He was born in Portugal, started his acrreer as an actor. In 1931, he made his first short film Douro, ainal Fluvial, which scandalized the portuguese Press. Misunderstood in his country, he had difficulties to work. He made his first full length feature in 1941: Aniki-Bobo, a neorealist movie. He didn't work for 14 years. In 1956, he directed Le peintre et la ville, which revolutionized documentary field. In 1971, he made his third full length film, Le Passé et le Prséent; Francisca was shown at The Directors' Fortnight, as well as Le Val Abraham, in 1993.