Rafael Lobo
Directing
Biography
Rafael Lobo is a filmmaker, editor, and producer with a degree in Audiovisual Studies and a Master's in Communication from the University of Brasília (UnB), where his dissertation explored the intersections between philosophy and horror through the concept of a “Horror Worldview,” focusing on the work of David Cronenberg. He began his career with the award-winning short film Confinado (2010), and in 2011 co-founded Espaço Laje, an artistic collective in Brasília. In 2013, he directed Palhaços Tristes, further consolidating his relationship with horror cinema. Lobo continued to approach the genre through a philosophical lens in Bartleby (2016), inspired by the work of Herman Melville. At the same time, he co-directed the documentary Luis Humberto: O Olhar Possível with Mariana Costa, exploring the life and legacy of photographer Luis Humberto through themes of memory and image-making. More recently, Lobo directed the short film Xarpi (2024), which blends fantasy, horror, and Brasília’s pixação culture, premiering at festivals and receiving multiple awards. His first feature film, Mapas, co-written with Lucas Gehre, is set to premiere at the 30th Cine PE. The film revisits historical and urban memories of Brasília, including the submersion of Vila Amaury beneath Lake Paranoá, through a horror-inflected perspective that interrogates the city’s modernist identity. As an editor, Lobo worked on the feature films O Espaço Infinito (2023) and Repartição do Tempo (2016), winning the Best Editing award for the latter at the 49th Festival de Brasília do Cinema Brasileiro. A partner at Levante Filmes and Tela Azul Produções, where he also works as Creative Producer, he continues to develop projects that merge horror, philosophy, memory, and Brazilian cultural identity across film and transmedia formats.
Known For
Julia and Sérgio set out in search of Rebeca, a missing cycling activist, moving through Brasília, a city marked by silence and unresolved histories. Their investigation leads them to forgotten tragedies, where ruins, memories, and unsettling presences begin to intertwine. Blurring the line between the real and the fantastic, Mapas unfolds as a journey through ghosts of the past that continue to echo in the present.
Maps
In a forgotten corner of the vast Brazilian bureaucracy, a psychotic boss uses a time machine to enslave his lazy employees and increase productivity.
Punch the Clock
Young Júlia finds herself in a moment of emotional apathy after the end of a relationship. One night, after receiving unexpected news, she decides to cross the city in search of an old pinball table called “Andromeda”, to which she has many memories attached.
Andrômeda
In a psychiatric clinic, Nina begins a journey into her own unconscious, a quest to find a path to shared reality.
O Espaço Infinito
The owner of a record store, amid a purchase of second-hand LPs, is faced with something that goes far beyond a trivial acquisition.
Riscados pela Memória
A poetic and intimate look at the life and work of photographer Luis Humberto.
Luis Humberto: The Possible Gaze
Xarpi decides to face the city's night alone, confronting her inner and outer fears. During this journey, she comes across a mysterious graffiti artist whose interventions challenge and threaten her identity.
Xarpi
Adaptation of Herman Melville’s work Bartleby, the Scrivener. The head of a public office in Brasília hires a new employee named Bartleby, who initially seems to be the solution to all his problems.
Bartleby
Daylight fades, and a dark atmosphere takes over the Friday night. Lost souls drift through the city’s murky swamp toward the unknown. Will Felizardo have the courage to complete his journey?
Sad Clowns
You know all that bullshit about having a child, planting a tree, and writing a book? Pedro is only interested in the damn book.
Confined
Madre brings a poetic and powerful portrait of the story of a Venezuelan refugee mother living in Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Stories converge in a journey marked by sorrow and achievement, homelessness and refuge. The film dives into the nostalgia of the Venezuela that inhabits Ambar’s memories, but which is not the same Venezuela that Brazil knows.
Madre
A Brazilian news website planned to post only positive articles for an entire day as an advertising campaign. That day was September 11th, 2001.