(AGI) Lisbon, April 2 - Portuguese director Manoel de Oliveirahas died at the age of 106. The news of his death was announcedby producer Luis Urbano. Together with writer and playwrightJose de Sousa Saramago, de Oliveira was the best-knownPortuguese artist worldwide. He made his first film in 1931 andshot more than 50 films in total, most of them after he turned60. All of de Oliveira's work was inspired by the history andcultural tradition of his country. The Portuguese governmenthas announced two days of national mourning for the death ofthe famous director. The funeral will be held on Fridayafternoon in his birthplace of Porto, where three days ofmourning have been announced. Manoel de Oliveira was anincomparable witness of Portuguese culture abroad, saidPresident Anibal Cavaco Silva of Portugal. "The Portugueseculture today lost one of its greatest personalities,"commented Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho. De Oliveira'slast work was the short film "O Velho do Restelo" ("The Old Manof Belem"), which was presented at the 2014 Venice FilmFestival and is based on a character in the epic poem "LesLusiades" written by Luis de Camoes in the 16th century, aboutthe great maritime discoveries of the Portuguese navigators.Born in Porto on Dec. 11, 1908 in a family of industrialists,he soon abandoned his studies and dedicated himself to the filmindustry. He made masterpieces such as "Acto de primavera"(1963), which can be interpreted as an indictment against theSalazar dictatorship, and "Francisca" (1981), the last act ofhis 'Tetralogy of Frustrated Love and recognition', whichincludes "Past and Present", "Benilde or the Virgin Mother"(1974) and "Doomed Love" (1978). Apart from directing films, deOliveira also made documentaries and shorts and worked as anactor. He started his career when he was 20 years old, makingan appearance in the silent film "Fatima milagrosa" (1928) byRino Lupo. His first film as a director was "Douro, FainaFluvial", a short documentary about his hometown Porto and theindustry that takes place along the city's main river, theDouro. He tried his hand as an actor in the first Portuguesesound picture: "A Cancao de Lisboa" (Lisbon Song, 1933) by JoseCottinelli Telmo. After making several documentaries, heentered the world of fiction with "Aniki-Bobo" (1942) about thelives of children in a working class neighbourhood of Porto. Hewon two Golden Lions in 1985 and 2004 at the Venice FilmFestival and won the Jury Prize in 1991 for "The DivineComedy". In 1999, his film "The Letter", based on the 17thcentury French novel The Princess of Cleves by Madame deLafayette, won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In2008 he was awarded the Palme d'Or for his career. After hishundredth birthday, de Oliveira made "Eccentricities of aBlonde-haired Girl", "The Strange Case of Angelica" (2010) and"Gebo and the Shadow" (2012). In 1982 he made a 'secret' film:"Visita ou memorias e confissoes", which he wanted to be shownafter his death.. .