Canijo is a Portuguese director and screenwriter born in Porto in 1957. From 1980 to 1985 he worked as an assistant director to Manoelo de Oliveira, Wim Wenders, Alain Tanner and Werner Schroeter. He made his feature film debut in 1988 with Tręs Menos Eu snima. After his next film Filha da Măe (1990) he made TV series for a while. He directed his third feature film Sapatos Pretos in 1998. He also made Ganhar a Vida (2001), Noite Escura (2004), which won the Golden Globe as Best Film. His last film so far is Mal Nascida (2007).