He worked as an assistant for then-New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Congressman Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
Attended Columbia University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in Political Science.
He was granted political asylum in the US in 1998.
He was awarded the 2008 Techinisphere Award for best student film, Even in My Dreams, by NYU.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In 2016, while in pre-production for his film, The Garden Left Behind, Alves and his team pioneered the use of eBay as a crowdfunding platform, where they raised more than $100,000 by selling donated items on online.
In 2018, Alves was selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center to the Artist Academy fellowship.