Glauber Rocha

Glauber Rocha
Born (1939-03-14)14 March 1939
Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil
Died 22 August 1981(1981-08-22) (aged 42)
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Occupation Film director
Years active 1959 – 1981
Spouse(s) Helena Ignez (1959-1961)

Glauber de Andrade Rocha (14 March 1939 – 22 August 1981) was a Brazilian film director, actor and writer. He was a key figure in the Cinema Novo movement, and directed two of the most influential Brazilian films, Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (Black God, White Devil) (1964) and Terra em Transe (Entranced Earth) (1967). Both are considered to be some of the greatest films in Brazilian film history.[1] He won the Prix de la mise en scène at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival for Antonio das Mortes.

Biography

Rocha was born in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil and moved with his family to Salvador when he was only 9 years old, there studying in a famous and respected Presbyterian school.

During his adolescence, he developed great interest in arts, especially theatre and cinema, and even joined a drama group. He was also very active in politics, a trait that would be strongly influential in his works. A member of the Brazilian radical left, he helped start a political party in the late 1950s that called for an anti-capitalist people's revolution and, among other things, advocated the abolition of money.

By the age of 16 he started freelancing for a local newspaper and debuted as a movie reviewer. Later, he attended Law School for about two years and in 1959, after taking part in some projects as assistant, he finally directed his first short, "Pátio". After gaining some recognition in Bahia for his critical and artistic work, Rocha decided to quit college and pursue a journalistic career, as well as being a film-maker.

He is famous for his film trilogy, made up of Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (1964) - perhaps his most acclaimed movie, nominated for the Golden Palm - Terra em Transe (1967) and O Dragão da Maldade Contra o Santo Guerreiro (1969), award-winning for Best Director at Cannes. His films were renowned for their strongly-expressed political themes, often combined with mysticism and folklore, but also for their particular style and photography. Rocha is regarded as one of the best Brazilian directors of all time and leader of the Cinema Novo movement, as well as a full-time polemicist. He once said "I am the Cinema Novo",[2] paraphrasing Louis XIV's famous quote. In an interview with Le Monde, Rocha said "My Brazilian films belong to a whole period when my generation was full of wild dreams and hopes. They are full of enthusiasm, faith and militancy and were inspired by my great love of Brazil."[3]

In 1969 he was a member of the jury at the 6th Moscow International Film Festival.[4]

In 1971, during the Brazilian military dictatorial regime, he left the country to a voluntary exile, dwelling in many places, such as Spain, Chile and Portugal. He never completely returned home until his last days, when he was transferred from Lisbon, where he had been receiving medical treatment for a lung infection, to Rio de Janeiro. Rocha resisted in hospital for few days, but ultimately died on August 22, 1981, at the age of 42. He had been married three times and had five children.

Filmography

Quotations

On art:

On politics:

On himself:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tose, Juliano. "contracampo – revista de cinema" (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2008-02-06.
  2. ↑ Sidney Rezende :: Livros
  3. ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/1981/08/23/obituaries/glauber-rocha-is-dead-at-42-innovative-brazilian-director.html
  4. ↑ "6th Moscow International Film Festival (1969)". MIFF. Retrieved 2012-12-17.

External links

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