Fernando José Spencer Hartmann was born in 1927 in the São José neighborhood of Recife. He began working at the age of 17 at the Delegacia de Ordem Política e Social de Pernambuco, but his goal was to pursue a career as a writer. He contributed to several newspapers in Recife, including Diário de Pernambuco, Jornal Pequeno, and Jornal do Commercio. Spencer worked for forty years (1958-1998) as a journalist, proofreader, and film editor at Diário de Pernambuco and also gained experience in radio. In the 1960s, he created the programs Filmelândia and Falando de Cinema on Rádio Clube de Pernambuco and Rádio Tamandaré. From the 1980s to 2000, he took on the role of coordinator at the Cinemateca da Fundação Joaquim Nabuco. His filmmaking career began in 1969, and he is considered one of the pioneers of Super-8 cinema with his film A Busca. The filmmaker also served as president of the Associação Brasileira de Documentaristas and was Director of the Theater and Cinema Division of the Secretaria de Educação e Cultura at the Prefeitura Municipal do Recife in the 1970s. He is the author of approximately 36 short films in various formats – Super-8, 16mm, and 35mm – winning numerous national and international awards.

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