Manoel de Oliveira

Manoel de Oliveira was born in Porto, Portugal on December 11, 1908, to Francisco José de Oliveira and Cândida Ferreira Pinto. His family was constituted by wealthy industrialists.
Oliveira attended school in Galicia, Spain and his goal as a teenager was to become an actor. He enrolled in Italian film-maker Rino Lupo's acting school at 20, but later he changed his mind when he saw Walther Ruttmann's documentary “Berlin: Symphony of a City”. This prompted him to direct his first film, also a documentary, titled “Douro, Faina Fluvial” (1931).
Filmography
Douro, Faina Fluvial (documentary, 1931)
Estátuas de Lisboa (documentary, 1932) \
Os Últimos Temporais: Cheias do Tejo (documentary, 1937)
Miramar, Praia das Rosas (documentary, 1938)
Já se fabricam automóveis em Portugal (documentary, 1938)
Famalicão (documentary, 1941)
Aniki-Bóbó (1942)
O Pintor e a Cidade (documentary, 1956)
O Coração (documentary, 1958)
O Pão (documentary, 1959)
Acto de Primavera (1963)
A Caça (1963)
Villa Verdinho: Uma Aldeia Transmontana (documentary, 1964)
As Pinturas do Meu Irmão Júlio (documentary, 1965)
O Passado e o Presente (1971)
Benilde ou a Virgem Mãe (1974)
Amor de Perdição (1978)
Francisca (1981)
Visita ou Memórias e Confissões (1982)
Lisboa Cultural (documentary, 1983)
Nice... À Propos de Jean Vigo (documentary, 1983)
Le Soulier de Satin (1985)
Mon Cas (1987)
A Propósito da Bandeira Nacional (1987)
Os Canibais (1988)
Non, ou A Vã Glória de Mandar (1990)
A Divina Comédia (1991)
O Dia do Desespero (1992)
Vale Abraão (1993)
A Caixa (1994)
O Convento (1995)
Party (1996)
Viagem ao Princípio do Mundo (1997)
Inquietude (1998)
La Lettre (1999)
Palavra e Utopia (2000)
Je Rentre à la Maison (2001)
Porto da Minha Infância (2001)
O Princípio da Incerteza (2002)
Momento (2002)
Um Filme Falado (2003)
O Quinto Império: Ontem Como Hoje (2004)
Espelho Mágico (2005)
Do Visível ao Invisível (2005)
Belle Toujours (2006)
O Improvável não é Impossível (2006)
Cristóvão Colombo - O Enigma (2007)
Honors and decorations
In 2008, Manoel de Oliveira was awarded a doctorate degree honoris causa by the University of the Algarve. He had also been awarded the Order of St. James of the Sword by the President of Portugal. In addition, he has received multiple honours such as those of the Cannes, Venice and Montreal film festivals. He has been awarded two Career Golden Lions in 1985 and 2004 and a Golden Palm for his lifetime achievements in 2008.