Waldir Xavier studied journalism, philosophy, and cinema. He now works as an image and sound editor and has collaborated with numerous directors, including Youssef Chahine, Pedro Costa, João Botelho, and Raoul Peck. He directed the carnival-themed documentary Barracão, and has worked on more than 90 feature films, the best-known of which are Walter Salles’s Central Station (1998), which won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival; Lorenzo Vigas's From Afar (2015), which took the Golden Lion at the Venice International Film Festival; and Karim Aïnouz's The Invisible Life of Eurídice Gusmão (2019), which won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Festival de Cannes. Xavier is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.