Paulo Rocha

Biography

Paulo Rocha was born on December 22, 1935 in Porto, Portugal. He was a director and producer, known for A Ilha dos Amores (1982), O Rio do Ouro (1998) and A Raiz do Coração(2000). He died on December 29, 2012 in Porto. Abandoned Lisbon Law School to dedicate himself to the movies, and founded Cine-Clube de Lisboa (CCC) with Nuno de Bragança, João Bénard da Costa, Pedro Tamen and Alberto Vaz da Silva. In 1962, concluded his studies at IDHEC, Paris, France, but he says he learned more watching time and again Jean Renoir and 'Kenzo Mizoguchi' films than in academic film studies

Directed

1. The Green Years (1963) — Director
2. Change of Life (1967) — Director
3. Island of Loves (1982) — Director
4. River of Gold (1999) — Director
5. If I Were a Thief... I'd Steal (2013) — Director
6. Steel Mask Versus Blue Abyss (1988) — Director
7. The Mountains of the Moon (1987) — Director
8. The Heart's Root (2000) — Director
9. A Ilha de Moraes (1984) — Director
10. Vanity (2004) — Director
11. A Pousada das Chagas (1972) — Director
12. Sever do Vouga... Uma Experiência (1971) — Director
13. Shohei Imamura: The Free Thinker (1995) — Director
14. Oliveira, l'architecte (1993) — Director
15. Camões - Tanta Guerra, Tanto Engano (1998) — Director
16. As Sereias (2001) — Director
17. Portugaru San - O Sr. Portugal em Tokushima (1993) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Francisca (1981) — Doctor
2. The Satin Slipper (1986) — Premier Prête
3. On the Edge of the Horizon (1993)
4. Island of Loves (1982) — Camilo Pessanha
5. The Sound of the Shaking Earth (1990) — Hostel Doorman
6. If I Were a Thief... I'd Steal (2013)
7. A Ilha de Moraes (1984) — Self
8. Three Less Me (1988) — The Melomaniac
9. Lisboa no Cinema, Um Ponto de Vista (1994)
10. Passagem ou a Meio Caminho (1986)
11. Encontros (2006)
12. Around Rocha’s Table (2021) — Self (archive footage)
13. The Life of Mirrors (2025)
14. História do Cinema Português (2001)