The Bermuda International Film Festival will feature a four-film retrospective of works by the renowned and prolific 94-year-old Portuguese film maker Manoel de Oliveira, April 11-17.

"Mr. de Oliveira's body of work over more than 60 years is astonishing," says BIFF's director of programming, David O'Beirne.

"He has made 33 films in all, and 14 of them have come since 1990. This is a wonderful opportunity for that community, and in fact all of us, to show our appreciation for Portuguese culture."

Mr. de Oliveira was born in Porto on December 12, 1908. He graduated from acting school in Italy, but he soon became more interested in being behind the camera. He shot his first non-fiction film in 1931, `Douro, Faina Fluvial', a silent-film documentary about the harsh daily life conditions of river-workers in his hometown of Porto.

He has acted in 12 films, including `The Song of Lisbon' (1933), Portugal's first sound film.

He is the last surviving, working filmmaker from the silent era. In 1942, he made his first feature, `Aniki Bobo', a film considered by the British Film Institute and many others to be a classic.

Encountering trouble financing his films, he took a 14-year break from film making after making `Aniko Bobo', working in the business of his industrialist father. He has been prolific since 1990, making 14 features. He is currently editing his latest film in Paris. BIFF will present four films: - Liberty Theatre - 4 p.m. - Saturday April 12 Manoel de Oliveira's feature film debut was hailed by the British Film Institute as one of the finest films of 1942 in its end-of-century retrospective. Mr. de Oliveira has celebrated his hometown often on film, most notably Aniki B?b?, centred around the emotional lives of street kids and a fascinating, magical precursor of the Italian neo-realism that was just around the corner. The print for `Aniki Bobo' is an archival print on loan from the Cinemateca Portuguesa in Lisbon. In Portuguese with English sub-titles. - Little Theatre - 6.30 p.m. - Sunday April 13 Michel Piccoli, Sylvie Testud, Catherine Deneuve and John Malkovich feature in a film that was selected for competition at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. Actor Gilbert Valence (Piccoli) is struck by tragedy when his wife, daughter and son-in-law are killed in a car crash. Over time, life returns to normal - but, one day on set, the actor's memory lapses. The next day, the old actor feels the world slipping away from him. It is time for him to go home. Nominated for a Golden Palm Award at 2001 Cannes Film Festival. In French with English sub-titles. - Southside Cinema - 9 p.m. - Wednesday April 16 Producer Paulo Branco asked Manoel de Oliveira to make a documentary about the city of his birth, Porto, on the occasion of "Oporto 2001 - European Capital of Culture". The result is this poetic ode to the Porto of his youth. The filmmaker chose to film that which no longer exists and which only the eyes of memory, the filmmaker's memory, can see. The Porto of his childhood is also the Porto before his birth - a city laden with history, a city of artists and thinkers. Winner of the UNESCO Award at the Venice Film Festival. Mr. de Oliveira acts in this film, playing the part of a thief. In Portuguese with English sub-titles.-Southside Cinema - 4 p.m. - Monday April 14 Marcello Mastroianni stars in this beautiful film, which was an Official Selection at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival, and won European Film of the Year honours. Hailed as a "masterpiece", it tells the story of a French actor who visits his late father's village, hoping to meet a surviving aunt. She is initially cold and suspicious, but a bond develops - and together they reminisce about the actor's long-lost father, the hardships of village life and the staggering changes that modernity is bringing. In Portuguese and French with English sub-titles.