Flavio Alves is a Brazilian film writer, director, and producer. He was granted political asylum in the United States in 1998 with the help of the Immigrants and Refugee Rights Clinic at the City University of New York School of Law. Shortly thereafter, he attended Columbia University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science. After graduating, Alves worked as an assistant to then-New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and to then-New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner (D-NY).In 2007, Flavio returned to school to study film production at New York University, where he received the Technisphere Award for Outstanding Achievement. Since then he has directed several films, including The Secret Friend (2010) and Tom in America (2014). His debut film, The Garden Left Behind (2019), premiered at SXSW, where it won the Audience Award. The Garden Left Behind is an IFP Narrative Lab project and has recently received the support from GLAAD, NALIP, Trans Filmmakers Project, and PFLAG. Flavio is the recipient of grants from numerous organizations, including the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), and Jerome Foundation.In 2016, Alves pioneered the use of eBay as a crowdfunding platform by selling thousands of donated items online to help to finance his film. In 2018, Flavio was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center to the Artist Academy fellowship, which is a program designed to support the next generation of filmmakers from a variety of backgrounds as they develop their careers. He is also a fellow with the Ryan Murphy's Half Initiative directing program. Flavio Alves is the founder of Queens Pictures LLC, a New York-based film production company.. Show less «