Rocha was born in
Vitória da Conquista,
Bahia, Brazil, and moved with his family to
Salvador when he was only nine years old, there studying in a well-known
Presbyterian school. During his adolescence, he developed great interest in arts, especially theatre and cinema, and even joined a drama group. He was also very active in politics, a trait that would be strongly influential in his works. A member of the Brazilian
radical left, he helped start a
political party in the late 1950s that called for an anti-
capitalist people's revolution and, among other things, advocated the abolition of money. By the age of 16, he started
freelancing for a local newspaper and debuted as a movie reviewer. Later, he attended Law School for about two years and in 1959, after taking part in some projects as assistant, he finally directed his first
Short film,
Pátio. After gaining some recognition in Bahia for his critical and artistic work, Rocha decided to quit college and pursue a journalistic career, as well as being a
film-maker. He is famous for his film trilogy, made up of
Black God, White Devil (1964) – perhaps his most acclaimed movie, nominated for the
Golden Palm -
Entranced Earth (1967) and
Antonio das Mortes (1969), award-winning for Best Director at
Cannes. His films were renowned for their strongly-expressed political themes, often combined with mysticism and folklore, but also for their particular style and photography. Rocha is regarded as one of the best Brazilian directors of all time and leader of the
Cinema Novo movement, as well as a full-time polemicist. He once said, "I am the Cinema Novo," paraphrasing
Louis XIV's famous quote. In an interview with
Le Monde, Rocha said: "My Brazilian films belong to a whole period when my generation was full of wild dreams and hopes. They are full of enthusiasm, faith and militancy and were inspired by my great love of Brazil." In 1969, he was a member of the jury at the
6th Moscow International Film Festival. In the following year, Rocha made a brief appearance in the
Dziga Vertov Group film
Wind from the East. After refusing an invitation by
Jean-Luc Godard to shoot a segment of the film, Rocha appeared as a man in a crossway pointing the direction of the political cinema, namely, the Cinema Novo. In 1971, during the
Brazilian military dictatorship, he left the country to a voluntary
exile, dwelling in many places, such as
Spain,
Chile, and
France, eventually relocating to the
Portuguese Riviera, with the help of his friend, Portuguese filmmaker
Manuel Carvalheiro. He never completely returned home until his last days, when he was transferred from
Lisbon, where he had been receiving medical treatment for a lung infection, to
Rio de Janeiro. Rocha resisted in hospital for few days, but ultimately died on August 22, 1981, at the age of 42. He had been married three times and had five children. His daughter
Ava is a singer-songwriter. ==Filmography==