The Portuguese Cinema is seldom mentioned. Yet Manoel de Oliveira (1908-2015) is among the most original and profound film directors working in the medium. What is astonishing is that he was never more prolific than after he turned 80, writing and directing a film a year even as a centenarian.

His first feature film, Aniki-Bóbó (1942), followed the adventures of street urchins growing up in the slums of Porto and on the banks of the river. Made in the year that the word neorealismo was coined in Italy, it contains many of the elements of the neorealism movement, having excellent location shooting and natural performances from local children .

Fast forward 60 years to: Je Rentre à la Maison (I’m Going Home, 2001), a poignant meditation on ageing, with Michel Piccoli as an elderly actor trying to cope with grief. By then de Oliveira's films were all pared down to the essentials in setting and style.