Black God, White Devil

Glauber Rocha was born on March 14, 1939, in Vitória da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil. In his teenage years, Rocha joined Brazil’s radical left; later in life, his views would imbue his cinematic work. In 1963, the inaugural New York Film Festival screened Barravento (1962), Rocha’s debut feature, as part of its prestigious lineup. Rocha was soon hailed as one of the leading voices of Cinema Novo, a movement of young, innovative, and politically motivated Brazilian filmmakers. By the end of the 1960s, Rocha had achieved significant international recognition for his films’ unique blend of socialist politics, proletarian folklore, and experimental aesthetics. Spurred by Brazil’s oppressive dictatorship, Rocha voluntarily went into exile in 1971 and lived in Spain, Chile, and France before eventually settling in the Portuguese Riviera. He returned to Brazil at the very end of his life and died in Rio de Janeiro on August 22, 1981, at the age of forty-two.