{{short description|Brazilian actress and filmmaker|bot=PearBOT 5}} {{Inline|date=July 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=November 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Petra Costa | image = Petra Costa.jpg | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1983|07|08|df=yes}} | birth_place = {{nowrap|Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil}} | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Singer, filmmaker | notable_works = ''The Edge of Democracy'' | education = University of São Paulo <br /> Barnard College <br /> London School of Economics | years_active = 2005–present }}
'''Ana Petra Costa''' (Belo Horizonte, July 8, 1983)<ref>{{Cite web |title=GeneaMinas – genealogia mineira – árvore genealógica |url=https://www.geneaminas.com.br/genealogia-mineira/parentes.asp?codpessoa=454281&genero=2 |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=www.geneaminas.com.br}}</ref> is a Brazilian filmmaker, screenwriter, producer, and narrator, and a co-founder of the production company Busca Vida Filmes. She was nominated for an Academy Award, an Emmy Award, and a BAFTA Award.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cordeiro (@angelocordeirosilva) |first=Angelo |date=2026-01-27 |title='Apocalipse nos Trópicos', de Petra Costa, é indicado ao BAFTA de Melhor Documentário |url=https://rollingstone.com.br/cinema/apocalipse-nos-tropicos-indicado-bafta-melhor-documentario/ |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Rolling Stone Brasil |language=pt-BR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=estadaoconteudo |title='Apocalipse nos Trópicos', de Petra Costa, é indicado ao Emmy Awards de direção de documentário |url=https://www.terra.com.br/diversao/entre-telas/filmes/apocalipse-nos-tropicos-de-petra-costa-e-indicado-ao-emmy-awards-de-direcao-de-documentario,e2742283dda3f522b688213275bc2b04x3t25h61.html |access-date=2026-04-13 |website=Terra |language=pt-BR}}</ref><ref name=":6" /> Petra is internationally recognized for her hybrid, essayistic approach, in which intimate themes such as grief, memory, trauma, and identity intertwine with historical events and contemporary political tensions. She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2018<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-12 |title=ACADEMY INVITES 928 TO MEMBERSHIP {{!}} Oscars.org {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |url=https://www.oscars.org/news/academy-invites-928-membership |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=www.oscars.org |language=en}}</ref>.
Her films have screened in more than 40 countries and received recognition at festivals such as Sundance, Venice, IDFA, Locarno, and CPH:DOX, among others <ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra Costa {{!}} Producer, director, writer |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3525467/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>. In 2020, her documentary film ''The Edge of Democracy'' was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards and won a Peabody Award.
== Biography == Ana Petra Costa was born in 1983 in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, and spent her childhood in São Paulo. She is the daughter of former federal deputy Manuel da Silva Costa Júnior<ref>{{Cite web |last=Redação |date=2020-01-18 |title=Petra Costa: um pouco da história de sua família em "Democracia e Vertigem" |url=https://www.bocamaldita.com/petra-costa-um-pouco-da-historia-de-sua-familia-em-democracia-e-vertigem/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=Boca Maldita |language=pt-BR}}</ref> and sociologist and journalist Marília Furtado de Andrade.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-08-29 |title=Quem é Petra Costa, cineasta brasileira indicada ao Oscar |url=https://revistagalileu.globo.com/Cultura/noticia/2020/02/quem-e-petra-costa-cineasta-brasileira-indicada-ao-oscar.html |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=Revista Galileu |language=pt-br}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra Costa: Diretora indicada ao Oscar por Democracia em Vertigem reconta trajetória e diz não acreditar em imparcialidade |url=https://entretenimento.uol.com.br/reportagens-especiais/petra-costa-quem-e-a-diretora-indicada-ao-oscar-por-democracia-em-vertigem/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=entretenimento.uol.com.br |language=pt-br}}</ref> Her parents were left-wing activists linked to the Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB) in the 1970s and named Petra in homage to Pedro Pomar, a communist leader assassinated by the military dictatorship.<ref>{{Citation |title=Pedro Pomar |date=2025-08-28 |work=Wikipédia, a enciclopédia livre |url=https://pt.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pedro_Pomar&oldid=70763158 |access-date=2025-12-29 |language=pt}}</ref>
At the age of seven, Petra's life was marked by the suicide of her sister Elena , an event that would become the central theme of her first feature-length work<ref>{{Citation |title=Elena |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2475154/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |publisher=Busca Vida Filmes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=O Filme Elena e a ideação pela depressão |url=https://vtmneurodiagnostico.com.br/cine_psiconeurologia/o-filme-elena-e-o-transtorno-depressivo/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=VTM NEURODIAGNÓSTICO |language=pt-BR}}</ref>. She began her artistic trajectory in theater, enrolling at the age of 17 in the Performing Arts program at the University of São Paulo (USP)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra Costa: Diretora indicada ao Oscar por Democracia em Vertigem reconta trajetória e diz não acreditar em imparcialidade |url=https://entretenimento.uol.com.br/reportagens-especiais/petra-costa-quem-e-a-diretora-indicada-ao-oscar-por-democracia-em-vertigem/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=entretenimento.uol.com.br |language=pt-br}}</ref>. She later earned a degree in Anthropology from Barnard College and completed a master's degree in Social Development at the London School of Economics, focusing on the concept of collective trauma.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra Costa {{!}} americas.dafilms.com |url=https://americas.dafilms.com/director/9360-petra-costa |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=americas.dafilms.com |language=en-US}}</ref>
Back in Brazil, at the age of 24, she began to devote her time to cinema, first as a researcher and assistant director, and later as a director. Her works are known for their essayistic character, with Costa establishing dialogues between intimate and personal themes and social and political issues. Among her cinematic influences are Gillo Pontecorvo, Agnès Varda, Chris Marker, and Patricio Guzmán.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra Costa: Diretora indicada ao Oscar por Democracia em Vertigem reconta trajetória e diz não acreditar em imparcialidade |url=https://entretenimento.uol.com.br/reportagens-especiais/petra-costa-quem-e-a-diretora-indicada-ao-oscar-por-democracia-em-vertigem/ |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=entretenimento.uol.com.br |language=pt-br}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Petra, Caetano, e esta nossa história, contraditória |url=https://24noticias.sapo.pt/opiniao/artigos/petra-caetano-e-esta-nossa-historia-contraditoria |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=24 Notícias |language=pt}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=s.r.o |first=Appio Digital |title=Petra Costa {{!}} DOKweb |url=https://dokweb.net/database/persons/biography/75b7ec61-6bbc-4d39-a775-897e87dc0055/petra-costa |access-date=2025-12-29 |website=dokweb.net |language=en}}</ref>
== Career == Petra began her film career with the short ''Undertow Eyes'' (2009), a poetic portrait of love and aging based on the story of her grandparents. The film was screened at MoMA (New York)<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-03-17 |title=Directors – Film Fatales |url=https://www.filmfatales.org/directors/,%20https://www.filmfatales.org/directors/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |language=en-US}}</ref> and awarded at ten national and international festivals: Best Short Film at Festival do Rio, the London International Documentary Festival (LIDF), the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival (United States), and a Special Jury Prize at the Gramado Film Festival, among others<ref>{{Cite web |title=Undertow Eyes {{!}} Descubra e Inspire-se Agora |url=https://buscavidafilmes.com/en/undertow-eyes |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=Busca Vida |language=pt-BR}}</ref>. In Undertow Eyes, Petra worked as director, screenwriter, and producer.
In 2012, she released her first feature-length film, ''Elena'' (2012)<ref>{{Citation |title=Elena |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2475154/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |publisher=Busca Vida Filmes}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.adorocinema.com/filmes/filme-212170/ |title=Elena |last=AdoroCinema |language=pt-BR |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=www.adorocinema.com}}</ref>, an autobiographical documentary that reconstructs her sister's trajectory and her own relationship with grief, the body, and memory. The film was widely acclaimed by international critics and became a landmark of contemporary Brazilian documentary cinema. It was screened at festivals such as IDFA, SXSW, and DocsBarcelona, and received awards in Havana, Brasília, Paulínia, and at Festival do Rio, among others. It was the most-watched documentary in Brazil in 2013<ref>{{Cite web |last=Leite |first=Maria Eduarda da Costa |date=2025-09-29 |title=Elena, de Petra Costa: memória e trauma através dos modos poético e performático |url=https://apichatpongblogue.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/elena-de-petra-costa-memoria-e-trauma-atraves-dos-modos-poetico-e-performatico/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=APICHATPONG |language=pt-BR}}</ref>. Elena also generated mental health awareness campaigns and was screened at universities, cultural centers, public schools, and in moderated sessions with specialists, integrating educational actions and social impact initiatives<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-5S0Zd36_Q |title=Petra Costa participa de debate sobre ELENA na UFMG |date=2015-08-06 |last=Elena Filme |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Leite |first=Maria Eduarda da Costa |date=2025-09-29 |title=Elena, de Petra Costa: memória e trauma através dos modos poético e performático |url=https://apichatpongblogue.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/elena-de-petra-costa-memoria-e-trauma-atraves-dos-modos-poetico-e-performatico/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=APICHATPONG |language=pt-BR}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Gabaritos do ENEM 2022 – Elite Colégio e Pré-Vestibular |url=https://sisq.elitecampinas.com.br/GabaritoVestibulares/VisualizarProvaVestibularCompleta?vestibular=enem&ano=2022&sem_layout=&pagina=2&prova_vestibular_id=440038&fase= |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=Elite Colégio e Pré-Vestibular Campinas |language=pt-br}}</ref>. In 2014, Elena was released in the United States, with executive production by filmmakers Fernando Meirelles and Tim Robbins. That year, it ranked as the fourth film in terms of average audience per theater in the United States and received numerous positive reviews. It was described as "a cinematic dream" by Stephen Holden in ''The New York Times''<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |date=2014-05-29 |title=Searching for Her Sister, as Well as for Herself |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/movies/elena-a-documentary-about-a-brazilian-actress.html |access-date=2020-01-06 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>, "haunting and unforgettable" by the ''Hollywood Reporter'',<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=29 May 2014 |title='Elena': Film Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/elena-film-review-707853 |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en}}</ref>, and defined by "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''.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Anderson |first=John |date=2014-05-29 |title=Review: A Dreamy Suicide is a Masterful Debut in Petra Costa's 'Elena' |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2014/05/review-a-dreamy-suicide-is-a-masterful-debut-in-petra-costas-elena-26000/ |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=IndieWire |language=en}}</ref> Indiewire listed it among the best documentaries of the year<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-12-31 |title=The Best Movies Of 2013 (The Playlist Staff Top 10s) |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2013/12/the-best-movies-of-2013-the-playlist-staff-top-10s-90550/ |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=IndieWire |language=en |archive-date=25 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625045715/http://www.indiewire.com/2013/12/the-best-movies-of-2013-the-playlist-staff-top-10s-90550/ }}</ref>. ''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. In 2014, Arquipélago Publishing released the book Elena, featuring essays about the film, the screenplay, and previously unpublished content.
''Olmo and the Seagull'' (2014), co-directed with Danish filmmaker Lea Glob, Costa's second feature documentary explores pregnancy and the limits of the body and female freedom within the creative process<ref>{{Citation |title=Olmo & the Seagull |date=2015-11-05 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4160256/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |publisher=Zentropa Productions, Busca Vida Filmes, O Som e a Fúria}}</ref> . 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olmo and The Seagull |url=https://olmoandtheseagull.com/ |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=olmoandtheseagull.com |language=en}}</ref>
The work blends reality and fiction in a hybrid and performative structure. It received awards at the Locarno Film Festival (Best Documentary – Critics' Week), Nordic Dox Award at CPH:DOX, Festival do Rio (Young Jury Award) Best Documentary at the Cairo Film Festival and Best Narrative at the RiverRun International Film Festival, and was screened at FID Marseille, among others<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4160256/awards/ |title=Olmo & the Seagull (2015) – Awards – IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>. At one of the film's first screenings in Brazil, Costa defended women's right to autonomy over their bodies and the decriminalization of abortion, and her comments stirred up quite a controversy. To respond to the criticism she received, Costa 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 demonstrations for and against the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in 2016 and resulted in the feature-length film ''The Edge of Democracy'' (2019). On June 19, 2019, ''The Edge of Democracy'' premiered worldwide on the opening night at the Sundance Film Festival and was subsequently acquired by Netflix, becoming one of the most widely watched Brazilian documentaries globally. The film follows the impeachment process of President Dilma Rousseff and the Brazilian political crisis from a personal and family perspective. 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. It received dozens of awards and nominations, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature and the Platino Award for Best Director. It 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.The work was accompanied by an international campaign of debates on democracy, authoritarianism, media, and political polarization, with moderated screenings at universities, parliaments, and collectives around the world. The film was well received by international critics. "An absolutely vital documentary", according to the ''New York Post'',. "a vast and petrifying documentary" for Variety,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/reviews/the-edge-of-democracy-review-2-1203197072/|title=Film Review: 'The Edge of Democracy'|last=Lodge|first=Guy|date=2019-04-25|website=Variety|language=en|access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref> while ''ScreenDaily'' described it as a "political thriller […] with the feel of an ''All the presidents Men'' […] and the sweep of the ''Godfather''".<ref name=":4">{{Cite web |last=Hunter |first=Allan |date=2019-03-29 |title='The Edge Of Democracy': CPH:DOX review |url=https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-edge-of-democracy-cphdox-review/5138138.article |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=Screen |language=en}}</ref> For ''NBC News'', the film throws the doors open on "incredible behind the scenes access to politics".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/here-are-5-latino-themed-films-watch-sundance-n962016|title=Here are 5 Latino-themed films to watch at Sundance|website=NBC News|date=24 January 2019 |language=en|access-date=2020-01-06}}</ref> "The images are jaw-dropping", said the site ''Firstshowing.net'',<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |title=Sundance 2019: Petra Costa's Documentary 'The Edge of Democracy' |url=https://www.firstshowing.net/2019/sundance-2019-petra-costas-documentary-the-edge-of-democracy/ |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=FirstShowing.net |date=3 February 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> while ''Point of View'' labelled it "[a documentary] like no other, a work both intimate and grand in scope".<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=Review: 'The Edge of Democracy' |url=https://povmagazine.com/articles/view/review-the-edge-of-democracy |access-date=2020-01-06 |website=Point of View |date=29 April 2019 |language=en}}</ref> Costa was ranked among ''Variety''{{'s}} 10 documentary filmmakers to watch in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Staff |first=Variety |date=2019-04-25 |title=10 Documentary Filmmakers to Watch 2019 |url=https://variety.com/gallery/10-documakers-to-watch-2019/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
Still in 2020, she co-produced the film Êxtase in partnership with director Moara Passoni, who, in her debut film, portrays Clara's agony in living with an obsession with food and the resulting challenges of anorexia faced by the young woman<ref>{{Citation |title=Êxtase |date=2020-10-22 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5739042/ |access-date=2026-01-02 |publisher=Busca Vida Filmes}}</ref>. The film was a highlight at the 43rd São Paulo International Film Festival. In 2023, Petra was invited to serve on the jury of the Sundance Film Festival, alongside Alexander Nanau and Karim Amer.
In 2024, Petra released ''Apocalypse in the Tropics'' (2024), a documentary that investigates the entanglement between religion and politics in Brazil and the role of evangelical apocalyptic ideologies and the influence of evangelical Christianity on far-right politics in Brazil, in support of Jair Bolsonaro. The film premiered out of competition at the 81st Venice International Film Festival, on 29 August 2024<ref name="nygg" /> and it was given a limited release in the United States on 11 July 2025, prior to its global release on Netflix on 14 July 2025. Based on the film, an impact campaign was organized with discussion circles at universities, churches, and cineclubs, promoting debates on faith, democracy, and the role of religious leadership in Brazilian politics. Throughout the second half of 2025, meetings with evangelical leaders and researchers took place in several cities such as São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Salvador, Curitiba, and Fortaleza, aiming to build bridges of listening and democratic resistance.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_m3So_ywApQ |title=🔴 SEM CENSURA RECEBE PETRA COSTA, FORMIGA E RODRIGO PENNA |date=2025-12-11 |last=TV Brasil |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
== Filmography == {| class="wikitable" !Year !English title !Original title !Notes |- !2005 | colspan="2" |''Dom Quixote de Bethlehem'' | |- !2009 |''Undertow Eyes'' |''Olhos de Ressaca'' |Short film |- !2012 | colspan="2" |''Elena'' | |- !2015 |''Olmo and the Seagull'' |''O Olmo e a Gaivota'' | |- !2019 |''The Edge of Democracy'' |''Democracia em Vertigem'' |Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film – Nominee |- !2020 | colspan="2" |Êxtase | |- !2024 |''Apocalypse in the Tropics'' |''Apocalipse nos Trópicos'' | |}
== Awards == {| class="wikitable" |- ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Nominated work |- ! rowspan="8" |2009 |Rio Film Festival |Best Short Film | rowspan="12" |''Undertow Eyes''<ref name="portacurtas.org.br">{{cite web |title=Tamandua.tv.br |url=http://portacurtas.org.br/filme/?name=olhos_de_ressaca.PortaCurtas}}</ref> |- |rowspan=2|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 |- | rowspan="2" |São Paulo International Short Film Festival |New Talents Award |- |Top 10 Audience Favorites |- ! rowspan="3" |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 |- ! rowspan="5" |2012 | rowspan="5" |Brasília National Film Festival |Best Documentary | rowspan="16" |''Elena''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.elenafilme.com/EN/the-movie/#premios |title=ELENA |access-date=2013-05-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140404121122/http://www.elenafilme.com/EN/the-movie/#premios |archive-date=2014-04-04 }}</ref> |- |Audience Award |- |Best Directing |- |Editing |- |Production Design |- ! rowspan="11" |2013 |Guadalajara Film Festival<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.ficg.mx/28/index.php/es/el-festival/palmares-ficg28 |title=Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara – Palmarés FICG28 |access-date=2013-05-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131009214254/https://www.ficg.mx/28/index.php/es/el-festival/palmares-ficg28 |archive-date=2013-10-09 }} Festival Internacional de Guadalajara</ref><ref name="idfa.nl">{{cite web |title=Spotlight: Elena | IDFA 2013 |url=http://www.idfa.nl/industry/daily/spotlight-films/elena.aspx |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130223000755/http://www.idfa.nl/industry/daily/spotlight-films/elena.aspx |archive-date=23 February 2013 |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=www.idfa.nl}}</ref> |Special Mention |- |ZagrebDox Documentary Film Festival<ref>{{cite web | url=http://zagrebdox.net/en/2013/news/9th_zagrebdox_closed_with_the_official_award_ceremony.ZagrebDox | title=Home / 2022 / ZAGREBDOX International documentary film festival }}</ref> |Special Mention |- |Films de Femmes |Best Documentary Feature |- |Planete + Doc Film Festival |CANON Cinematography Award for best Cinematography |- |Cine Música – Festival de Cinema de Conservatória |Best Original Music |- |Havana Film Festival |Best Documentary Feature |- |Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival |Best Documentary Feature |- |Festival Sesc Melhores Filmes |Best Documentary – Audience Jury |- | rowspan="2" |Cinema Brazil Grand Prize |Best Documentary – Audience Jury |- |Best Editing |- |Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) |Best Film |- !2014 |CPH:DOX |Best Nordic Dox Award | rowspan="8" |''Olmo and the Seagull'' |- ! rowspan="4" |2015 |Cairo International Film Festival |Special Mention |- |Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival<ref>{{Cite web |title=Coprodução luso-brasileira Olmo e a gaivota distinguida no Festival do Rio 2015 |url=http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/cm_ao_minuto/detalhe/coproducao_luso_brasileira_olmo_e_a_gaivota_distinguida_no_festival_do_rio_2015.html |access-date=2015-11-27 |website=www.cmjornal.xl.pt |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303185153/http://www.cmjornal.xl.pt/cm_ao_minuto/detalhe/coproducao_luso_brasileira_olmo_e_a_gaivota_distinguida_no_festival_do_rio_2015.html }}</ref> |Best Documentary |- |Vienale |Best Documentary |- |Locarno International Film Festival<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 July 2015 |title=Locarno: 'Jack,' 'Heimatland,' 'Olmo' in Fest Run-up Sales News |url=https://variety.com/2015/film/news/locarno-jack-heimatland-olmo-in-fest-run-up-sales-news-1201544155/ |access-date=2015-11-27 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> |Junior Jury Award |- ! rowspan="3" |2016 |Cinema Brazil Grand Prize |Best Foreign-Language Film |- |Millennium Docs Against Gravity |Fiction Non-Fiction Award |- |RiverRun International Film Festival |Audience Choice Award |- ! rowspan="7" |2019 |Sundance Film Festival |Best Documentary (Nomination) | rowspan="20" |''The Edge of Democracy''<ref name=":6">{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6016744/awards/ |title=The Edge of Democracy (2019) – Awards – IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Gutierrez |first=Carlos |date=2020-06-10 |title=Petra Costa's THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY Wins Peabody Award |url=https://www.cinematropical.com/cinema-tropical/petra-costas-the-edge-of-democracy-wins-peabody-award |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=Cinema Tropical |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Edge of Democracy (2019) Prix & Festivals |url=https://mubi.com/fr/films/the-edge-of-democracy/awards |access-date=2026-01-02 |website=mubi.com}}</ref> |- |CPH:DOX |CPH:DOX Award (Nomination) |- |San Francisco International Film Festival |Best Documentary (Nomination) |- |Hot Docs Documentary Festival |Best International Documentary (Nomination) |- |Wisconsin Film Festival |Best International Documentary (Nomination) |- |Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival |Spotlight: Best Breakthrough Documentary (Nomination) |- |Sheffield International Documentary Festival |Tim Hetherington Award |- ! rowspan="13" |2020 | rowspan="2" |Gotham Awards |Best Documentary (Nomination) |- |Audience Award (Nomination) |- | rowspan="2" |Critics Choice Documentary Award |Best Political Documentary (Nomination) |- |Best Narration (Nomination) |- |Havana Film Festival |Best Documentary (Nomination) |- |Doc NYC |Directing Award |- | rowspan="3" |35° International Documentary Association |Best Screenplay (Nomination) |- |Best Director (Nomination) |- |Best Feature (Nomination) |- |Peabody Awards |Best Documentary |- |Platino Awards |Best Documentary |- |Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Award |Best Feature-Length Documentary (Nomination) |- |92nd Academy Awards |Best Documentary Feature (Nomination) |- ! rowspan="8" |2024 | rowspan="3" |Montclair Film Festival |David Carr Award for Truth in Non-Fiction Filmmaking | rowspan="19" |''Apocalypse in the Tropics<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30012657/awards/ |title=Apocalypse in the Tropics (2024) – Awards – IMDb |language=en-US |access-date=2026-01-02 |via=www.imdb.com}}</ref>'' |- |Bruce Sinofsky Prize – Special Jury Prize |- |Bruce Sinofsky Prize for Documentary Feature (Nomination) |- |Denver Film Festival |Maysles Brothers Award (Nomination) |- |Miami Film Festival |Best Documentary (Nomination) |- |Festival do Rio |Documentary Feature Competition (Nomination) |- |Stockholm Film Festival |Bronze Horse – Best Documentary (Nomination) |- |Havana Film Festival |Best Documentary |- ! rowspan="11" |2025 | rowspan="2" |Antenna Documentary Film Festival |The Special Jury Award |- |Audience Choice Award (Nomination) |- | rowspan="4" |Critics Choice Documentary Award |Best Direction (Nomination) |- |Best Narration (Nomination) |- |Best Political Documentary (Nomination) |- |Best Documentary (Nomination) |- |Cinema Eye Honors |Best Production (Nomination) |- | rowspan="4" |41° International Documentary Association |Best Writing |- |Best Production |- |Best Direction (Nomination) |- |Best Documentary (Nomination) |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website|http://www.elenafilme.com/EN|''Elena'' official website}} * {{IMDb name|3525467}} * {{YouTube|id=BX0ajAYmkWg|title=Petra Costa on How Fake News Affected the 2018 Brazilian General Election}} published 31 January 2020 Amanpour and Company
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Petra}} Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:Actresses from Belo Horizonte Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics Category:Barnard College alumni Category:Brazilian child actresses Category:Brazilian documentary filmmakers Category:Brazilian film actresses Category:Brazilian filmmakers