Born in São Paulo in 1928 and died in Rio de Janeiro in 2018, Nelson Pereira dos Santos was a founder of Brazil's Cinema Novo, and made Rio, 40 Degrees (1955), shot on location with non-professional actors and influenced by Italian neorealism. His adaptation of Graciliano Ramos's novel, Vidas Secas (1963), about a family of drought refugees, is a cornerstone of the movement. He went on to make How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman (1971), a cannibal satire on colonialism, and Memories of Prison (1984). In 2006 he became the first film-maker elected to the Brazilian Academy of Letters.
Filmography
- Rio, 40 Degrees (1955)
- Vidas Secas (1963)
- Boca de Ouro (1963)
- How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman (1971)
- The Amulet of Ogum (1974)
- Tent of Miracles (1977)
- Memories of Prison (1984)
- Jubiabá (1986)