César MonteiroPerson
- João Mário GriloPerson
- João MendesPerson
- João Miguel Serrano LeonelliPerson
- João Moreira SallesPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by João Gonzalez?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.