Renowned Brazilian musician, filmmaker, and composer Sérgio Ricardo, died on Thursday, July 23 in Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 88 of a heart attack. A multifaceted artist working as musician, composer, actor, director, writer, poet, and painter, Ricardo was part of not one but two iconic artistic movements that shaped Brazilian society and culture in the 20th century: Bossa Nova and Cinema Novo.
Born João Lutfi on June 18, 1932 in the city of Marília, São Paulo, Ricardo started instruction in music at the age of eight at the local conservatory. In 1950 he moved to Rio de Janeiro and began his professional career as a pianist in local nightclubs.
During the fifties he made his debut in television working for TV Tupi in soap operas and music shows. His first leading role in soap operas was in TV Rio’s successful Está Escrito no Céu followed by Mulher de Branco. Around this time he also made his acting debut in theater and recorded his first singing album. In the late 1950s Ricardo was invited to direct the music show Balada for Continental TV, in which he also performed songs and acted alongside singer Lueli Figeiró.
During this period, Ricardo befriended the leading musicians of the then nascent Bossa Nova movement including Tom Jobin, Jõao Gilberto, and Nara Leão, and was invited to be part of the group. He combined his music career with his television gigs, directing music shows where he successfully promoted Bossa Nova to a national audience. In 1962, he participated in the landmark Bossa Nova Festival concert at Carnegie Hall in New York City with Jobim, Gilberto, Carlos Lyra, Roberto Menescal, and Sergio Mendes, among others.
That World Is Mine (1964)
That same year, he directed and self-financed his first short film Boy of White Trousers / Menino da Pant Branca, about a young boy from Rio’s favelas who gets a coveted pair of white trousers for Christmas, but has a hard time keeping them clean. The film was edited by Nelson Pereira dos Santos, who befriended Ricardo and opened doors to the Cinema Novo in-group. The short film participated at the Karlovy Vary and San Francisco film festivals, and was awarded with the State Governor Award.
In 1964 he wrote, directed, and composed the soundtrack for his debut feature film That World Is Mine / Êsse Mundo é Meu influenced by the French New Wave. Starring Léa Bulcão, Ziraldo, Antônio Pitanga, Luzia Aparecida, comedian Cavaca and Sérgio Ricardo himself and edited by filmmaker Ruy Guerra, the film follows two men living in a Rio favela: a black shoe-shiner and a white mill worker. The film tanked at the box office as it was released during Brazil’s military coup d’état.
That same year, Ricardo composed the music score to Glauber Rocha’s landmark film Black God, White Devil / Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol, which participated in the official competition at the Cannes Film Festival, and earned him several awards. He also worked again with Rocha in his 1967 film Land in Anguish / Terra em Trance, composing the music score and doing the voice over as the film’s narrator; and with additional music for the 1969 film Antônio das Mortes. He also composed the music scores for the films Our Lady of Compassion /A Compadecida (George Jonas, 1969), Viver de Morrer (Jorge Ileli, 1969), Guerra dos Pelados (Sylvio Back, 1970), Terra dos Brasis (Maurice Capovilla, 1971), and O Lado Certo da Vida Errada (Octávio Bezerra, 1996).
In 1965, Ricardo directed the immigration short film drama O Pássaro da Aldeia in Syria, and directed the segment “Menino da Calça Branca” for the 1970 omnibus film Quatro Contra o Mundo along with directors Fernando Amaral, Silvio Autuori, Stefan Wohl.
In 1967 he gained attention when taking part in the third edition of the Festival de Música Popular Brasileira. He performed a rearranged version of "Beto bom de bola,” but the audience booed him for not performing the original version. In a fit of anger, he broke his acoustic guitar and threw it at the crowd, immediately disqualified. This iconic moment in the history of Brazilian television was also included in the 2010 documentary A Night in ‘67 / Uma Noite em 67 by Ricardo Calil and Renato Terra.
Ricardo’s 1970 film Lost Love Juliana / Juliana do Amor Perdido follows a beautiful young woman who lives in an isolated fishing community on an island and falls in love with an outsider, a train machinist. Her father, a violent religious fanatic, interferes with the idyllic love affair. The film, starring Maria do Rosário, Francisco Di Franco, Macedo Neto, and Antonio Pitanga, was awarded the Best Director and Best Cinematography Award at the Santos Film Festival, and was also named best film of the year, winning the Governor of the State of São Paulo Award.
In 1974, Ricardo premiered his film The Night of the Scarecrow / A Noite do Espantalho in the Directors' Fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival. Despite initial attempts from the government to censor the film, it was eventually released in the country. Set in Brazil’s northeast, and starring Geraldo Azevedo, Fátima Batista, and Ana Lúcia Castro, the film follows a ruthless land Baron who wants to remove a poor farming couple from their property. The Night of the Scarecrow became Ricardo’s most renowned film, participating in numerous international film festivals including New York, Vienale, and Melbourne, and was selected as the Brazilian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 47th Academy Awards.
The Night of the Scarecrow (1974)
After a 44 year-hiatus from directing, Ricardo made one last film in 2018, the drama Bandeira de Retalhos, which he also wrote based on a true story. Set in Rio de Janeiro in the late seventies and starring Guti Fraga, Glauce Guima, and Renan Monteiro, the film narrates the saga of the people who rebelled against orders issued by the government of the city that intended to bring down their shacks, citing of collapse. Yet, it soon turned out to be a scam of real estate speculation. The film premiered at the Tiradentes Film Festival.
More recently, filmmakers Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles included Ricardo’s song “Bichos da Noite” in their 2019 hit film Bacurau.
