Sofia Leão
Camera
Biography
Sofia Leão (Rio de Janeiro, 1998) is a photographer and documentary filmmaker. Since 2019, she has worked as Camera Assistant and Director of Photography (DoP) on short films, several of which have been selected for prestigious festivals such as Locarno, Berlin, Clermont-Ferrand, TIFF, Biarritz. In 2024, she made her directorial debut with the short film Película (co-directed with Brenda Barbosa), which was selected for prominent Brazilian festivals such as KINOFORUM, Tiradentes, and CineOP. In 2025, she graduated with a degree in Audiovisual Studies from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Latin America. Her undergraduate final project, Film Copacabana, marks her first solo direction and has been selected and awarded at festivals in France, Mexico, Germany, Italy, and Russia. Between January and July 2026, Sofia will specialize in Documentary Directing at EICTV (Cuba), one of Latin America's leading institutions for cinema.
Known For
A delivery man dreams of having a motorcycle. He was told that everything would be like a musical film.
Neon Phantom
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 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
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
Presidential elections. Fake news. Pleasures and pains through the neighborhoods of the city. Brazil, 21st century.
Around Copacabana
A photo film that takes us through time and memories of a mysterious tale.