Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira was born on 11 December 1908, in Oporto and was the oldest film director still working in the world.
His last film was a short one called “O velho do Restelo” (the old man of Restelo), “a reflection about humanity”, and was released in December on his 106th birthday.
Since the announcement of his death, tributes to the late film director came from all spectrums of Portuguese society, all looking to acknowledge him and his career that spanned more than eight decades and continued almost until his death, making him the world’s oldest active film-maker.
In a statement, Portugal’s president, Aníbal Cavaco Silva called the Porto-born director “the greatest symbol of Portuguese cinema in the world”. He cited Oliveira as “an example for younger generations” in his capacity to overcome obstacles, noting that right up until the end of his life the director had projects on the go, and recalled a dinner held at the presidential palace to mark Oliveira’s 100th birthday.
Prime Minister, Pedro Passos Coelho, expressed on behalf of the government, its sadness at the director’s passing, saying that Portuguese culture had lost “one of its leading figures” and “the decisive figure in Portuguese cinema in the 20th century “.
Born Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira in 1908, the director began making films at the age of 23, with the silent short Douro, Faina Fluvial (1931). Most of his 60 or so films were made after he reached his 70s, with his last release being O Velho do Restelo, premiered in December to mark his 106th birthday.
In a statement, Portugal’s secretary of state for culture, Jorge Barreto Xavier, said that Oliveira’s “style and distinctive language ... are exemplary as representatives of the power of human creation.”