He still had plans for the future at 106 years old. He wanted to keep on shooting and had ideas for future films, but his time was cut short. Manoel de Oliveira, the world's oldest working Film director (or any kind of film director, for that matter) has died in Oporto, the northern capital of Portugal where he was born.
His last movie, "O Velho do Restelo" ("The Old Man of Belem") premiered in 2014, as he was celebrating his 106th birthday. Altogether, his career lasted 83 years and encompasses dozens of movies. He worked with huge celebrities, like John Malkovich and Alfredo Mastroiani, and was considered the master of Portuguese Cinema.
But he was also a sport lover, winning competitions in pole vault and motoring.
A wave of commotion swept the country as it mourned its greatest living legend, a man who directed his last movie at 105 years old and won multiple awards for his outstanding career. Born on December 11, 1908, he was still of good health; he died of cardiac arrest a little before noon this Thursday.
The funeral will be held on Friday at 3 p.m., following a small religious ceremony. He will be buried at Agramonte. Two days of national mourning will be respected by State order.
"Film making is art making, the last of the arts, the Seventh Art", the Portuguese director used to say. He should know: he started doing movies in 1928, when it was still a nascent industry.
First as an actor, in Rino Lupo's "Fátima Milagrosa," and then as a director, with the short "Douro, Faina Fluvial" in 1931.
His first feature film was "Aniki-Bobó", in 1942, with the country already under Salazar's fascism dictatorship. He almost gave up movies after that, for lack of financial support, and retreated to agriculture until 1956.
In 1962, he was arrested by state police PIDE over the movie "O Acto da Primavera", which ended up granting him his first award, at Siena Film Festival.
In 1985, he received the Golden Lion in Venice and in 1989 he was awarded with the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry the Navigator by then President Mário Soares.
In 2004, he received the Palm d'Or at Cannes Film festival and just last year, the French Legion of Honour. ambassador in Portugal Jean-François Blarel
He married Maria Isabel Brandão Carvalhais in 1940, with whom he raised four children. They stayed together till the end.