Retrospective: Pedro Costa
A very simple image of what exists. That should be cinema. It is the only chance to survive. To keep cinema in the streets, in the small shops, and small houses, with small people. (Pedro Costa)
Born in Lisbon, he left his course of studies in History to attend classes taught by the poet and filmmaker António Reis at the Lisbon Film School. His first film Blood had its world premiere at the Mostra Cinematografica di Venezia in 1989. Casa de Lava (Down to Earth), his second feature, shot in Cabo Verde, was shown in Cannes, in 1994. Some of his other feature films include Ossos, In Vanda's Room and Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? on the work of Danièle Huillet and Jean-Marie Straub. He directed Sweet Exorcist, a segment of the omnibus feature Centro Histórico, with Manoel de Oliveira, Aki Kaurismäki and Víctor Erice. His work has been presented in galeries and museums around the world. Cavalo Dinheiro was awarded the Leopard for best direction at the Locarno International Film Festival in 2014.
Filmography:
1987 Cartas a Julia (short)
1990 Krew / O Sangue / Blood
1994 Dom z lawy / Casa de Lava / Down to Earth
1997 Kości / Ossos / Bones
2000 W pokoju Wandy / No Quarto da Vanda / In Vanda's Room
2001 Danièle Huillet, Jean-Marie Straub, cinéastes (episode of the collection Cinéastes, de notre temps, TV series)
2002 Gdzie spoczywa twój uśmiech? / Onde Jaz o Teu Sorriso? / Où gît votre sourire enfoui? / Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie?
2003 6 bagatelas (short)
2006 Pochód młodości / Juventude Em Marcha / Colossal Youth
2007 Tarrafal (short in O Estado do Mundo / The State of the World)
2007 Łowcy królików / The Rabbit Hunters (short in Memories, Jeonju Digital Project)
2009 Ne change rien
2010 O Nosso Homem / Our Man (short)
2012 Słodki egzorcysta / Sweet Exorcist / Lamento da Vida Jovem (short in Centro Histórico)
2014 Koń Forsa / Cavalo Dinheiro / Horse Money
2018 Vitalina Varela
Selected bibliography:
AZOURY Philippe, COSTA Pedro, CRESPO, Nuno, CASA DE LAVA SCRAPBOOK, Pierre Von Kleist Editions, Lisbon 2013
RANCIÈRE Jacques, LES ÉCARTS DU CINÉMA, La Fabrique editions, Paris, 2012
BELLOUR Raymond, (org), Trafic, nº 77, June 2011
CABO Ricardo Matos (org) CEM MIL CIGARROS - OS FILMES DE PEDRO COSTA, Orfeu Negro/ Midas Filmes, Lisboa 2009
«FORA! OUT!», Rui Chafes, Pedro Costa, with Catherine David and João Fernandes, Fundação de Serralves, Porto 2005
COMOLLI Jean-Louis, CORPS ET CADRE: cinéma, éthique, politique, Verdier, Paris, 2011
COSTA Pedro, CASA DE LAVA SCRAPBOOK, Cinematrix, Tóquio, 2011
COSTA Pedro, HUILLET Danièle, STRAUB Jean-Marie, ONDE JAZ O TEU SORRISO / DIALOGUES, Assírio & Alvim, Lisboa, 2004
COSTA Pedro, NEYRAT, Cyril, RECTOR, Andy, UN MERLE DORÉ, UNE BOUQUÉE DE FLEURS, UNE CUILLÈRE D'ARGENT, DANS LA CMBRE DE VANDA - un film de Pedro Costa, Capprici, Paris, 2008
DUARTE Daniel Ribeiro (org), O CINEMA DE PEDRO COSTA, Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil, Brasília, 2010
HASUMI Shiguéhiko, KITAKOJI Takashi, PEDRO COSTA, WHISPERING IN DISTANT CHAMBERS, Sendai Mediatheque, Tokyo 2007
MOREFIELD Kenneth, Faith and Spirituality in Masters of World Cinema, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, Newcastle upon Tyne, 2008
OUMANO Elena, Cinema Today - A Conversation with Thirty-Nine Filmmakers from Around the World, Rutgers University Press, New Jersey, 2010
PANTEBURG Volker, Ränder des kino - GODARD, WISEMAN, BENNING, COSTA, August Verlag Berlin, Berlim, 2010
RANCIÈRE Jacques, O Espectador Emancipado, Orfeu Negro, Lisbon, 2010
UN-SEONG Yoo (org), PEDRO COSTA, JIFF, Jeonju, 2010
VILLAIN Dominique, Le travail du cinéma 1, Presses Universitaires de Vincennes, Saint-Denis, 2012
Partner: Camoes Institute