São Paulo (Brasil), 1928
By Afrânio Mendes Catani
The director of 35 films, including both feature and short films, he graduated in law from the University of São Paulo (USP) and joined the Brazilian Communist Party (PCB) in 1945. He worked in various newspapers as a film critic and editor, engaged in amateur theater in São Paulo, and, during the 1940s and 1950s, actively participated in class associations, congresses, meetings, and demonstrations in support of Brazilian cinema. His first short film was the documentary Juventude (1950), shot in 16 mm. He worked as an assistant director for Rodolfo Nanni on O Saci, for Alex Vianny on Agulha no palheiro, and for Paulo Wanderley on Balança mas não cai, all released in 1953.
Using a co-op system with limited resources and influenced by Italian neorealism, he directed Rio, 40 graus (1955), an urban mosaic of Brazil’s then capital, with several intertwined stories. This style continued with Rio, zona norte (1957). After distancing himself from the PCB, he produced O grande momento (directed by Roberto Santos, 1958). He edited Barravento (directed by Glauber Rocha, 1962), directed Mandacaru vermelho (1961), Boca de ouro (1963)—an adaptation of Nelson Rodrigues’ play and his first box-office success—and Vidas secas (1963), a film adaptation of Graciliano Ramos’ classic novel about a northeastern family of migrants suffering through drought. The film earned numerous awards in Brazil and abroad.
The 1964 military coup forced him to work for Jornal do Brasil and make commissioned documentaries. In 1967, he directed El justicero, and in 1968, Fome de amor. Azyllo muito louco (1971) was adapted from Machado de Assis’ O alienista. Como era gostoso o meu francês (1972), which revisited the story of Hans Staden, a German castaway captured by Portuguese and Tupinambá Indians, was a significant box-office success. In 1973, he directed Quem é Beta? (Pas de violence entre nous). O amuleto de Ogum (1975) focused on crime and the Afro-Brazilian religion Umbanda. Both Tenda dos milagres (1977) and Jubiabá (1987) were based on novels by Jorge Amado. Estrada da vida (1981) highlighted the popular Brazilian sertanejo musicians Milionário and José Rico.
In 1984, he premiered Memórias do cárcere, based on Graciliano Ramos’ work, and returned to filmmaking only in 1994 with A terceira margem do rio, drawing from a character by Guimarães Rosa. Inspired by a book by historian Silvia Oroz and funded by the British Film Institute, he directed Cinema de lágrimas (1995). He also completed television projects, including works on writer Gilberto Freyre (Casa grande & senzala, 2001) and composer Zé Kéti (Meu compadre Zé Ketti, 2001, short). His two most recent films are the features Raízes do Brasil (2004), an adaptation of historian Sérgio Buarque de Holanda’s book, and Brasília 18% (2006). He began teaching film in various institutions in the mid-1960s, when he joined the University of Brasília (UnB).
