Ituiutaba (Brazil), 1939

By Afrânio Mendes Catani

A Brazilian filmmaker and activist associated with the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB), he enrolled in the Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo (USP) and became involved with the National Union of Students (UNE). As a student, he made short films and left USP following the military coup of 1964. He directed the short Liberdade de Imprensa (Freedom of the Press, 1967) with Renato Tapajós, which was seized by the Army for its characteristic approach: street interviews with ordinary people, direct intervention by the director, and absence of voice-over narration. His first feature film, Gamal, o delírio do sexo (Gamal, the Delirium of Sex, 1969), was shot in eleven days on the streets and in the outskirts of São Paulo. In 1972, he transitioned to TV journalism at TV Cultura, where he produced several socially-themed short films. Dismissed in 1974 due to political pressures, he moved to Globo Repórter at Rede Globo, producing significant documentaries like Wilsinho Galiléia (1978). He directed Doramundo (1978), an adaptation of Geraldo Ferraz’s novel, and O Homem que Virou Suco (The Man Who Became Juice, 1980), focusing on the theme of northeastern migrants trying to survive in São Paulo. He also directed A Próxima Vítima (The Next Victim, 1982), the documentary Céu Aberto (Open Sky, 1985), and O País dos Tenentes (Country of the Lieutenants, 1987). He returned to feature filmmaking in the 1990s, directing four films that had less impact: O Cego que Gritava Luz (The Blind Man Who Shouted Light, 1995), O Tronco (The Log, 1999), Rua 6, Sem Número (Street 6, No Number, 2003), and Vida de Artista (Artist’s Life, 2004). In 2005, the same year he released the documentary Vlado – 30 Anos Depois (Vlado – 30 Years Later), he took on the role of São Paulo’s State Secretary of Culture. In 2012, he was appointed CEO of the Memorial of Latin America Foundation.