Manoel Loreno

Acting

Mantenópolis, Espírito Santo, Brazil

With only an old VHS camera, Manoel Loreno (known as "Seu Manoelzinho") made more than 20 films. To survive, he worked as a movie theater janitor and bricklayer's assistant. But with productions such as "O Espantalho Assassino" (2000), "O Rico Pobre" (2002, remade in 2009), "O Homem Sem Lei" (2006) and "A Gripe do Frango" (2008) he gained fame in the community where he lives and even featured prominently in print and television. As he doesn't know how to read or write, he outlines the scenes he imagines by tracing them on the ground with a stick, always in the shade of the same tree he chose as inspiration. He has a predilection for filming Western, in productions where he is always the hero. In everyday life, he walks through the small town of Mantenópolis dressed in a characteristic cape and hat. Although hilarious, his films are made with seriousness and he says that the humor they provoke is unwittingly obtained by unusual situations, resulting from the precariousness of the productions.