"Cinema is the only mirror of life. And being the mirror of life, it is also the memory of life."
May 2008 in Cannes. Manoel de Oliveira and his wife attend the 61th edition of the festival, which for the first time, will reward the work of older filmmakers in activity and only having experienced the era of silent cinema. He received a Gold Award for lifetime achievement. The award is given to him by his friend, the French actor Michel Piccoli. This Palm d'Or, Portuguese filmmaker greets with humor: "I am very touched to gold palm finally ... I received," he says.
Born December 12, 1908 in an industrial bourgeois family in Porto, the young Manoel early interest in film, but is first directed towards the sport. Athletics, swimming, car racing, he's a brilliant athlete. But the film's appeal is stronger and soon 19, he starts to turn, first as an actor.
Some films before his biggest role at the age of 25 years in "the song of Lisbon," the first talkie Portuguese. Meanwhile, he continues to study acting and directed his first short film
He married Isabel de Oliveira who will give him 4 children.
In 1942, he launched and released his first feature film. "Aniki Bobo", a neo-realistic view of Portugal through the children's daily Porto. The film was poorly received by local critics.
Injured and victims of the economic crisis, Oliveira put back 14 years behind the camera.
Therefore, it connects movies on film, rotates with the largest, including international stars such as Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich in 1995. Since 1990 he has released one film a year.
A perpetual activity, "When you stop, everything dies; when you move, everything lives, "he said at the microphone euronews on the eve of its 100th anniversary. And when our reporter asked him what accounted for the cinema, he replied that: "A Mexican director once said" the cinema is the mirror of life. " It is the mirror of life like nothing else. Cinema is the only mirror of life. And being the mirror of life, there is also the living memory. "
No doubt Oliveira will remain in the memory of cinema as one of his most brilliant and prolific servants.
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