Director António-Pedro Vasconcelos this Thursday mourned the death of producer António da Cunha Telles, “the most important person in Portuguese cinema”, and criticized the time when he did not support cinema.
“He was the most important person in Portuguese cinema because he was not just a producer, distributor, director of ICA. [Instituto do Cinema e Audiovisual], Director Tobis; he was an innovator, he always thought ahead of others, he was engaged in joint production with France, he trained Portuguese technicians, ”Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos listed in statements to the Lusa agency.
Antonio da Cunha Telles, one of the inseparable names of the Portuguese Cinema Novo of the 1960s, died Wednesday at the age of 87 in Lisbon.
António-Pedro Vasconcelos, 83, recalls that he met Antonio da Cunha Telles during an important decade of renewal of Portuguese cinema with directors such as Paulo Rocha, Fernando López and António de Macedo, and that the producer has always supported him throughout his career.
“It has to do with [filmes] who had more trouble. He has always been sensational. (…) He always came in different ways to save a few of my films and was absolutely resolute,” said Antonio-Pedro Vasconcelos, citing, for example, “Perdido por cem” (1973), “Oxalá” (1980) and “Oh place of the dead” (1984).
The death of Antonio da Cunha Telles marks the end of a chapter in the history of Portuguese cinema, and António-Pedro Vasconcelos regrets that the last film will only be released posthumously.
According to his daughter Pandora da Cunha Telles, António da Cunha Telles has almost completed work on the film Through the Women’s, based on the work of Mario de Sa-Carneiro.
The film received financial support from the ICA, but António-Pedro Vasconcelos says that Cunha Telles “was only able to make the film after failing twice” in that institute’s competitions.
“He spent about 13 years being rejected by the ICA jury. There were captives and he had to stop the film. He managed to collect the film, and the premiere will take place already with him dead. The way the state treats Portuguese cinema and treats some Portuguese directors is unacceptable,” he said.
In addition to being a producer and distributor, Antonio da Cunha Telles made several films, namely “O Cerco” (1970), “Meus Amigos” (1974), the documentary “Continuar a Viver ou os Índios da Meia Praia” ( 1976). , “Pandora” (1993) and “Kiss Me” (2004).
He also participated in the collective film “As Armas eo Povo” (1975), which tells about the period of life in Portugal from April 25 to May 1, 1974.
António da Cunha Telles, an honorary member of the Portuguese Film Academy, was awarded in 2018 by the President of the Republic with the title of Grand Officer of the Order of the Infante D. Enrique.
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