Rocha, Glauber (1938-1981), a Brazilian motion-picture director, was noted for inventive films about Brazilian culture and society. He was a leading figure in the 1960’s Brazilian movement cinema novo (new cinema). He attracted both praise and criticism for his left-wing, often violent, films about Brazilian social and political life.
Glauber Andrade Rocha was born in Vitoria da Conquista, Bahia, Brazil, on March 14, 1938. He worked as a journalist and film critic before becoming a film director. His first feature film was Barravento (1962), which dealt with the exploitation of black fishermen in the state of Bahia. His best-known films include Black God—White Devil, (1964) and Antonio das Mortes (1969). Both films portray outlaws and religious prophets and show Rocha’s sympathy for the poor and oppressed in Brazilian society. Earth Entranced (1967) is a pessimistic portrait of middle-class intellectuals and politicians. Brazilian and European critics praised Rocha’s films, but he was criticized by conservatives in the Brazilian government. Rocha went into self-exile in Europe from 1970 to 1976 because of government hostility to his work and the banning of Antonio das Mortes.
In 1976, Rocha returned to Brazil, where he filmed Di (1977), an unconventional documentary about the death of the Brazilian painter Emiliano Di Cavalcanti. Rocha also wrote many essays and books on motion pictures. He died from lung disease in Rio de Janeiro on Aug. 22, 1981, at the age of 43. His death was considered a disastrous loss to the Brazilian cinema.
