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Filmmaker Eduardo Coutinho Stabbed to Death; Son Suspected

02/03/2014 - 08h33

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FROM RIO

One of Brazil's most important documentary makers, the director of "Cabra Marcado Para Morrer" and "Edifício Master", Eduardo Coutinho, 80, was stabbed to death yesterday in Rio.

His wife, Maria das Dores Oliveira Coutinho, 62, also was attacked and is in the hospital in critical condition.

The police say his son, Daniel Coutinho, 41, is the main suspect, and he was charged with homicide and attempted homicide. Neighbors said Daniel lived with his parents and suffered from schizophrenia.

The crime occurred shortly before noon in the family's apartment in Lagoa neighborhood, in the south zone.

Police Chief Rivaldo Barbosa says the case is "a genuine expression of tragedy," caused by a psychotic break.

Barbosa said Daniel first stabbed his father, attacked his mother and then tried to kill himself. Although wounded, his mother managed to lock herself in the bathroom and call the couple's other son.

Barbosa also said Daniel ran through the building, injured, shouting: "I tried to free my father, tried to free my mother and tried to free myself, but I couldn't." He then returned home.

Maria das Dores was rescued by the fire department, which had been called by neighbors, and was taken to the Miguel Couto municipal hospital, in Gávea, also in the south zone of Rio.

She was stabbed twice (twice in her chest and three times in her stomach), was injured in the liver and underwent surgery. She is in critical condition.

Stabbed twice in the belly, Daniel underwent surgery in the same hospital - he is in stable condition.

Eduardo's body was sent to the Forensic Department and examined - it was confirmed that he was killed by a perforating object.

Born in São Paulo, Eduardo Coutinho was one of the country's major documentary producers. Aside from "Cabra..." (1985) and "Edifício Master" (2002), his major works include "Jogo de Cena" (2007) and "Babilônia 2000" (1999).

In all, he made 22 movies.

In 2007, he won the Crystal Kikito, the most important award of Brazilian cinema, for his lifetime achievement. His work is marked by his sensitivity in portraying common people.

His first contact with cinema was in 1954, at the age of 21, at a seminar held by Masp. He worked as an editor for "Visão" magazine, directed a children's play and specialized in screenplays. In 1975, he joined the "Globo Repórter" TV program.

The No. 1 artist honored at the São Paulo International Film Festival in 2013, he denied, in an interview with Folha in October, that cinema is a "political instrument of intervention in what the audience thinks or should think."

"Militant movies are a tragedy because they have been previously written. Convincing someone who already has his belief is terrible, making movies to convince anyone is terrible," he said.

Translated by THOMAS MUELLO

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