Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel de Oliveira was born in Porto, Portugal on December 11, 1908, to Francisco José de Oliveira and Cândida Ferreira Pinto. His family were wealthy industrialists. Oliveira attended school in Galicia, Spain and his goal as a teenager was to become an actor. He enrolled in Italian film-maker Rino Lupo's acting school at age 20, but later changed his mind when he saw Walther Ruttmann's documentary Berlin: Symphony of a City. This prompted him to direct his first film, also a documentary, titledDouro, Faina Fluvial (1931). He also acted in the second Portuguese sound film, A Canção de Lisboa (1933). His first feature film came much later, in 1942. Aniki-Bóbó, a portrait of Oporto's street children, was a commercial failure when it opened, and its merit only came to be recognised over time. This drawback forced Oliveira to abandon other film projects he was involved in, and to dedicate himself to running his family vineyard. He re-emerged onto the film scene in 1956 with The Artist and the City, a work that marked a turning point in Oliveira's conception of the cinema. In 1963, O Acto de Primavera (The Rite of Spring), a documentary depicting an annual passion play, marked a turning point for his career. This was shortly followed by A caça (The Hunt), a grim feature film that contrasted with the happy tones of his previous documentary. Despite the widespread acclaim garnered by both films, he would not return to the director's seat until the 1970s. Since 1990 (when he turned 82), he has made at least one film each year. Oliveira has said that he direct movies for the sheer pleasure of doing it, regardless of critical reaction. He maintains a quiet life away from the spotlights, despite multiple honours such as those of the Cannes, Venice and Montreal film festivals. He has been awarded two Career Golden Lions in 1985 and 2004 and a golden palm for his lifetime achievements in 2008.
63 directing credits · 45 acting credits
Directing · 63
To Each His Own Cinema
2007
No, or the Vain Glory of Command
1990
Abraham's Valley
1993
Belle Toujours
2006
Doomed Love
1978
Francisca
1981
The Uncertainty Principle
2002
Magic Mirror
2006
I’m Going Home
2001
The Letter
1999
Eccentricities of a Blonde-Haired Girl
2009
Inquietude
1998
A Talking Picture
2003
The Satin Slipper
1986
The Strange Case of Angelica
2010
Voyage to the Beginning of the World
1997
Blind Man's Bluff
1994
Gebo and the Shadow
2012
Party
1996
The Convent
1995
Visit, or Memories and Confessions
2015
The Fifth Empire
2004
Aniki-Bóbó
1942
Word and Utopia
2000
My Case
1986
The Divine Comedy
1991
Invisible World
2013
Lisboa Cultural
1984
Working on the Douro River
1931
The Cannibals
1988
The Old Man of Belem
2014
Porto of My Childhood
2001
A Friendly Handshake
1997
Bread
1959
Christopher Columbus, The Enigma
2007
The Hunt
1964
Miramar, Praia das Rosas
1938
Doomed Love
1979
Romance de Vila do Conde
2008
Past and Present
1972
The Conquered Conqueror
2012
The Panels of São Vicente de Fora: A Poetic Vision
2010
Simpósio Internacional de Escultura em Pedra
1986
Benilde or the Virgin Mother
1975
Portugal Já Faz Automóveis
1938
As Pinturas do Meu Irmão Júlio
1965
A Century of Energy
2015
Acto da Primavera
1963
White Coal
1932
Nice - À propos de Jean Vigo
1983
Historic Centre
2012
The Artist and the City
1956
Famalicão
1941
Day of Despair
1992
O Improvável Não é Impossível
2006
Do Visível ao Invísivel
2005
O Poeta Doido, o Vitral e a Santa Morta
2008
Villa Verdinho - Uma Aldeia Transmontana
1964
Moment
2002
Os Últimos Temporais - Cheias do Tejo
1937
A Propósito da Bandeira Nacional
1988
Lisbon statues
1932
Chafariz das Virtudes
2014
Acting · 45
Zona+
1994
Agnès Varda: From Here to There
2011
Já Está
1987
Sodankylä Forever
2010
Lisbon Story
1994
Cinématon
1978
No, or the Vain Glory of Command
1990
Henri Langlois vu par...
2014
Doomed Love
1978
Jornal Português (1938-1951)
2015
Inquietude
1998
A Talking Picture
2003
Guest
2011
The Satin Slipper
1986
Voyage to the Beginning of the World
1997
Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember
1997
História do Cinema Português
2001
Visit, or Memories and Confessions
2015
Biette
2013
The Green Years
1963
The Divine Comedy
1991
A Song of Lisbon
1933
The Conversation Is Over
1982
Agnès Varda: From Here to There
2011
101
2012
The Life of Mirrors
2025
Porto of My Childhood
2001
The 15th Stone
2007
A Friendly Handshake
1997
Christopher Columbus, The Enigma
2007
Doomed Love
1979
Agostinho da Silva - A Living Thought
2003
Conversazione a Porto
2006
The Glory of Filmmaking in Portugal
2015
Benilde or the Virgin Mother
1975
Oliveira, l'architecte
1993
Nice - À propos de Jean Vigo
1983
Fátima Milagrosa
1928
Cinématon XI
1981
Cinéma Portugais – Un Mode d'Emploi
1990
O Improvável Não é Impossível
2006
No Tempo do Cinema
2006
Manoel de Oliveira, O Caso Dele
2007
Sem Cura - à saúde de Manoel de Oliveira
2011
Cinématon n°102 : Manoel de Oliveira
1981