Pedro Costa

Biography

Pedro Costa is a Portuguese film director. While studying history at University of Lisbon, Costa switched to film courses at Lisbon Theatre and Film School (Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema) where he was a student of António Reis, Paulo Rocha and Alberto Seixas Santos. After working as an assistant director to several directors such as Jorge Silva Melo, Vítor Gonçalves and João Botelho, he made a first feature film O Sangue (The Blood) in 1989. He collected the France Culture Award (Foreign Cineaste of the Year) at 2002 Cannes Film Festival for directing the film In Vanda's Room. Colossal Youth was selected for the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and earned the Independent/Experimental prize (Los Angeles Film Critics Association) in 2008. He is considered to be part of "The School of Reis" film family. António Reis, Portuguese director, was his teacher at the Lisbon Theatre and Film School. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called Pedro Costa "the Samuel Beckett of cinema". He is acclaimed for using his ascetic style to depict the marginalised people in desperate living situations. Many of his films are set in a district of Lisbon inhabited by socially disadvantaged and shot in a natural …

Directed

1. Vitalina Varela (2019) — Director
2. In Vanda's Room (2001) — Director
3. Colossal Youth (2006) — Director
4. Horse Money (2014) — Director
5. Ossos (1997) — Director
6. Blood (1989) — Director
7. Casa de Lava (1995) — Director
8. Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? (2003) — Director
9. Historic Centre (2012) — Director
10. The State of the World (2007) — Director
11. Change Nothing (2009) — Director
12. Change Nothing (2005) — Director
13. Our Man (2010) — Director
14. Memories (2007) — Director
15. 6 Bagatelas (2001) — Director
16. The End of a Love Affair (2003) — Director
17. The Daughters of Fire (2023) — Director
18. The Rabbit Hunters (2007) — Director
19. Sweet Exorcist (2012) — Director
20. Cinéma, de notre temps: Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub - cinéastes (2001) — Director
21. É Tudo Invenção Nossa (1984) — Director
22. Tarrafal (2007) — Director
23. Minino macho, Minino fêmea (2006) — Director
24. Alto Cutelo (2012) — Director

Also appeared in

1. All Blossoms Again: Pedro Costa, Director (2006)
2. Sacavém: The Films of Pedro Costa (2019) — Himself
3. 9'8m/s² (1998) — Policía 1.
4. Dialogues clandestins 2001 (2001)
5. Finding the Criminal
6. Wiara (2018) — Self
7. Uncertain Path (2021)
8. História do Cinema Português (2001)