Brazilian director and producer Paulo Thiago died yesterday at age 75 of a cardiac arrest as as a result of a hematological condition. He died in a hospital in Rio de Janeiro, where he had been since May 7. He directed 13 films, including the 1974 film Sagarana: The Duel / Sagarana, o Duelo, which participated in the official competition at the 24th Berlin International Film Festival.
Born in Aimorés, Minas Gerais, on October 8, 1945, Thiago moved with his family to Rio de Janeiro at age five. He studied economics and political sociology at the Pontifical Catholic University, before switching to cinema. He made his cinematic debut in 1969 with the documentary film A Criação Literária de João Guimarães Rosa on the Brazilian writer. One year later he premiered his debut fiction film Masters of the Land / Os Senhores da Terra, which participated at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival in 1970.
In 1974 he participated in the main competition at the Berlinale with his second fiction feature film Sagarana: The Duel, based on a short story by Guimarães Rosa, starring Joel Barcellos, Milton Moraes, and Ítala Nandi, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Dorival Caymmi.
Other film credits as a director include Eagle at the Top / Águia na Cabeça (1984); The Long Haul /Jorge, um Brasileiro (1989); The Patriot / Policarpo Quaresma, Herói do Brasil (1997), which played at the Toronto Film Festival; and The Children's Orchestra / Orquestra dos Meninos (2008).
His 2005 acclaimed documentary This Is Bossa Nova / Coisa Mais Linda: Histórias e Casos da Bossa Nova— on the popular Brazilian music born in the early fifties—played widely internationally. His last film was the 2016 comedy Doidas e Santas, and reportedly he had been working on a new film titled Rabo de Foguete based on the book by writer Ferreira Gullar.
In addition to his work as a director, he also produced other films including Paulo Sérgio Almeida’s Beijo na Boca (1982), Oswaldo Caldeira’s O Bom Bourgeo (1983), Haroldo Marinho Barbosa’s Engraçadinha (1981), and Tizuka Yamasaki’s Aparecida, o Miracle. Additionally, he served as President of the Union of Film and Audiovisual Industry of Rio de Janeiro (SICAV) and of the Brazilian Association of Film Producers, and was one of the founders of the Brazilian Association of Filmmakers.
Thiago is survived by his wife, producer Gláucia Camargos, and his sons Pedro Antonio, who is also a filmmaker, and Paulo Francisco, who is a musician.
