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Though his attempts to become a filmmaker date back to 1929, Jorge Brum do Canto is best known in his native Portugal as a stage actor and for authoring a popular series of cookbooks. Born to an aristocratic family, Canto studied law until a passion for cinema led him to become a film writer. He made his first film, A Dança dos Paroxismos, in 1929. It was only exhibited once in 1930. In 1932, Canto tried making another film, but ran out of money; it and two subsequent films remained unfinished. In 1936, the determined Canto began production on A Canção da Terra/Song of Earth and released it two years later. Between 1953 and 1959, Canto returned to the familial estate on Porto Santo Island to oversee its management. He did not return to cinema until 1962.