Brother of the actor Reginaldo Faria, had an "s" added to his surname by error of the notary. His mother took him as a baby when he went to the movies. Between one bottle and another, it was his first contact with what was happening on the screen. At the age of 8 he was making a "movie" at his house using shoe boxes. From cinema to photography was an easy jump and he came from Nova Friburgo to study Fine Arts in Rio de Janeiro or to do Architecture, but his destiny and preference was always the movies. Throughout his career, Roberto was an assistant, editor, screenwriter, producer and distributor, but he was never an actor.
The beginning was in Atlântida Cinematográfica where he was taken by Watson Macedo to be assistant of direction. The debut was in the drama Maior que o Ódio, directed by Jose Carlos Burle. He made almost ten films as a director or production assistant until he made his debut as a director in 1957 with "Rico Ri à Toa", a starring Zé Trindade in who besides directing, also was the author of the script and the dialogues.
In 1960, with Cidade Ameaçada, he won several awards and became one of the most respected filmmakers in Brazil, a position he would consolidate with Assalto ao Trem Pagador, in 1962.
Roberto was also president of the Sindicato Nacional da Indústria Cinematográfica and the first filmmaker to direct Embrafilme. In TV Globo made, in 1965, Câmara Indiscreta; later directed the miniseriesA Máfia no Brasil, As Noivas de Copacabana, Contos de Verão and Maria Moura Memorial; besides the programs "Você Decide", Brava Gente (1996), Sob Nova Direção and Faça a Sua História.
Roberto Farias died in Rio de Janeiro on 14 May 2018, at age 86, during an inpatient treatment for cancer.[5]
