Rainmaker [reyn-mey-ker] –noun: 1. a medicine man who by various rituals and incantations causes it to rain when needed 2. a person who induces rainfall by using various scientific techniques 3. an executive with exceptional ability to attract clients, use connections, increase profits, etc. By all definitions, Elias Ribiero is a rainmaker. Born in Brazil, Elias has traveled the world and speaks four languages. Now learning Zulu. As a child he studied acting and became interested in photography, knowing that his calling as an adult would be to create quality works of truth and beauty. After earning his Bachelor’s degree at the Unicentro Newton Paiva in Brazil, he formed the Lugar Cultural Venue, an organization that became one of the largest cultural venues in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
As an adult, Elias fell in love with filmmaking in all its forms: producing, directing, and cinematography. He began working as a production assistant while living in London. As the people around him recognized his talents, his role grew to include casting, location scouting and eventually creative producing. Using his natural ability to “see” talent, he has worked as a professional talent scout in London for Heather March Casting, The Zebra Collection and The Broadcast Agency. Elias has also been the creative director of Stripes Media since 2007, producing and directing television series all over the world, and he has also worked as a producer for Pure Film Limited.
Currently Elias is persuing his Master's in Fine Arts degree at AFDA in Johannesburg, South Africa. The focus of his research project is Creative Producing in a Transmedia Environment. He believes this will put him at the forefront of the media convergence revolution we are witnessing. Now is one of those rare and privileged moments in time when a cycle ends and it is up to us to start the next one. He agrees with Reilhac (2011) :
"Yes: it is a major crisis for independent cinema, which is reaching the end of a cycle, but it is also a chance to reinvent us.
No: the economic models are not here yet because it is too early: the financial system only comes in place when the risk is eliminated. Now is the time for risk takers and explorers, they will pave the way for the financiers."
Elias views film as a means of translating to the audience our lives as seen by the proverbial fly on the wall. He believes in capturing humanity in all its facets, stripping off its mask, and revealing to us what is underneath.
Since his initiation into the film world, he has produced, filmed, and directed, music videos, films and television series, and has several other projects in various stages of development. He is always interested in meeting new people who wish to collaborate and create a project that stimulates the intellect, the heart, and the funny bone. Like the executive rainmaker, Elias uses his connections and people skills to make things happen. Like the scientific rainmaker, he uses technology to create projects that give us something we are lacking. And like the shaman, he sometimes uses methods unseen by us to give us what we need.
