Petra Costa

Petra Costa

Born: July 8, 1983
in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Petra Costa is a Brazilian filmmaker and actress. She first directed the short film Undertow Eyes (2009) which screened at the MoMA and was winner of best short film at Rio Film Festival, Cine Las Americas International Film Festival, London International Documentary Festival among others. She then directed the feature Elena (2012) which premiered at IDFA, followed by SXSW and HotDocs. Elena won many prizes such as best film at Havana Film Festival (2013), was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2014 Cinema Eye Honors and was the most watched documentary in Brazil in 2013. In 2013 Petra was one of the 20 recipients of a grant given by CPH:DOX in Denmark. From this grant Petra and her Danish co-director Lea Glob developed a feature film, currently in postproduction, with the working title Olmo and the Seagull. The film is being produced by Zentropa, Som & Furia and Busca Vida Filmes. Petra completed her undergraduate studies Summa Cum Laude in Anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York. She did her Masters in Health, Community and Development at the London School of Economics, London. She has lived in Brazil for most of her life.

Movies for Petra Costa...

The Edge of Theocracy
Title: The Edge of Theocracy
Character: Petra Costa
Released: December 10, 2020
Type: Movie
Jesus life and work goes through rumors, conspiracies, injuries, friendship and fanaticism. An emblematic figure of the 1st century, Jesus was a charismatic leader, but he faced many trials.
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The Edge of Democracy
Title: The Edge of Democracy
Character: Self
Released: January 24, 2019
Type: Movie
A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis—the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. With unprecedented access to Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, we witness their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains.
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Life in Gray
Title: Life in Gray
Character: Herself
Released: October 8, 2017
Type: Movie
A faux documentary about the ongoing social, political and economical crisis in Brazil, where the government cuts the colors of Rio de Janeiro, turning the city black and white.
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Nobody's Watching
Title: Nobody's Watching
Character: Petra
Released: May 18, 2017
Type: Movie
Nico is a famous actor in Argentina, but in New York, nobody takes notice. He needs to juggle bartending, babysitting and odd jobs to keep himself afloat. But when old friends from Buenos Aires come to visit, he needs to juggle the image of his old life with the reality of the struggling actor in New York City.
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Elena
Title: Elena
Character: Self
Released: April 11, 2013
Type: Movie
Petra heads to New York in search of her older sister after a long time of being separated. They are both movie actresses and heirs of the wounds of the Brazilian dictatorship. But Petra has only a few clues: home movies, newspaper clippings, a diary...