Born in Andorra, João went to Lisbon, Portugal where, after finishing his Art Studies degree in college he progressed to study Architecture in Universidade Lusíada. Soon after he decided to pursue his dream of making films and joined Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema. In 2006 he graduated with a BA in Cinematography and in the following year obtained his Masters degree in Film Directing. After that, João worked in the camera and directing departments on major Portuguese film productions. In between, he worked at the Gulbenkian Foundation. In 2011 he took his second MA in Film Curating, during which he got the opportunity of working in the Rotterdam and Cannes Film Festivals. Currently João is a Film Programmer at the Student Film Festival London.