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) 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. In Undertow Eyes, Petra worked as director, screenwriter, and producer. In 2012, she released her first
feature-length film,
Elena (2012), 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. 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. 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, "haunting and unforgettable" by the
Hollywood Reporter,, 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. Indiewire listed it among the best documentaries of the year.
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Arquipélago Publishing released the book Elena, featuring essays about the film, the screenplay, and previously unpublished content.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 . 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. 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. 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, while
ScreenDaily described it as a "political thriller […] with the feel of an
All the presidents Men […] and the sweep of the
Godfather". For
NBC News, the film throws the doors open on "incredible behind the scenes access to politics". "The images are jaw-dropping", said the site
Firstshowing.net, while
Point of View labelled it "[a documentary] like no other, a work both intimate and grand in scope". Costa was ranked among
Variety 10 documentary filmmakers to watch in 2019. 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. 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 == Filmography ==