One of the most important Brazilian directors of all time, Leon Hirszman is best remembered for the realistic manner of dealing with social and political themes in his works, from documentaries to feature films. His career started with a segment filmed for Cinco vezes Favela (1962) and A Falecida (1965) marked as his first feature film, an adaptation of Nelson Rodrigues classic play, and also marked as José Wilker's acting film debut. _São Bernardo (1972) was a major turning point in his career, a film lauded by audiences and critics, winning multiple awards and Hirszman name became well-known in film circles.

With Eles Não Usam Black-Tie (1981), by following the current wave in politics and social economical issues such as the strikes for better working conditions in automobile plants which happened in the late 1970's during the military regime, intertwining its story with a family's division, Hirszman conquered audiences and the critics again with his memorable sequences and a power driven story. The film won three awards at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Lion as well. This adaptation of Gianfrancesco Guarnieri celebrated play - who also acted in the leading role - was a massive hit. Around the making of this film, Hirszman was filming the real events that also inspired this film in ABC da Greve (1990), which was released a few years after his death.

During the last year of his life, he managed to release three different projects: his final feature films A Barca do Sol (1987), and Em Busca do Espaço Cotidiano (1987) and the short documentary Imagens do Inconsciente (1987). He died on September 15, 1987 due to complication of AIDS, having been diagnosed in 1986 due to a blood transfusion. Along with ABC da Greve (1990), the documentary Bahia de Todos os Sambas (1996) was released posthumously.