Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), 1946

By Luiz Felipe Alves de Miranda

Júlio Eduardo Bressane de Azevedo is regarded as an experimental filmmaker. His debut feature film, Cara a cara (1968), was a poetic film close to the ideals of Cinema Novo. He made two landmark works that inaugurated the concept of “cinema marginal”: O anjo nasceu and Matou a família e foi ao cinema (1969). In 1970, along with Rogério Sganzerla, he experienced the whirlwind of Belair Filmes, directing A família do barulho, Barão Olavo, o horrível, and Cuidado madame in just three months. In 1971, he filmed abroad, creating A fada do oriente, Crazy love (Amor louco), and Memórias de um estrangulador de loiras; in 1972, Lágrima pantera. Back in Brazil, he worked with popular artists: Grande Otelo starred in O rei do baralho (1973); Carlos Imperial featured in O monstro caraíba (1975); and Jece Valadão appeared in O gigante da América (1978). He directed Agonia (1976), intensifying his experimental approach. His subsequent films engaged with Brazilian culture – Tabu (1982), Brás Cubas (1985), Sermões – A história de Antônio Vieira (1990); O mandarim (1995), Miramar (1997), São Jerônimo (1999) – and high culture, with Dias de Nietzsche em Turim (2002). Other works include: Filme de amor (2003), Cleópatra (2007), A Erva do Rato (2008), and Educação Sentimental (2013).