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.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". 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. For Point of View, this
“political documentary is like none other, a work both intimate and
grand in scope".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.
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.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". 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. For Point of View, this
“political documentary is like none other, a work both intimate and
grand in scope".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.
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