Today we’d like to introduce you to Isabela Costa.
Hi Isabela, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Filmmaking completely transformed my experience as an outsider and queer person in the Catholic school in which I grew up in Rio de Janeiro. Trying to forget the reality, I would spend a whole day at small art theaters in my hometown. Those screening rooms not only made me the cinephile I am, but they also brought into my life my first mentors. In those places, I started long friendships, and I kept a healthier mind.
I left the Catholic School, hoping to address real issues of the community around me through honest and investigative written pieces, so I started Journalism in Brazil. Soon, I found out that real societal transformations come from art, and finally came back to my first passion and decided to pursue Filmmaking. I moved to California, where I just got a Film/Video MFA from California Institute of the Arts awarded with the Lillian Disney Scholarship. Within three years of CalArts, I finished four short films, which were screened in different festivals such as the Brooklyn Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival, ARFF Berlin // International Awards, and Aesthetica Film Festival. I work with digital, 16mm, 8mm, and 35mm stills to create universes that touch on the expectations and anxieties of young generations.
My practice lives the constant transition between experimental and narrative during the last four years. Currently I am in the last retouches of Ana & Oto, my next short entirely filmed in Rio de Janeiro. It follows two friends who are almost codependent, wandering around Rio, alienated, and afraid of boredom. I am also editing Somewhere Else, a documentary about friends living in Los Angeles, they are all female artists and most of them come from another culture. They share their thoughts on politics, family, fear, and dreams. Their routine and artistic practices are part of the storyline. The film invites the audience to their comforting sisterhood.
At this moment, I am the photoshoot producer for fashion editorials in magazines like BELLO and Vulkan. I also create videos for them in events, such as LA Fashion Week and Vegan Fashion Week. I have been interested in exploring 35mm photography in this field too.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Being an artist always comes along with self-discovery. Even if your piece isn’t diaristic, your identity will be there. With that in mind, I had a late awakening of my queer identity. My lack of self-knowledge has manifested in anxiety, introspection, and difficulty to maintain a solid group of friends. As soon as self-understanding started to come into light, my work faced a huge transformation in a positive way. My long-term relationship with my girlfriend plays a huge part in this. We have been together for almost seven years. This level of intimacy has helped me in capturing the honest aura of women in films and photography. This understanding has also distanced me from male-dominated sets and stories that doesn’t resonate with my principles. For that reason and a great level of introspection, my sets have been limited to less than ten people or even a lot of solo work. As confidence grows more and more and new work opportunities appear, I see myself getting out of my comfort zone and trying my best to make the most of it.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I work in 16mm, 35mm, and digital to create universes that touch the expectations and anxiety of young generations in films and photography. I also participate in the creative direction and production of fashion editorials. I’ve noticed that my work is mentioned a lot for the use of humor in experimental filmmaking. Usually, this style tends to be seen as serious or even a bit pretentious. However, humor is the perfect tool to reach the insanity of real problems, and makes a lot of sense to add it in experimental work. I also don’t limit myself in that field. I am currently writing a narrative script and finishing a documentary. I have no judgment of different styles, genres or formats in art. I also write a lot about cinema and music; this production of articles certainly keeps my brain in shape and tuned with the artistic practices happening in the world and also my own.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
The best and the worst thing about Los Angeles is how challenging this place is. The feeling of isolation that comes from its size and segregation really forces you to create a community. It is the only way to have human warmth in your daily routine, opposed to a very walkable and chaotic city like Rio de Janeiro, where you don’t need to make an effort to see strangers everywhere and connect with them. As a visual artist, I will say that Los Angeles is also very hard to put in a frame, but once you learn how to do it the feeling of satisfaction is unmeasurable. I’ve noticed that outsiders arriving in Los Angeles never love the city immediately. But it grows on you, and this slowly understanding a love for a space is very poetic. The isolation and empty spaces in LA start as a challenge, and soon they are mystical and poetic to you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://isabelacostafilm.com/
- Instagram: @isa.chromatic
