Ruy Alexandre Guerra Coelho Pereira (born August 22, 1931) is a Portuguese-Brazilian
film director
A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...
and
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
. Guerra was born a
Portuguese citizen in Lourenço Marques (today
Maputo
Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...
) in
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
, when it was still a Portuguese colony.
Biography
Guerra studied at
IDHEC film school in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
from 1952. In 1958 he started his career as an assistant director in several French films. He subsequently immigrated to
Brazil
Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
, where he directed his first feature film, ''
Os Cafajestes'' (1962). It was entered into the
12th Berlin International Film Festival
The 12th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 June to 3 July 1962.
The Golden Bear was awarded to ''A Kind of Loving (film), A Kind of Loving'' directed by John Schlesinger.
Juries
The following people were announced as ...
.
In 1964, Guerra directed ''
Os Fuzis'', which placed him in the forefront of the emerging
Cinema Novo
Cinema Novo (; 'New Cinema'), is a genre and movement of film noted for its emphasis on social equality and intellectualism that rose to prominence in Brazil during the 1960s and 1970s.Dixon & Foster, 293. Cinema Novo formed in response to class ...
movement. The film was entered into the
14th Berlin International Film Festival where it won the
Silver Bear Extraordinary Jury Prize.
After that he directed the international production ''
Tendres Chasseurs'' (1969) starring
Sterling Hayden
Sterling Walter Hayden (born Sterling Relyea Walter; March 26, 1916 – May 23, 1986) was an American actor, author, sailor, and Marine. A leading man for most of his career, he specialized in Westerns and film noir throughout the 1950s, in film ...
, and ''
Os Deuses e os Mortos'' (1970). The tumultuous political landscape in 1970s Brazil forced Guerra to stop filming until 1976, when he directed ''
A Queda''. The film was entered into the
28th Berlin International Film Festival
The 28th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 22 February to 5 March 1978. Director Wolf Donner successfully managed to shift the festival's date from June to February, a change which has remained ever since. This was the firs ...
, where it won the
Silver Bear – Special Jury Prize.
In 1980 he returned to Mozambique where he shot ''
Mueda, Memória e Massacre'', that country's first feature film. While in Mozambique, Guerra shot many short films and helped the creation of the National Institute for Cinema.
In 1982 Guerra shot ''
Eréndira'' in
Mexico
Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...
, based on the work by
Gabriel García Márquez
Gabriel José García Márquez (; 6 March 1927 – 17 April 2014) was a Colombian writer and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo () or Gabito () throughout Latin America. Considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th centur ...
. He also directed the musical comedy ''
A Ópera do Malandro'' (1985), based on
Chico Buarque
Francisco Buarque de Hollanda (born 19 June 1944), popularly known simply as Chico Buarque (), is a Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, composer, playwright, writer, and poet. He is best known for his music, which often includes social, econom ...
's free theatrical adaptation of
Bertold Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a ...
's ''
Threepenny Opera''; the TV film ''
Os Amores Difíceis'', another adaptation of García Márquez; and ''
Kuarup'' (1989). In 2000 Guerra's ''
Estorvo'' was nominated for the
Golden Palm at the
2000 Cannes Film Festival
The 53rd Cannes Film Festival took place from 14 to 25 May 2000. French filmmaker Luc Besson was the Jury President for the main competition. Virginie Ledoyen was the mistress of ceremonies. Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier won the ''Palme d'Or'' ...
.
It was Guerra's third nomination in the festival, after ''Erêndira'' and ''Kuarup''. His 2004 film ''
Portugal S.A.'' was the only film he did in Portugal and entered into the
26th Moscow International Film Festival
The 26th Moscow International Film Festival was held from 18 to 27 July 2004. The Golden George was awarded to the Russian film '' Our Own'' directed by Dmitriy Meshiev.
Jury
* Alan Parker (United Kingdom – chairman of the jury)
* Jerzy Stuh ...
.
Guerra has appeared in many films as an actor; he is perhaps best known to international audiences for his performance as the doomed
Pedro de Ursúa
Pedro de Ursúa (1526 –January 1, 1561) was a Spanish list of conquistadors in Colombia, conquistador from Baztan (municipality), Baztan in Navarre. He is best known for his final trip with Lope de Aguirre in search for El Dorado, where he w ...
in
Werner Herzog
Werner Herzog (; né Stipetić; born 5 September 1942) is a German filmmaker, actor, opera director, and author. Regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema, his films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with unusu ...
's ''
Aguirre, the Wrath of God'' (1972).
Personal life
In 1971, Guerra married Brazilian actress
Leila Diniz. Diniz was killed the following year in the crash of
Japan Airlines Flight 471 in India.
Filmography
See also
* ''
S.O.S. Noronha'' (1957)
References
Further reading
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerra, Ruy
1931 births
Living people
People from Maputo
Portuguese film directors
Portuguese emigrants to Brazil
Brazilian film directors
Brazilian male film actors
Brazilian film editors
Naturalized citizens of Brazil
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques alumni