Born in Leiria in 1922, Antonio Campos is best known for his documentary features, which since the seventies have established him as one of the most perspicacious social observer in Portugal. After studying painting in Porto, he returned to Leiria to make is first film, Um Tesouro (1958), a fiction short. He continued working in short films until 1971, when he moved into documentary feature with the magnificent Vilarinho das Furnas. Setting out to describe the transformations of the Portuguese countryside, Campos began developing a fascinating body of anthropological film work. In 1991 he directed his first fiction feature, Terra fria, based on a novel by Ferreira de Castro.
© Torino Film Festival
