Luiz Carlos Barreto, one of the driving forces of the Cinema Novo movement in the 1960s and 1970s, died in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday, July 22, at the age of 98.
In reaction – and it’s a measure of the huge regard with which Barreto was held in his native Brazil and beyond – Brazilian President Lula Inácio Lula da Silva declared July 22 three days of national mourning in his honor, which means the national flag will be flown at half-mast.
Barreto’s health has been in frail condition since March 2024, when he suffered a fall. The official cause of death is pneumonia.
Barreto is regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Brazilian cinema, with a career spanning six decades. He was involved in more than 80 productions, and was closely associated with the avant-garde Cinema Novo movement, which rocked Cannes and beyond in the 196os and early 1970s, signalling a future for cinema, in the eyes of French Nouvelle Vague leading lights.
Born in 1928 in the Northeastern Ceará State, Barreto moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1947 at the age of 19, and worked as a photographer for the important newsmagazine O Cruzeiro. At an interview in 1952, he met Lucy Vilella, then beauty queen of Miss Goias State and a notable pianist. The two got married two years later, and became lifetime partners, including in film production.
