A filmmaker, screenwriter, actor, photographer and multimedia artist, he has produced installations, objects and performances, in addition to his well-known films. He studied at the Teatro Universitário in Minas Gerais, the Centro de Estudos Cinematográficos in Belo Horizonte and the Centro Mineiro Experimental. His transgressive, avant-garde films were censored and banned by the Brazilian military dictatorship, starting with his first feature film, close to the nouvelle vague style, Jardim de guerra (1968). In 1970 he moved to New York, where he collaborated with the Brazilian artist Hélio Oiticica. His 1978 film A dama do lotaçao (Lady on the Bus) is one of the most celebrated in Brazilian film history.