Renatho Costa
Directing
Biography
Renatho Costa was born in São Paulo, Brazil, and began his artistic career at the age of 19, when he wrote his first play, which won awards at various festivals. In the following years he wrote other plays and also worked as a director, producer and lighting designer. He made a few appearances as an actor, but nothing significant. Alongside his artistic career, Renatho also began to dedicate himself to his academic career. He graduated with a degree in International Relations, then obtained a master's and doctorate in Social History from the University of São Paulo, Brazil. Working as a university professor and researcher, he has produced a wide bibliography on issues related to the Middle East, however, he went on to develop another area of the arts and wrote his first crime novel in 2010, “Os meninos de Gateville”. Then, in 2020, he published his second crime novel, “Inconfidência Carnavalesca”. In 2023 he published his first biography, “Intrigas no reino de Allah”, in which he tells the story of Sheik Rodrigo Jalloul, the first Brazilian Shiite sheik to graduate from Iran's religious schools. In 2020, he published the book “No way to Gaza: a chronicle of adventure and fraud under the Egyptian blockade” in England and, the following year, the Brazilian version, “Sem Caminhos para Gaza: uma crônica de aventura e fraude sob o bloqueio egípcio”. In addition to this literary production, he produced, scripted and directed two documentaries: “A Thread of Hope: Independence or War in Western Sahara” (2017) and “The Struggle for our Land” (2022). His latest project is the feature film “Old Nepo”, which is currently in post-production and is scheduled to be released in 2025.
Known For
Neglected by the world, the Western Sahara's fight for independence is one of the longest in recent history. The documentary tells the history of resistence of the saharawi people, who have been waiting for a referendum on self-determination for 26 years, and explores their insatisfaction with the UN's peacekeeping missions in refugee camps, liberated zones and occupied territories by Morocco for over 40 years. The documentary also questions Brazil's neutrality on the matter, one of the few countries in Latin America that still haven't recognized the independence of Western Sahara, contributing to the normalization of sistematic violence against the saharawis and the illegal extraction of their natural resources.
A Thread of Hope: independence or war in Western Sahara
In a small town in the interior of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), close to the border with Uruguay, crimes against children occur and no one can solve them. The town makes a pact of silence about the events, believing them to be the result of some kind of curse, but this scenario changes abruptly when a documentary film crew goes to the place to decipher the mystery and ends up being involved in it.
What we don't talk about
In 1991, 67 families were settled in Brazil. It became one of the biggest clashes between the Landless Rural Workers Movement and the local elite. The doc revisits the history of the Liberdade no Futuro settlement, in these 30 years.
The Struggle for our Land
In a small town in the pampas of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, economic and agrarian changes are directly affecting the lives of small farmers. Nepomuceno, a man who has worked all his life raising cattle, suddenly finds himself threatened by a large soy producer who is interested in his land. The conflict becomes more intense when it affects members of his family and old Nepo has to defend his land and his family at all costs.
Old Nepo
In outer space, the famous Space Circus travels across planets performing the most fabulous acts. One day, tired of being oppressed and enslaved by the circus owner, two of its main attractions escape and end up on Earth. The circus owner then sends the Attraction Hunter to recapture the fugitives, but this turns into a life-or-death battle.
The Space Circus attraction hunter (trash version)
After a heated argument, silence fills the apartment. An elderly man tries to resume his normal activities, but anguish and regret prevent him from moving forward. Suddenly, life reveals itself as it truly is.