| Lael Rodrigues | |
| Birth Name: | Lael Alves Rodrigues |
| Birth Date: | November 25, 1951 |
| Birth Place: | Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, Brazil |
| Death Place: | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil |
| Alma Mater: | Fluminense Federal University |
| Occupation: | Film director, film producer, film editor, screenwriter |
| Years Active: | 1973–1988 |
| Children: | 1 |
| Parents: | Joaquim Rodrigues Helle Alves |
Lael Alves Rodrigues (November 25, 1951 – February 8, 1989) was a Brazilian film director, producer, editor and screenwriter.
Rodrigues was born in Campos do Jordão, São Paulo, on November 25, 1951, and raised in Caldas, Minas Gerais.[1] [2] He was the son of journalist Joaquim Rodrigues and of Helle Alves, sister of actress Vida Alves. Having a penchant for arts since as a child, Rodrigues went on to study Architecture at the University of Brasília, but did not finish the course; he then moved to Niterói, in Rio de Janeiro, where he graduated in Cinema at the Fluminense Federal University.[3]
His first work was in the 1973 film Vai Trabalhar, Vagabundo!, directed by Hugo Carvana, where he served as assistant director; however, he was not credited. In 1976 he founded alongside Tizuka Yamasaki and Carlos Alberto Diniz a film studio, CPC, which worked on numerous other films by Carvana and Yamasaki's own Parahyba Mulher Macho and .
Rodrigues' directorial debut, Bete Balanço, came out in 1984, which he also wrote and starred Débora Bloch and Lauro Corona.[4] It would be followed by 1985's Rock Estrela and 1987's Rádio Pirata. All of his three films were highly successful, particularly among teenagers, and are notable for their rock- and new wave-laden soundtracks containing songs by bands and singers popular at the time, such as Celso Blues Boy, Lobão, Titãs, Barão Vermelho, RPM, Azul 29, Dr. Silvana & Cia., Léo Jaime and Metrô, among others.
Lael died on February 8, 1989, due to a rupture in his esophagus which eventually led to an acute pancreatitis.[5] His last credited work was the 1988 film Super Xuxa contra Baixo Astral, which he executive-produced and starred famous television presenter Xuxa Meneghel. Lael is survived by his son Luan.