Her first documentary feature, Elena (2012), was the most watched documentary in Brazil in 2013[citation needed]. 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,[1] "haunting and unforgettable" by the Hollywood Reporter,[2] and 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.[3]Elena premiered at IDFA followed by SXSW and Hotdocs. It won Best Film at the 2013 Havana Film Festival, Best Film at DOCSDF, Best Directing, Best 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[citation needed].
Back in Brazil, at the age of 24, she began devoting her time to the 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.
Petra Costa made her film debut 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 film 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).[5][6][7] 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 of 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 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 was met with critical acclaim. The New York Times described it as "a filmic dream",[1] while the Hollywood Reporter called it "shocking and unforgettable".[2]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".[3]Indiewire listed it among the best documentaries of the year.[8]
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 Danishfilmmaker 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. 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.[9]
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.
She made the feature-length documentary The Edge of Democracy (2019) with coverage of the marches for and against the impeachment of former president Dilma Rousseff in 2016. The film is a Netflix production and was released worldwide on June 19, 2019. 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,[10] while ScreenDaily described it as a "political thriller […] with the feel of an All the Presidents Men […] and the sweep of the Godfather".[11] For NBC News, the film throws the doors open on "incredible behind the scenes access to politics".[12] "The images are jaw-dropping", said the site Firstshowing.net,[13] while Point of View labelled it "[a documentary] like no other, a work both intimate and grand in scope".[14]
Petra Costa ranked among Variety's 10 documentary filmmakers to watch in 2019.
Astrid Bussink is a Dutch filmmaker. Her debut film is the documentary The Angelmakers.
CPH:DOX, also known as Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, is a Danish film festival focused on documentary films, held annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since 2008 has been run by Copenhagen Film Festivals, which also managed the now-defunct CPH PIX festival.
Erik Walter Gandini is an Italian-Swedish film director, writer, producer and professor of documentary film at Stockholm University of the Arts.
CPH PIX was a film festival that takes place annually in Copenhagen, Denmark. Created when the Copenhagen International Film Festival and the NatFilm Festival were merged in 2008, the festival ran from 2009 until 2021. It was run by Copenhagen Film Festivals, which also manages the documentary festival CPH:DOX. CPH PIX incorporated Buster Film Festival for Children and Youth between 2016 and 2018.
Justin Pemberton is a documentary filmmaker based in New Zealand.
Final Cut for Real ApS is a film production company based in Copenhagen, Denmark specializing in documentaries for the international market. The two Oscar-nominated groundbreaking documentaries The Act of Killing (2012) and The Look of Silence (2014) helped establish the company as a recognized provider of independent creative documentaries on the international stage. The recent years, Final Cut for Real has also expanded to fiction films and virtual reality. In 2019 Final Cut for Real Norway was established.
Diana El Jeiroudi, is a Berlin-based, Syrian independent film director and producer. El Jeiroudi’s films as director were celebrated at many festivals, including the Venice Film Festival, IDFA, DokLeipzig, Visions du Réel, CPH:DOX… among others. Her producing credits include the Sundance 2023 film 5 Seasons of Revolution, the Cannes Film Festival 2014 selection Silvered Water, the IDFA 2013 selection The Mulberry House, among others. She was the first Syrian to be a juror in Cannes Film Festival in 2014, when she was part of the first Documentary Film Award jury in the festival. Together with her partner Orwa Nyrabia, El Jeiroudi was also the first Syrian known to be invited to become a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2017. El Jeiroudi was also a co-founder of DOX BOX International Documentary Film Festival in Syria and DOX BOX e.V. non-profit association in Germany.
The Look of Silence is a 2014 internationally co-produced documentary film directed by Joshua Oppenheimer about the Indonesian mass killings of 1965–66. The film is a companion piece to his 2012 documentary The Act of Killing. Executive producers were Werner Herzog, Errol Morris, and Andre Singer. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 88th Academy Awards.
WG Film is a Swedish production company that produces national and international documentaries. The company is located in Malmö and was founded in 1994 by documentary filmmaker Lars Westman and journalist Fredrik Gertten.
Jessica Maria Nettelbladt is a Swedish director and documentary filmmaker, specializing in personal interviews.
Actress is a 2014 American documentary film about actress Brandy Burre, directed, edited and photographed by Robert Greene. The film was produced by Douglas Tirola and Susan Bedusa, and is a 4th Row Films and Prewar Cinema production. It was distributed by The Cinema Guild.
Boris Gerrets (1948–2020) was a Dutch film director, film writer and editor based in Berlin, Germany. He was born into a Bulgarian-German family in Amsterdam and was raised in The Netherlands, Spain, Sierra Leone and Germany.
Motto Pictures is a documentary production company based in Brooklyn, New York specializing in producing and executive producing documentary features. Motto secures financing, builds distribution strategies, and creatively develops films, and has produced over 25 feature documentaries and won numerous awards.
Gabriel Mascaro is a Brazilian visual artist and film director.
Michael Graversen is a Danish documentary filmmaker. He graduated from the National Film and Television School in England and directs documentaries often of an existential or socially-relevant character. His work has won awards and been selected for festivals including IDFA and CPH:DOX.
Mohammed Ali Naqvi is a Pakistani filmmaker based in New York City. He is known for documentaries which shed light on the socio political conditions of Pakistan, and feature strong characters on personal journeys of self-discovery. Notable films include Insha’Allah Democracy (2017), Among the Believers (2015), Shame (2007), and Terror’s Children (2003).
The Edge of Democracy is a 2019 Brazilian documentary film directed by Petra Costa. The film follows the political past of the filmmaker in a personal way, in context with the first term of President Lula and the events leading to the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, analyzing the rise and fall of both presidents as well as the 2014 socio-political crisis that swept Brazil. The arrest of Lula paved the way for Jair Bolsonaro's 2018 campaign and presidency. It had its world premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was released by Netflix on June 19, 2019. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards and won a Peabody Award in 2020.
The Men's Room is a 2018 Norwegian documentary film written and directed by Peter Sommer and Jo Vemund Svendson. It concerns 25 Norwegian men in a men's choir rehearsing for their biggest event ever: warming up for Black Sabbath in front of 10,000 people. However, backstage issues arise as Ivar, the conductor, is terminally ill and may not survive to witness the concert.
Tonje Hessen Schei is a Norwegian film director, producer and screenwriter who has been making independent documentary films since 1996. Her films mostly take on international issues that question systems of power.
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