
Leonardo Martinelli
Directing
Biography
Filmmaker from Rio de Janeiro. His film Neon Phantom won the Golden Leopard for Best International Short Film at the Locarno Film Festival. His shorts have been selected at festivals worldwide, including Cannes, Locarno, Toronto, San Sebastián, BFI London, Clermont-Ferrand, Palm Springs, Montreal, Biarritz, Toulouse and others. He also holds a Master’s degree in Communication from PUC-Rio and is currently developing his first feature film, selected for the Locarno Residency and the Hubert Bals Fund.
Known For

A faux documentary about the ongoing social, political and economical crisis in Brazil, where the government cuts the colors of Rio de Janeiro, turning the city black and white.
Life in Gray

A delivery man dreams of having a motorcycle. He was told that everything would be like a musical film.
Neon Phantom

The daily life of a young woman from Rio de Janeiro witnessed through her cell phone screen.
Remember

During Rio's Carnival, a street cleaner struggles with the loss of his sister and his work obligations. Amid the celebrations, he finds a lost child and sets out to help him.
Samba Infinite

A bird called Memory has forgotten how to come back home. Lua, a trans woman, searches for Memory in the streets of Rio de Janeiro, but the city can be a hostile place.
A Bird Called Memory

Presidential elections. Fake news. Pleasures and pains through the neighborhoods of the city. Brazil, 21st century.
Around Copacabana

In the near future, the climate crisis reaches an irreversible point. A nun and a priest meet to talk about the disappearance of insects.
The Pleasure of Killing Bugs

A woman places a chair on the sidewalk in Rio and watches as the neighbourhood "unfolds" before her eyes – like a movie scene. Workers, tourists, dogs and street life combine to form a Copacabana portrait, through clever editing and montage.
Film Copacabana

A blind man witnesses a homicide and is followed to his house by the murderer
Um Estranho no Escuro

In a dystopic world where all things happen in reverse, a man leaves a message to his beloved.