Manuel Matos Barbosa was born in Oliveira de Azeméis in 1935. At the age of 19, he joined the local film club, and in 1958 he bought his first 8mm film camera.
He was part of the “Grupo de Aveiro” in the 1960s, a group of amateur filmmakers responsible for a significant body of films during that decade, and he was involved in organizing the 1st Congress of Portuguese Amateur Cinema, held in 1970. From 1977 onwards, he was a member of the Organizing Committee of Cinanima, the Espinho International Animated Film Festival.
