
Maria Clara Escobar
Directing
Biography
Maria Clara is a diretor, screenwriter, casting director, and a poet. In January 2026, Maria Clara released the tv series “Paloma” (Canal Brasil, Globoplay), which she wrote and directed. A four-episode series that tells the story of a transgender woman's struggle to gain custody of her biological daughter. In 2025, she premiered her second feature film, Dolores, written and directed alongside Marcelo Gomes, at Horizontes Latinos in San Sebastián. The film was also screened at the Rotterdam film festiva, Rio Festival, São Paulo Film Festival, Janela Internacional and Havana Film Festival. Also in 2025, Maria Clara won the award for best director at the Olhar de Cinema festival in Brazil for her hybrid film “Explode São Paulo, Gil,” which she wrote and directed. The film also won the award for best film and SPA honorable mention at Doc.Lisboa. The film was screened at the Laceno D'oro festival and the São Paulo International Film Festival. Maria Clara wrote and directed the feature film “Desterro,” which premiered in January 2020 as part of the Tiger Competition at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The film was also screened at festivals such as Viennale, Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Taipei Film Festival, among others. It was released in Portugal, Brazil, Germany, Iceland, and Greece, won the Netflix Portugal award for Portuguese female directors, and was licensed to Netflix worldwide. In December 2022, it was named by the NY Times as one of six films to watch. Maria Clara also wrote and directed the feature-length documentary “Os dias com ele” (The Days with Him). The film won the award for best film at Doc.Lisboa in 2013, in the national competition. It won awards at the Havana and IBAFF (Spain) festivals. In Brazil, it won awards at the 16th Tiradentes Film Festival (youth jury, official jury, and Itamaraty Award) and at the IV CachoeiraDOC (youth jury and official jury). In 2014, the film premiered in theaters and on DVD by the Moreira Salles Institute. In addition to feature films, Maria Clara has written and directed three short films, “Domingo,” selected for the school cycle of the San Sebastián Film Festival (2004), “Passeio de Família” (2010) and “Onde Habito” (2021). As a screenwriter, Maria Clara wrote Lírio Ferreira's new film, “Serra das Almas,” which won the Netflix award at the Rio Festival in 2024; was screenwriter and assistant director of Julia Murat's feature film “Histórias Que Só Existem Quando Lembradas” (Found Memories; and wrote Bruno Risas' feature film "Ontem Havia Coisas Estranhas no Céu" currently available on Netflix. Maria Clara is also a casting director and casting coach, having worked on Marcelo Gomes' “Paloma,” Lírio Ferreira's “Serra das Almas,” Matias Mariani's “Cidade Pássaro,” Julia Murat's “Pendular,” Marcelo Gomes' “Joaquim,” Caetano Gotardo's “O Que se Move,” the series O Nó do Diabo by Ramon Porto Mota, Gabriel Martins, Ian Abé, and Jhésus Triuzi, and the short film A Terra Treme by Walter Salles, which is part of the feature film "Where Has the Time Gone?" organized by Jia Zhang-Ke. Maria Clara has three published books: "Medo Medo Medo" (2019), Um Novo Mar Dentro de Mim (2020) and Zonas de Guerra (2021).
Known For

The trajectory of a romantic couple of contemporary artists reveals how the limits, contradictions and obsessions of a romantic relationship are reflected in each of their artistic endeavors.
Pendular

Marcelo has just been dumped by his boyfriend, who doesn't answer his messages. In a desperate try to get his attention, he puts the life of their dog Greta at risk.
Bitch

A Nigerian musician travels to Brazil to search for his estranged brother, who is living a life very different than the one his family thought.
Shine Your Eyes

The couple Laura and Israël have a five-year-old son, Lucas. They live together but seem to have lost interest in one another's thoughts and cares. Their relationship seems headed for the rocks, and the only one who seems to still be looking for something from life is Lucas.
Abandonment

In Pernambuco, a jewel robbery brings together an old group of misfits, with catastrophic results. Watched over by ghosts from the past, each of them will have to find their own way to freedom.
Soul's Peak

Each citizen of Jotuomba plays an integral role in village life. Madalena is responsible for baking bread; each morning she stacks her rolls as Antonio prepares the coffee. The two share a morning ritual of arguments and insults, followed by an amicable cup of coffee on the bench outside Antonio's shop. At midday the church bells ring, summoning the villagers to mass. In the early evening, they all share a meal together. And so life proceeds in Jotuomba, the days languidly drifting into one another; the only variations seem to be in the weather. But, one day Rita arrives looking for a place to stay.
Found Memories

The year is 1984. Estela is going through the turbulent phase of adolescence. Sex, lovers, friendships; everything seems very complicated. Her uncle Carlos is her hero, and visiting him in California is her biggest dream. But everything collapses when he returns thin, weak and ill. Between crises and discoveries, Estela will face a reality that will forever change her way of seeing the world.
California

A small-scale romantic love story, shot with a digital camera in black & white and in a documentary style. We follow the conversation between two lovers, each on a different side of the world; he is in Recife, she is in Kyiv. On one side is dark, on the other light, but both experience the same emotions and hence feel nearness and contact.
Friday Night, Saturday Morning

At the end of the 1940s, Lebanon is sliding towards a devastating conflict. Catholic siblings Emilie and Emir decide to leave for Brazil. Aboard the ship to their new home, Emilie falls in love with Omar, a Muslim merchant. For an enraged and jealous Emir, the relationship is intolerable. As the story unfolds against the backdrop of the majestic rainforest, Emir’s actions and the choice that Emilie subsequently makes lead to disastrous consequences.
Portrait of a Certain Orient

Dario is a psychologist who has recently began taking child patients again, after going through a traumatic experience. His first patient is Sofia, a girl who makes others around her feel disturbing sensations.
Dysphoria

On a hot summer day, Paloma decides to fulfill her most cherished dream: a traditional wedding in a church with her boyfriend Zé. She is a devoted mother, a hard-working farmhand in a papaya plantation and has been saving to afford the celebration. The priest’s refusal to marry her and Zé will force Paloma to confront the rural society. She suffers violence, betrayal, prejudice and injustice but nothing shakes the faith and determination of this transgender woman.
Paloma

On the eve of her 65th birthday, Dolores has a premonition: her life is about to change. She will own a successful casino. However, her gambling addiction of the past may work against her. Deborah, her only daughter, waits for her boyfriend's release from prison to start a new life, whilst her granddaughter Duda clings to a chance of working in the United States. All three women will strive to make their dreams of a better life a reality, going for it all or nothing.
Dolores

The discoveries and frustrations on accessing a memory of a father and of a time in the Brazilian history that are rarely public. The young filmmaker plunges into this unknown past of her almost unknown father. He, a Brazilian intellectual, imprisoned and tortured during the military dictatorship, is silent about this since that time. A father and a fatherland that does not like to answer any questions, that loves but rarely talks.
The Days with Him

Brazil, 18th century. The colony of Portugal endures a decline in gold production. A Portuguese minority rules over a corrupt and autocratic society. Joaquim is an efficient soldier, famous for capturing gold smugglers. While waiting for his promotion to Lieutenant, he leaves for a risky mission in search of new gold mines - the only way to buy the freedom of Blackie, a slave he is in love with. Inspired by the true story of Tiradentes, the first leader of the Brazilian revolutionary movement.
Joaquim

Brazilian short film, directed by Julia Murat.
Pendular

No description available.
Paloma - A Série

The daily life of a family in which countless factors are disturbing: the father is unemployed, the members need to move house, the mother is abducted, and life continues as if nothing had happened.
Yesterday There Were Strange Things in the Sky

From the encounter between Maria Clara, the filmmaker, and Gil, the character, not only cities but entire cinematic possibilities explode. Dreams and desires collide with the harshness of reality, giving form – through art – to the dilemmas of collective human existence. As in her acclaimed debut feature, “Os Dias Com Ele,” Maria Clara Escobar starts from her immediate surroundings and amplifies the scope of her camera, this time telling a story of women and the passage of time in a country that offers little mercy to either.
Gil, Let's Explode São Paulo

No description available.
Areia
No description available.