Luiz Sérgio Person

Luiz Sergio Person (1936–1976) wasn’t just another name floating around in Brazilian film circles—he blazed through, left scorch marks, and vanished way too soon. The guy did a bit of everything: acting, screenwriting, directing, producing, even dabbling in journalism and commercials because, apparently, sleep was optional for him. With just five feature films, he managed to carve out a legacy that still gets talked about like some kind of urban legend among cinephiles. His standout film? "São Paulo S/A" (1965). Man, that movie’s not just a film, it’s like looking straight into the guts of Brazil’s rapid-fire industrial boom and the messy birth of the modern middle class. It doesn’t just hold up—it dominates the conversation about Brazil’s cinematic heavyweights, always landing somewhere in the top ten lists. And then there’s "The Case of the Naves Brothers." Released when the military regime had its boot pressed down tight on the country, this film wasn’t just art—it was an act of defiance. Seriously, it’s almost wild that it got made at all, given the climate. Person was pushing boundaries, not just artistically, but politically. He wasn’t content to just make movies, either. Person had big ideas about shaking up the whole Brazilian film business. He helped dream up the IRP (RPI)—a gutsy move to get filmmakers more control through cooperative distribution. And theatre? That was his first love. He kicked off the Augusta Theatre in ’73, turning it into a creative hotspot in São Paulo. All in all, Person’s impact is still rippling out, decades after he left the stage.