ABOUT ME
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RAFAEL LEAL
Screenwriter, producer, XR Creator
Rafael Leal (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a multimedia storyteller based in Berlin, known for his work as screenwriter and producer for series, films, games and XR experiences, with original series and features created for Disney, NBC/Universal and Fox, among others.
The highlights of his work are the series “A Dona da Banca” (CineBrasilTV) e “Jungle Pilot” (Universal) and the feature film “Cedo Demais” (Fox), in addition to dozens of other films and series as screenwriter or consultant, such as “Sequestro do Voo 345” (Star+),
Holding a PhD in Film from UFF (Brazil), Rafael developed at LMU Munich (Germany), with a DAAD doctoral grant, part of his research about immersive and interactive narratives, under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Christoph Bode (LMU). These new media have been increasingly part of his artistic practice, and most of his new projects are related somehow to interactivity and immersion.
Rafael has also published scientific articles in prestigious journals, chapters in international edited books including the Palgrave Handbook of Screenwriting Studies, and in 2023 also published the book Roteiro Audiovisual: Estudos Contemporâneos (Audiovisual Screenplay: contemporary studies), the first edited book of Screenwriting Studies ever published in Brazil.
Between 2016 and 2022, Rafael was professor of Screenwriting at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and has been invited to lecture about screenwriting and VR in schools universities all over the world, such Universidad de los Andes (Santiago, Chile), University of South Carolina (Columbia, USA), FilmArche and Catalyst Film Institute (both from Berlin, Germany).
Additionally, Rafael has mentored more than 350 emerging screenwriters, especially from marginalized communities, in labs such as FLUP – Feira Literária das Periferias, Gullane’s Narrativas Negras and Netflix’s Segundo Ato.
Currently, Rafael is creator and head writer of a to-be announced original series for Disney+, and also has been acting as lead producer at Dedalo Productions, which he founded in 2014 alongside with the distinguished Brazilian writer and director Marton Olympio.
I have been writing professionally since 2006, concentrating mostly on scripts for films and TV series, but recently I have created more and more for Virtual Reality and other immersive or interactive media.
In 2014, I co-founded Dédalo Productions with Marton Olympio, a company dedicated to creative development and intellectual property management. At Dédalo, I work as both a screenwriter and executive producer focused on development.
ACADEMIC
I obtained a degree in
Film from the Universidade Federal Fluminense (Niterói, Brazil) and completed my MA in Performance Art at the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, with a master’s thesis focused on creative research. I have also a Ph.D. in Film from the Universidade Federal Fluminense, and I’ve received a Doctoral Research Grant from DAAD to conduct my research on immersive and interactive narratives at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (Germany). I am currently professor of Screenwriting at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, one of the leading private universities in Latin America, and I serve on the Executive Council of the Screenwriting Research Network and on the Board of Counselors of ABRA – the Brazilian Association of Screenwriters.
