Leon Hirszman

Leon Hirszman was one of the main figures of the Brazilian Cinema Novo movement, which emerged in the 1960s and aimed to portray the social and political realities of the country. He started his career with a short film, Pedreira de São Diogo, which was part of the anthology Cinco Vezes Favela (1962). His first feature film was The Deceased (1965), based on a play by Nelson Rodrigues, which marked the film debut of Fernanda Montenegro. He then directed several documentaries and fiction films, such as São Bernardo (1972), an adaptation of Graciliano Ramos's novel; They Don't Wear Black Tie (1981), a drama about a workers' strike that won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival; and ABC da Greve (1990), a documentary about the same strike that was released posthumously. He also explored the musical and cultural aspects of Brazil in films such as Nelson Cavaquinho (1969), Partido Alto (1982), and Bahia de Todos os Sambas (1996). He died from complications of HIV AIDS in 1987, at the age of 49. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential Brazilian filmmakers of all time.