Anselmo Duarte

Anselmo Duarte Bento (; 21 April 1920 – 7 November 2009) was a Brazilian actor, screenwriter and film director. Early life Duarte was born in Salto, São Paulo on 21 April 1920. He was raised by his mother, alongside his six siblings. Career His 1962 film O Pagador de Promessas—Keeper of Promises—was awarded the Golden Palm at the 1962 Cannes Film Festival, becoming, to date, the only Brazilian feature film to be distinguished this way and the first winner from the Southern Hemisphere. The film was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. Furthermore, O Pagador de Promessas won awards for Best Film and Best Musical Score at the San Francisco International Film Festival and for Best Film at the Acapulco Film Festival, the Cartagena Film Festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival and the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1962. His 1964 film Vereda da Salvação—The Obsessed of Catule—was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 15th Berlin International Film Festival. The then President of Brazil, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, awarded Duarte the Order of Cultural Merit in 2008, Brazil's highest cultural civilian honor, and the Governor of São Paulo, José Serra, awarded him the Order of Ipiranga, which is the state's highest civilian honor. He was also declared an honorary citizen by numerous Brazilian municipalities, including Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Salto, his birthplace.