FERNANDA FAYA | DIRECTOR & WRITER
Fernanda Faya is a filmmaker, cinematographer, and educator born and raised in Sao Paulo, and based in Queens, New York. Her first feature documentary NEIRUD won the Gran Prix and Best Editing Awards in June at Curitiba Int'l Film Festival (Olhar de Cinema). She is currently finishing the short doc ALONE TOGETHER and developing her first fiction film, BETE, recipient of Spcine Development Fund.
Fernanda is a member of the Brazilian Collective of Female Cinematographers (DAFB); Her first film ONE FOR THE ROAD had its premiere at DOC NYC Film Festival and screened in festivals worldwide. She holds an MFA in documentary storytelling from Hunter College Integrated Media Arts program and is a professor of Cinematography at Brooklyn College in New York.
RICA SAITO (TEMPORAL FILMES) | PRODUCER
Rica Saito graduated in Fim Studies from the University of São Paulo in 2003. He works as producer, director, editor, and curator. Saito is the founder member of Temporal Filmes, a Production Company based in Sao Paulo, focused on film and TV content. He curated and produced the special film series CARTA BRANCA AO SUBMARINO VERMELHO, for the SAO PAULO INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM FESTIVAL; directed and produced the documentary NOTAS PARA UM OLHAR DANÇAR, that follows the creative process of the prestigious Sao Paulo Dance Company, and aired on Curta! and Arte1 channels. His debut documentary PROCURA-SE premiered at IT’S ALL TRUE FILM FESTIVAL. He also directed the documentary VIRADOS – co produced by Temporal Filmes – a chronicle of Sao Paulo’s Virada Cultural, registered with five simultaneous film crews, and aired on Cine Brasil TV.
JULIA ZAKIA | CINEMATOGRAPHER
Julia Zakia is a Brazilian cinematographer and director. Her work has been screened at festivals such as Clermont-Ferrand, The International Film Festival Rotterdam, Message to Man, Havana, São Paulo International Short Film Festival, It’s All True International Documentary Film Festival, Ethnologic Film Festival – Belgrade, Rencontres Cinémas D’Amérique Latine de Toulouse, Biarritz, among others.
She has directed five short films, and her photography portfolio includes one feature, a television series, and five short films. Credits as director and DP include: MY GRANDPA'S HAT, 35mm, 2004; ANONYMOUS SUITE, 16mm, 2005; “FIG TREE'S STORY, 35mm, 2006; TARABATARA, HD, 2007 (commissioned by the Government of São Paulo); GYPSY RIVER, HD, 2013 (commissioned by IBERMEDIA).
YURI AMARAL | EDITOR
Yuri Amaral is an award winner Brazilian editor of independent documentary films. He recently received the Brazilian Cinematography Association's (ABC) Best Editing - Feature-Length Documentary Award for RACIONAIS: FROM THE STREETS OF SÃO PAULO TO THE WORLD by Juliana Vicente. Other accolades onclude: Special Jury Award at Havana International Film Festival, Best Feature Documentary at It's All True Film Festival, Best Feature by the Brazilian Film Critics Association (Abraccine), and Mix Brasil Diversity Film Festival. In 2017 his most recent work MY BODY IS POLITICAL (2017) had its world premiere at Visions du Réel and won Best Brazilian Feature at Curitiba International Film Festival. Amaral has also directed and produced short films in the last years.
JULIA ALVES (SANCHO Y PUNTA) | EXECUTIVE PRODUCER
Julia Alves graduated from ECA-USP and completed her master's degree in Cultural Heritage, Landscapes and Citizenship at Univ. Federal de Viçosa (UFV), where she researched contemporary film production in Mozambique. In 2017, she co-created the production platform SANCHO&PUNTA, through which she produced films such as YESTERDAY THERE WERE STRANGE THINGS IN THE SKY by Bruno Risas (Cinéma du Réel 2020 - Best First Film), THE EMPLOYER AND THE EMPLOYEE, by Uruguayan Manuel Nieto (Cannes Directors' Fortnight 2021) and PRIVATE FOOTAGE, by Janaína Nagata (IDFA 2022 - The Beeld & Geluid Reframe Award).
Her most recent works are NEIRUD, by Fernanda Faya (Curitiba IFF 2023 - Best Film), THE DELINQUENTS, by Rodrigo Moreno (Festival de Cannes 2023 - Un Certain Regard), in co-production with Argentina, Chile and Luxemburg, and THE BURITI FLOWER, by Renée Nader Messora and João Salaviza (Festival de Cannes 2023 - Un Certain Regard, Ensemble Award), produced alongside with Ricardo Alves Jr. Since 2019 she collaborates with the portuguese production company OUBLAUM FILMES, where she participated in films such as WATERS OF PASTAZA, by Inês T. Alves (Berlinale Generation 2022), STRIKING LAND, by Raul Domingues (Berlinale Forum 2022) and THE HUMAN SURGE 3, by Eduardo Williams (Locarno Film Festival 2023).
Alves is a Berlinale Talents 2019 alumni and a EAVE Producers Workshop 2023 participant.