Petra Costa
For over a decade, Petra Costa has been telling stories at the intersection of the personal and the political, seeking to understand the brutally unequal society in which we live, with a particular focus on her country of origin, Brazil. Her most recent documentary, Apocalypse in the Tropics, premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024 and was acquired by Netflix. Her previous film, The Edge of Democracy, was nominated for an Academy Award and was listed by The New York Times as one of the ten best films of 2019. It received several nominations and won the Peabody Award, the Platino Award, and Best Director at DOC NYC.
Petra began her training in theatre in Brazil at the age of fourteen and later enrolled at the School of Dramatic Arts of the University of São Paulo. She graduated summa cum laude in Anthropology from Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, and completed a Master’s degree in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics, focusing her studies on the concept of trauma.
In 2015, Petra co-directed Olmo and the Seagull with Lea Glob, which won the Young Jury Award at the Locarno Film Festival. She produced Êxtase (2020) by Moara Passoni, served as associate producer on Babenco (2019), and as executive producer of Beba (2021). Her first feature-length film, Elena, executive produced by Tim Robbins and Fernando Meirelles, was the most-watched documentary in Brazil in 2013, blending documentary and fever dream. The film was described by IndieWire as “a masterful debut that takes non-fiction where it rarely wants to go—away from the comforting embrace of fact and into a realm of expressionist possibility.” Elena premiered at IDFA and won several awards, including Best Film at the Havana Film Festival (2013), Best Film at DOCSDF, and a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2014 Cinema Eye Honors.
Petra began her training in theatre in Brazil at the age of fourteen and later enrolled at the School of Dramatic Arts of the University of São Paulo. She graduated summa cum laude in Anthropology from Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, and completed a Master’s degree in Social Psychology at the London School of Economics, focusing her studies on the concept of trauma.
In 2015, Petra co-directed Olmo and the Seagull with Lea Glob, which won the Young Jury Award at the Locarno Film Festival. She produced Êxtase (2020) by Moara Passoni, served as associate producer on Babenco (2019), and as executive producer of Beba (2021). Her first feature-length film, Elena, executive produced by Tim Robbins and Fernando Meirelles, was the most-watched documentary in Brazil in 2013, blending documentary and fever dream. The film was described by IndieWire as “a masterful debut that takes non-fiction where it rarely wants to go—away from the comforting embrace of fact and into a realm of expressionist possibility.” Elena premiered at IDFA and won several awards, including Best Film at the Havana Film Festival (2013), Best Film at DOCSDF, and a nomination for Best Cinematography at the 2014 Cinema Eye Honors.
