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.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- July 8, 1983 (43)
- Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
- Producer, director, writer and actor
- 8 on Motif · 13 credits in all
What are Petra Costa's films like?
Across their 7 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Survival.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 7
Light 0 · Serious 5 · Dark 2
Grounded 6 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 6 · Intense 1
Steady 6 · Shifting 1 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 7 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 4 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 3
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 5
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 3
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet3
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Petra Costa's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 6 of their 8 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Petra Costa's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Motif score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
13 credits, 8 with a Motif page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
To Hold a Mountain(2026)
Motif score: 91st percentile of all films
Reading the World (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2025)
Motif score: 93rd percentile of all films
Beba(2021)
Motif score: 56th percentile of all films
The Edge of Theocracy (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2020)
Motif score: 89th percentile of all films
Ecstasy (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2020)
The Edge of Democracy(2019)
Motif score: 84th percentile of all films
Nobody's Watching(2017)
Motif score: 66th percentile of all films
Olmo and the Seagull (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2015)
Elena(2012)
Motif score: 94th percentile of all films
Undertow Eyes (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2011)
Secrets of the Tribe(2010)
Motif score: 85th percentile of all films
Career shape
A full career of 12 titles from 2010 to 2025.
Biggest box office
Elena (2012)
Highest rated
Elena (2012)
Most popular right now
Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024)
Film career
- 2017Screen debut· Nobody's Watching
By role
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it.
Awards
3 major nominations and no wins, 2019–2026.
- BAFTA Award, nominated · Best Documentary
- Oscar, nominated · Best Documentary Feature
- Sundance award, nominated · World Cinema - Documentary
Major bodies only: the Oscars, Primetime Emmys, Golden Globes, BAFTAs and Screen Actors Guild Awards are named; Cannes, Venice, the Berlinale, Sundance, the directors', writers' and producers' guilds, the Grammys, Critics Choice and the Independent Spirit Awards count as other major bodies. Festival and regional prizes are not counted. Source: IMDb.
How do Petra Costa's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Motif score in the 87th percentile, the median of all 8; across their 7 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 90th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up6
- 50th to 74th2
Shape of the crowd
6 of their 8 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic1
- Crowd Pleaser6
Reviewers score the atmosphere 77/100 and the pacing 30/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Motif score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Petra Costa work with?
People who share at least 2 of Petra Costa's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Moara Passoni shares the most, 3.
Writers
- Moara PassoniShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019), Elena (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Moara Passoni
- David BarkerShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019)See all 2 shared titles with David Barker
Actors
- Jair BolsonaroShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Jair Bolsonaro
- Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Editors
- Tina BazShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019), Elena (2012)See all 3 shared titles with Tina Baz
- Bruno LaseviciusShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Bruno Lasevicius
- Cao GuimarãesShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), Babenco: Tell Me When I Die (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Cao Guimarães
- Eduardo GripaShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Eduardo Gripa
Producers
- Meadow FundShared titles: To Hold a Mountain (2026), Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Meadow Fund
- Alessandra OrofinoShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), Beba (2021)See all 2 shared titles with Alessandra Orofino
- Maxyne FranklinShared titles: Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024), The Edge of Democracy (2019)See all 2 shared titles with Maxyne Franklin
- Sofia GeldShared titles: Beba (2021), Elena (2012)See all 2 shared titles with Sofia Geld