Manoel de Oliveira legendary director of Portugal dies at 106 years – N24

The Portuguese legendary director Manoel de Oliveira died. Film producer Luis Urbano announced the news of his death, citing the family, de Oliveira was 106 years old.

Portuguese media said he died at his home in Porto. The death of the award-winning director called in Politiker- and artistic circles of the country’s great sympathy forth, Lisbon ordered a two-day national mourning.

“The Portuguese culture is today one of its greatest personalities lost,” said Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. President Aníbal Cavaco Silva called him an “incomparable witnesses” of the country’s culture, made this known abroad. Margarida Gil, President of the Portuguese Association director, said de Oliveira had become “immortal” by his cinematic art

De Oliveira’s career began in 1931 -., Nor in time of silent films. He was until shortly before his death actively and created more than 50 feature films and documentaries.

1908 born in Porto de Oliveira got from his father taught film-enthusiastic early love for cinema. He made the first steps still as an actor in a silent movie to “Hard work along the Douro River” was also automatically as a director with the documentation. Also on the first film in Portuguese, he worked with, but again as an actor. 1942 followed as a director of socially critical feature film “Aniki-Bóbó” whose social importance was recognized until years later.

Under the dictatorship of António Salazar could de Oliveira’s work ahead only very limited, but his work intensified after his death all the more – the most of his works were written after his 60th birthday. Despite poor health and financial constraints due to recent cuts in Portuguese film promotion de Oliveira remained active until the end. Still on his 106th birthday last December, he presented his film “O Velho do Restelo” (The Old Man of RESTELO) ago.

During his long creative life of director awards include the Golden Lion at the Film Festival Venice, the Palme d’Or at Cannes for his life’s work and was a member of the French Legion of Honour. “I am an orphan, as well as the cinema of the world,” wrote the former President of the Festival of Cannes, Gilles Jacob, in the short message service Twitter. “He was a master.”