Biography
Leon Hirszman was a Brazilian filmmaker, one of the main figures of the Brazilian Cinema Novo movement. His first short film, Pedreira de São Diogo, was one of the five segments of Cinco Vezes Favela, an important film for New Cinema released in 1962. His first full-lenght motion picture was an adaptation of playwright Nelson Rodrigues' A Falecida (The Deceased). The film already spoke on a subject dear to Leon: the social alienation of the working class. Working both with documentaries and fictional narratives, among Leon's body of work are the documentaries Nelson Cavaquinho, Megalópolis, Ecologia and Sexta-feira da Paixão, Sábado de aleluia. In 1971, he releases São Bernardo, a work of fiction based off Graciliano Ramos' eponymous book. He was also responsible for films such as Cantos do Trabalho no Campo, Que País É Esse?, Rio, Carnaval da Vida and ABC da Greve. For his 1981 film Eles Não Usam Black Tie (They Don't Wear Black Tie), the 1981 Venice Film Festival gave him three awar