Born in Lisbon, Portugal in 1952, Rita Azevedo Gomes studied Fine Arts before working in film and theatre. Besides her endeavors as a filmmaker, she's also a film programmer and curator at Cinemateca Portuguesa. Over the years, she has taken part in several projects spanning across theatre, opera, cinema and the visual arts, of which her graphic work for cinema is particularly striking. She has collaborated with important figures within Portuguese cinema, such as João Bénard da Costa, Luís Noronha da Costa, Manoel de Oliveira, Valeria Sarmiento, among others. Having directed her first feature, O Som da Terra a Tremer, in 1990, she subsequently directed several short and feature films that earned her international recognition. The Portuguese Woman (2018) is her latest film.