Alberto Seixas Santos
Encyclopedia
Biography
Alberto Jorge Seixas dos Santos was born on March 20, 1936 in LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. Studied Historical-philosophical Sciences in the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon. In 1958, he started to work as a film critic. Studied in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques
L'Institut des hautes études cinématographiques is a French film school, founded during World War II under the leadership of Marcel L'Herbier who was its president from 1944 to 1969. IDHEC offered training for directors and producers, cameramen, sound technicians, editors, art directors and...
(IDHEC) in 1962 and, in the next year, at the London Film School
London Film School
The London Film School is a private film school in London and is situated in a converted brewery in Covent Garden, London, close to a hub of the UK film industry based in Soho. The LFS was founded in 1956 by Bob Dunbar as The London School of Film Technique...
.
Seixas Santos, who belongs to a generation of film club lovers, is part of the cinematic movement called Novo Cinema (New Cinema) and started to shoot documentaries - A Arte e o Ofício de Ourives and Indústria Cervejeira em Portugal (1968). In 1970, he was one of the founders of the Portuguese Cinema Center.
Brandos Costumes
Brandos Costumes
Brandos Costumes is a Portuguese film directed by Alberto Seixas Santos which was a part of the Novo Cinema movement – influenced by the cinematographic neo-realism and specially by the Nouvelle Vague...
, his first feature-film, shot between 1972 and 1975 and written together with the writers Luísa Neto Jorge and Nuno Júdice, draws a line between everyday life of a medium bourgeoisie family and the path of the regime of the military coup of the May 28th, 1926
28th May 1926 coup d'état
The 28 May 1926 coup d'état, sometimes called 28 May Revolution or, during the period of Estado Novo , National Revolution , was a military action that put an end to the unstable Portuguese First Republic and initiated the Ditadura Nacional , later, renamed the Estado Novo, an authoritarian...
. This film was selected to the official competition of the Berlin International Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
.
Seixas Santos was one of the directors of As Armas e o Povo (1975), directed by a group of film-makers, which portraits the week between the April 25
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
and the May 1
International Workers' Day
International Workers' Day is a celebration of the international labour movement and left-wing movements. It commonly sees organized street demonstrations and marches by working people and their labour unions throughout most of the world. May 1 is a national holiday in more than 80 countries...
1974. Following the same political line, sign another collective film A Lei da Terra (1976), shown in the Leipzig Film Festival
International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film
The International Leipzig Festival for Documentary and Animated Film , also known as the Leipzig DOK Festival, is a film festival that takes place annually in Leipzig, Germany. It was founded in 1955 under the name "1st All-German Leipzig Festival of Cultural and Documentary Films" and was the...
. During the same year, was nominated the president of the Portuguese Film Institute. He was one of the founders of Grupo Zero, an organization which had illustrious members such as João César Monteiro
João César Monteiro
João César Monteiro was a Portuguese film director, actor, writer and film critic . He was born in Figueira da Foz on February 2, 1939 and died of cancer in Lisbon on February 3, 2003.- Life and career :...
, Jorge Silva Melo, Ricardo Costa
Ricardo Costa
Ricardo Costa may refer to:*Ricardo Costa , Portuguese*Ricardo Costa , Portuguese*Ricardo Costa *Ricardo Valter da Costa, Brazilian footballer*Ricardo Mion Varella Costa, Brazilian footballer...
, Margarida Gil, Solveig Nordlund
Solveig Nordlund
-Biography:Nordlund took a in History of Arts in the University of Stockholm. In 1962, she meets Alberto Seixas Santos and her interest in cinema grows...
and the cinematographer Acácio de Almeida.
Gestos e Fragmentos (1982), approaches the relation between the military forces and power in Portugal, based in the experiences of Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho
Otelo Nuno Romão Saraiva de Carvalho, GCL , formerly a Portuguese military officer, was the chief strategist of the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon.-Biography:...
, in the point of view of the philosopher and writer Eduardo Lourenço
Eduardo Lourenço
Eduardo Lourenço is a Portuguese essayist, professor, critic, philosopher, and writer. He once attended the Colégio Militar and studied at the University of Coimbra, where he also was professor. He won the Camões Prize in 1996.-References:...
and the American director Robert Kramer
Robert Kramer
Robert Kramer was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He directed 19 films between 1965 and 1999...
. This feature-film participated in the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in the same year.
From 1980 to 2002 he was professor in Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema and, since 1985, for some years, head of programs of RTP
Rádio e Televisão de Portugal
Rádio e Televisão de Portugal, S.A.,commonly known as RTP, is Portugal's public service broadcasting organization. It operates four terrestrial television channels and three national radio channels, as well as several satellite and cable offerings....
.
His most recent feature-film, Mal (1999), was presented at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
. In 2005, finished the short A Rapariga da Mão Morta, premiered in the Festival de Curtas-Metragens de Vila do Conde.
Filmography
- A Arte e Ofício de Ourives (1968)
- Indústria Cervejeira em Portugal (1968)
- Brandos CostumesBrandos CostumesBrandos Costumes is a Portuguese film directed by Alberto Seixas Santos which was a part of the Novo Cinema movement – influenced by the cinematographic neo-realism and specially by the Nouvelle Vague...
(1975) - As Armas e o Povo (1975) - collective film
- A Lei da Terra (1977) - collective film by Grupo Zero
- Gestos e Fragmentos (1982)
- Paraíso Perdido (1992-1995)
- Mal (1999)
- A Rapariga da Mão Morta (2005)
"E o tempo passa" (2011)
Bibliographic References
Dicionário do Cinema Português (1962-1988) by Jorge Leitão Ramos, Editorial Caminho, SA, LisbonLisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 1989 O Cais do Olhar by José de Matos-Cruz
José de Matos-Cruz
José de Matos-Cruz is a Portuguese writer, journalist, editor, high-school teacher, investigator, encyclopedist. From 1980 to 2010, he works at the Cinemateca Portuguesa , in Lisbon...
, Portuguese Cinematheque, 1999