Walter Hugo Khouri was born in São Paulo, in 1929, and through his career directed 25 feature-length films, beginning after working as a technician at the Vera Cruz Film Company during the production of "O Cangaceiro". Debuting with 1951s "O Gigante de Pedra", Khouri was a complete auteur, working as screenwriter, director, camera operator and editing supervisor for most of his films.