Ricardo Costa (25 January 1940 – 8 July 2021) was a Portuguese film director.[1] He wrote texts on cinema, vision, and language.[2]

Ricardo Costa
Costa in 2013
Born	25 January 1940 Peniche, Portugal
Died	8 July 2021(2021-07-08) (aged 81)
Nationality	Portuguese
Occupation	Film director

Works

Costa's works were primarily composed of documentaries, many of them containing elements of fiction. He used direct cinema as a tool for salvage ethnography.[3] His film, Mists [pt], was displayed at the 60th Venice International Film Festival in 2003.[4] It was released at the Quad Cinema in New York City in April 2011. His film, Drifts [pt], was released in 2016,[5] followed by Cliffs in 2017.[6]

Biography

Costa studied at the University of Lisbon, where he obtained a doctorate in literature in 1969 after defending a thesis on the works of Franz Kafka.[7] He worked as a high school teacher and editor of sociological books. Following the Carnation Revolution, he became a professional film director and producer. He was a partner in the GRUPO ZERO alongside João César Monteiro, Jorge Silva Melo, Alberto Seixas Santos, and others.[8][9] The group organized cinematic screenings in Paris at the Cinémathèque Française.[10]

Death

Ricardo Costa died on 8 July 2021 at the age of 81.[11]

Writings

Articles

In Portuguese

• "O olhar antes do cinema" (1982)
• "A outra face do espelho" (2000)
• "Jean Rouch do avesso" (2017)

In English

• "Having to create" (2019)
• "Having to be" (2019)
• "Having to see" (2019)
• "Having to do" (2020)
• "Lecture"

Essays

In Portuguese

• Os olhos e o cinema (1997)
• Olhos no ecrã (2000)
• Os olhos da ideia (2002)

In English

• Happiness from the past to the future (2020)

Filmography

Feature films

• As Armas e o Povo [pt] (1975)
• Avieiros [pt] (1975)
• Mau Tempo, Marés e Mudança [pt] (1976)
• Abril no Minho (1978)
• Castro Laboreiro [pt] (1979)[12]
• Pitões, Aldeia do Barroso [pt] (1979)
• Verde por Fora, Vermelho por Dentro [pt] (1980)
• Longe É a Cidade [pt] (1981)
• Ao Fundo desta Estrada [pt] (1981)
• O Pão e o Vinho [pt] (1983)
• O Nosso Futebol [pt] (1985)
• Paroles (1998)
• Mists (2003)
• Drifts (2016)
• Cliffs (2017)[6]

Short and medium-length films

• No Fundo de Troia [pt] (1974)
• Apanhadores de Algas [pt] (1974)
• Agar-Agar [pt] (1974)
• Tresmalho [pt] (1975)
• O Trol [pt] (1975)
• O Arrasto (1975)
• Oceanografia Biológica (1975)
• Ti Zaragata e a Bateira (1975)
• Pesca da Sardinha (1975)
• Conchinha do Mar (1975)
• Às Vezes Custa (1975)[13]
• A Sacada (1975)
• Os Irmãos Severo e os Cem Polvos (1976)
• À Flor do Mar [pt] (1976)
• A Colher (1976)
• O Velho e o Novo (1976)
• A Falta e a Fartura (1976)
• Quem só muda de Camisa (1976)
• A Máquina do Dinheiro (1976)
• Viver do Mar (1976)
• Uma Perdiz na Gaiola (1976)
• Nas Voltas do Rio (1976)
• O Submarino de Vidro (1976)
• Cravos de Abril [pt] (1976)
• Das Ruínas do Império (1977)[14]
• E do Mar Nasceu (1977)
• Música do Quotidiano (1978)
• Abril no Minn (1978)
• A Lampreia (1979)
• A Coca (1979)
• Histórias de Baçal (1979)
• Esta aldeia, Rio de Onor (1979)
• O Pisão (1979)
• A Feira (1979)
• O Outro Jogo (1979)
• Joaquim da Loiça (1980)
• Pastores da Serra da Estrela (1980)
• Barcos de Peniche (1980)
• O Parque Nacional de Montesinho (1980)
• Lisboa e o Mar (1982)
• GIG (2014)[15]

External sources

• Ricardo Costa at IMDb

References