João César Monteiro was born on February 2nd 1939 and died on February 3rd 2003. In 1963, at the age of 15, César Monteiro received a grant from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to study cinema at the London Film School. Two years later, he returns to Portugal to work on his first film, Quem Espera por Sapatos de Defunto Morre Descalço (1971). Currently, his work as a director has been the object of study by Portuguese and international critics and academics, who recognize him as one of Portugal’s most important directors, together with Manoel de Oliveira. In fact, several of his films are shown and awarded at international festivals such as the Cannes Film Festival and the Venice Film Festival: Silvestre (1981) was presented at the Venice Film Festival, where he returned with Recollections of the Yellow House (1989) and won the Silver Lion. Back in Venice, God’s Comedy (1995) received the Grand Jury Prize.
