Petra Costa

is a Brazilian filmmaker and actress. She has been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences since 2018.

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, a best short film at the London International Documentary Festival, and best short film at the 13th Cine Las Americas International Film Festival among others.

The second of the trilogy, Elena (2012), her first documentary feature, is a mixture of documentary, diary, and fever dream, and was the most watched documentary in Brazil in 2013. 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, "haunting and unforgettable" by the Hollywood Reporter, and was defined as 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. Elena premiered at IDFA followed by SXSW and Hotdocs won many prizes such as best film at the 2013 Havana Film Festival, best film at DOCSDF, best directing, 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.