D'Almeida was born in
Belo Horizonte into a
Methodist family. He studied theater at the TU (Teatro Universitário de Minas Gerais), participated in the Centro de Estudos Cinematográficos (Center of Film Studies), and the Centro Mineiro Experimental when he started to work as an filmmaker. Some of its transgressive, avant-garde films were censored or banned by the
Brazilian military dictatorship. His 1978 film
Lady on the Bus, starring
Sônia Braga, is the third highest-grossing Brazilian film of all time In 1970 he went to New York, where he collaborated with
Hélio Oiticica in the art installation
Cosmococas. ==Filmography==