Francisco Manso

Francisco Manso (born 28 November 1949), is a Portuguese filmmaker and producer. He is best known as the director of the critically acclaimed films, Napomuceno's Will, The Consul of Bordeaux and O Nosso Cônsul em Havana.

Career He graduated in law at the University of Lisbon. In 1976, he graduated in film at Centro de Arte e Comunicação Visual (Ar.Co) and, in 1979 to 1980, completed courses in sound engineering and became the assistant director at the public television service Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP).

In 1978, he moved to cinema as the first assistant director for the film O Meu Nome É, directed by Fernando Matos Silva. This was followed by O Príncipe com Orelhas de Burro, directed by António de Macedo, in 1979. In 1980, he moved to Guinea Bissau and worked on the film Acto dos Feitos da Guiné which was directed by Matos Silva. In the following year, he returned to Portugal and worked on Matos Silva's 1981 film Guerra no Mirandum.

After working as an assistant for many years, Manso's first directing work was in 1983 with the television documentary A Epopeia dos Bacalhaus. He also edited his first television feature film, Terra Nova, Mar Velho, in the same year. With the success of that film, he continued to direct films and documentaries such as, A Aposta (1987), Na Mão de Deus(1989), Nostalgia (1994) and O Espírito da Cor (1994).

In 1997, Manso produced his first cinema feature film, O Testamento do Senhor Napomuceno, based on the novel The Last Will and Testament of Senhor da Silva Araújo by Germano Almeida about the Cape Verde Islands. The film was distributed internationally and was screened at film festivals, receiving several awards including three at the Gramado Film Festival. In 2000, he made the TV mini-series Almeida Garrett. His documentary, Memórias de um rio - Avieiros, os nómadas do Tejo in 2004, was awarded the special prize for Lusophony at the 10th Environmental Film Festival - Cine Eco 2004.

Filmography Year Film Role Genre Ref. 1976 O Caldo de Pedra Production manager Short film 1978 O Meu Nome É... Actor Film 1979 Os Filhos da Noite Actor Film 1979 O Convidado Debaixo da Mesa Production assistant TV movie 1980 The Donkey-Eared Prince Assistant director Film 1980 Acto dos Feitos da Guiné Assistant director Film 1983 A Epopeia dos Bacalhaus Director, writer TV movie 1983 Terra Nova, Mar Velho Director, producer, writer Documentary 1987 A Aposta Director, producer Film 1989 O Espírito da Cor Director TV series documentary 1994 Na Mão de Deus (Antero de Quental) Director, producer TV movie 1994 Nostalgia Director Film 1994 Quase (Mário de Sá Carneiro) Director, producer TV movie 1995 Saudade (Soares dos Reis) Director, producer TV movie 1997 O Testamento do Senhor Napomuceno Director, producer Film 2000 Almeida Garrett Director, producer TV mini-series 2000 Dez Grãozinhos de Terra Director, producer Documentary 2000 Clandestinos Director Documentary 2003 O Cinema Português Director, producer, writer TV movie documentary) 2009 A Ilha dos Escravos Director Film 2009 O Último Condenado à Morte Director Film 2010 Assalto ao Santa Maria Director Film 2010 Portugal e o Japão - Uma Longa História Director TV movie documentary) 2010 Entre o Norte e o Sul Director Documentary 2011 O Cônsul de Bordéus Director Film 2012 Até Chá virar Café: Until Tea Becomes Coffee Producer TV movie documentary 2016 Regresso Ao Mar Director, producer TV series documentary 2018 Os Dois Irmãos Director Film 2019 O Nosso Cônsul em Havana Director, producer TV series 2019 Salgueiro Maia - Rumo à Eternidade Director, writer Documentary short