Petra Costa

Petra Costa (born July 8) is a Brazilian filmmaker and actress whose work lives on the borderlines of fiction and nonfiction. She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (the organization behind the Oscars) since 2018.

Petra Costa
Petra Costa
BornJuly 8th
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
EducationUniversity of São Paulo
Barnard College
London School of Economics
OccupationActress, filmmaker
Years active2005–present
Notable work
The Edge of Democracy, Elena, Undertow Eyes, Olmo and the Seagull

In Petra Costa's work the personal and the political are inextricably linked. Her latest film, the Academy Awards Nominated documentary The Edge of Democracy (2019), is a Netflix Original documentary that had its premiere at the opening night of Sundance Film Festival in 2019.

According to First Showing, "the footage she shares is truly jaw-dropping" and shows "an astounding inside look at the recent political shake up in Brazil, examining and showing us directly how democracy is collapsing thanks to political power grabs".[1] It has “all the feel of an All The President’s Men-style political thriller….. with the sweep of The Godfather”, as the ScreenDaily put it.[2] For Point of View, this “political documentary is like none other, a work both intimate and grand in scope".[3]

The Edge of Democracy is the third documentary of a trilogy where Petra investigates her family story. The first, Undertow Eyes (2009), portrays her grandparents recollections and stories, in a personal and existential tale about love and death. It screened at the MOMA in 2010 and won best short Film at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival 2009, best short film at the London International Documentary Festival, and best short film the 13th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival among others.

The second of the trilogy, Elena (2012), her first documentary feature, is a mixture of documentary, diary and fever dream, and was the most watched documentary in Brazil in 2013. It tells the story of two sisters – and as one searches for the other their identities begin to blur. The film was called “a cinematic dream” by the New York Times,[4] “haunting and unforgettable” by the Hollywood Reporter[5] and was defined as a “masterful debut that takes nonfiction where it seldom wants to go – away from the comforting embrace of fact and into a realm of expressionistic possibility” by Indiewire.[6] Elena premiered at IDFA followed by SXSW and Hotdocs won many prizes such as best film at the 2013 Havana Film Festival, best film at DOCSDF, best directing, editing, and best film for the popular jury at the Brasília Film Festival, and was nominated for Best Cinematography at the 2014 Cinema Eye Honors.

Beyond this trilogy Petra co-directed Olmo and the Seagull (2015) which "explores with thrilling boldness a space between fiction and nonfiction that I never dreamed possible”, as Joshua Oppenheimer, director of The Act of Killing, wrote.[7] It was reviewed by Télérama as "a reflection without taboos, full of humor and daring, on creation in the broadest sense." Olmo and the Seagull premiered at Locarno where it won the Young Jury Prize. It also won the Best Nordic Dox Award at CPH:DOX, best documentary at the Rio Film Festival, best documentary at the Cairo Film Festival and best narrative at the RiverRun International Film Festival among others.

Biography

Petra Costa was born in 1983 in Belo Horizonte, in the state of Minas Gerais. She is daughter of left-wing political activists who opposed the Brazilian military dictatorship and the granddaughter of Gabriel Donato de Andrade, one of the co-founders of Andrade Gutierrez, one of the country's major construction companies;[8] directly involved in the corruption and bribery scandal that hit the country in 2015, leading to the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff. Costa acknowledges that background in The Edge of Democracy

She started her training in theater in Brazil at the age of fourteen and later went to the Dramatic Arts School at the University of São Paulo. She completed her undergraduate studies Summa Cum Laude in Anthropology at Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, and completed her masters in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics focusing her studies on the concept of trauma.

Back in Brazil, at the age of 24, she began devoting her time to cinema, first as a researcher and assistant editor and director, and then as a director in her own right. Her works are known for their essayistic character, with Petra establishing dialogues between intimate, personal themes and social and political issues.

Her cinematic influences include Gillo Pontecorvo, Agnès Varda, Chris Marker and Patricio Guzmán

Career

Petra Costa debuted in cinema producing and directing the short film Undertow Eyes (2009), a poetic depiction of love and aging as seen from the perspective of her grandparents. The short was screened at MoMA and scooped numerous awards at Brazilian and international festivals: best short film at the Rio Festival and London International Documentary Festival (LIDF), best short documentary at the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (USA) and special jury's prize at the Gramado Film Festival, among others.

Her first feature film, Elena (2012), in which Petra revisits New York two decades after leaving it in order to seek out the memory of her dead sister, Elena, was presented at the Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (IDFA), São Paulo International Film Festival, Brasilia National Film Festival and the Director's Week (Rio de Janeiro).[9][10][11] The film won dozens of awards, including best documentary at the Festival of Havana, and was the most widely viewed documentary in Brazil in 2013.

As an offshoot to the documentary's success, a series of debates toured cultural and educational centers discussing the issues of suicide and mental health. The Memórias Inconsoláveis (Inconsolable Memories) competition was part of this drive.

In 2014, Elena was released in the United States with the filmmakers Fernando Meirelles and Tim Robbins as executive producers. That year, the documentary came third in the ranking for average viewership per theater throughout the US and met with critical acclaim. The New York Times described it as “a filmic dream”,[4] while the Hollywood Reporter called it “shocking and unforgettable”.[5]  Indiewire claimed it was a “masterful debut [that] takes nonfiction where it seldom wants to go – away from the comforting embrace of fact and into a realm of expressionistic possibility”.[6] Indiewire listed it among the best documentaries of the year.[12]

In 2014, the publisher Arquipélago launched the book Elena de Petra Costa (Petra Costa's Elena), with essays on the film, the full script and bonus content seen for the first time.

Petra Costa's second feature documentary emerged from an invitation from the Copenhagen International Documentary Festival (CPH: DOX) to co-direct a film with the Danish filmmaker Lea Glob. Together, they decided to explore real lives through the fictional structure of Olmo and the Seagull. The film follows Olivia and Serge, actors with the Théâtre du Soleil, who are expecting a baby. The pregnancy turns into a rite of passage, forcing the actress to confront her darkest fears. Olivia's desire for freedom and professional success, the limits imposed by her own body, and her image as a person are just some of the themes the film explores.

Olmo and the Seagull premiered at Locarno, where it won the Jury's Young Director's Prize. It also won the Best Nordic Dox Award at CPH:DOX, best documentary at the Rio Film Festival, best documentary at the Cairo Film Festival and Best Narrative at the RiverRun International Film Festival, among other accolades.

At one of the film's first screenings in Brazil, Petra Costa defended women's right to autonomy over their bodies and the decriminalization of abortion, and her comments stirred up quite a controversy. In order to dialogue with the criticism she received, Petra created the “My Body, My Rules” social media campaign, which was seen by 13 million viewers on Facebook and YouTube.

Her next project began with coverage of the marches for and against the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and grew into the feature-length documentary The Edge of Democracy. The film is a Netflix Original production and was released worldwide on June 19, 2019. The documentary combines the personal and the political in order to explore one of the most dramatic and turbulent moments in Brazilian history. With ample access to presidents Lula, Dilma and Bolsonaro, the director also revisited her own family history in an attempt to understand the schismatic state her country had fallen into.

The Edge of Democracy premiered on the opening night of the Sundance Film Festival 2019 and was selected for screening at various other international festivals, including CPH:DOX, True False, IndieLisboa, Sheffield and Rooftop Films. The film was a critical success. “An absolutely vital documentary, according to the New York Post, “a vast and petrifying documentary” for Variety,[13] while ScreenDaily described it as a “political thriller […] with the feel of an All the Presidents Men […] and the sweep of the Godfather”.[2] For NBC News, the film throws the doors open on “incredible behind the scenes access to politics”.[14] “The images are jaw-dropping”, said the site Firstshowing.net,[1] while Point of View labelled it "[a documentary] like no other, a work both intimate and grand in scope".[3]

Petra Costa ranked among Variety's 10 documentary filmmakers to watch in 2019.

Filmography
  • 2005 – Dom Quixote de Bethelehem (Feature film, video documentary)[15]
  • 2009 – Undertow Eyes (Short film, documentary)
Rio Film Festival: Best Short Film[16]
Gramado Film Festival (Brazil) Special Jury Award and Audience Award[16]
São Paulo International Short Film Festival: New Talents Award[16]
  • 2012 – Elena (Feature film)
Brasília National Film Festival: Best Documentary – Audience Award, Best Directing, Editing and Production Design[17]
Selected for IDFA (Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival) and Guadalajara International Film Festival[9]
  • 2015 – Olmo and the Seagull (Feature film, documentary)[18]
Rio Film Festival: Best Documentary[19]
Sundance Official Selection, CPH:Dox, True False.

Awards
Year Award Category Nominated work Role
2009 Rio Film Festival Best Short Film Undertow Eyes[16] Director, Producer, Writer
Gramado Film Festival Special Jury Award
Audience Award
Vitoria Cine Video Best Editing
Itu International Film Festival Best Screenplay
Goiania Short Film Festival Best Film
São Paulo International Short Film Festival New Talents Award
2010 Cine Las Americas International Film Festival Best Short Documentary Film
Curta Cabo Frio Best Short Documentary in 35mm
New England Festival of Ibero American Cinema Best Short Film
2011 London International Documentary Festival Best Short Film
2012 Brasília National Film Festival: Best Documentary Audience Award Elena[20] Director, Producer, Writer
Best Directing
Editing
Production Design
2013 Guadalajara Film Festival (Mexico)[21] Special Mention
ZagrebDox Documentary Film Festival (Croatia)[22] Special Mention
Films de Femmes (France) Best Documentary Feature
Planete + Doc Film Festival (Poland) CANON Cinematography Award for best Cinematography
Cine Música – Festival de Cinema de Conservatória (Brazil) Best Original Music
Havana Film Festival (Cuba) Best Documentary Feature
Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival (EUA) Best Documentary Feature
2014 CPH:DOX Best Nordic Dox Award Olmo and the Seagull Director, Producer, Writer
2015 Cairo International Film Festival Special Mention
Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival Best Documentary
Vienale Best Documentary
Locarno International Film Festival Junior Jury Award
2016 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize Best Foreign-Language Film
Millennium Docs Against Gravity Fiction Non Fiction Award
RiverRun International Film Festival Audience Choice Award

References
  1. "Sundance 2019: Petra Costa's Documentary 'The Edge of Democracy'". FirstShowing.net. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  2. Hunter, Allan (2019-03-29). "'The Edge Of Democracy': CPH:DOX review". Screen. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  3. "Review: 'The Edge of Democracy'". Point of View. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  4. Holden, Stephen (2014-05-29). "Searching for Her Sister, as Well as for Herself". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  5. "'Elena': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  6. Anderson, John (2014-05-29). "Review: A Dreamy Suicide is a Masterful Debut in Petra Costa's 'Elena'". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  7. "Olmo and The Seagull". olmoandtheseagull.com. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  8. "Quem é Petra Costa, diretora de 'Democracia em vertigem', documentário indicado ao Oscar". O Globo (in Portuguese). 2020-01-14. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
  9. http://www.idfa.nl/industry/daily/spotlight-films/elena.aspx%5B%5D
  10. http://36.mostra.org/filme/374084/elena
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-01-29.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "The Best Movies Of 2013 (The Playlist Staff Top 10s)". IndieWire. 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  13. Lodge, Guy (2019-04-25). "Film Review: 'The Edge of Democracy'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  14. "Here are 5 Latino-themed films to watch at Sundance". NBC News. Retrieved 2020-01-06.
  15. .IMDB
  16. .PortaCurtas
  17. http://www.elenafilme.com/o-filme/#premios
  18. "Locarno: 'Jack,' 'Heimatland,' 'Olmo' in Fest Run-up Sales News". Variety. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  19. "Coprodução luso-brasileira Olmo e a gaivota distinguida no Festival do Rio 2015". www.cmjornal.xl.pt. Retrieved 2015-11-27.
  20. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2013-05-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-10-09. Retrieved 2013-05-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).Festival Internacional de Guadalajara
  22. .ZagrebDox
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