She leaves behind a childhood spent in hiding during Brazil’s military dictatorship and her teenage years amid theater plays and homemade videos.
Petra was already an actress and filmmaker when she returned to New York in search of Elena, where she decided to film her own loneliness and longing for her sister.
It is also a film about Brazil in the era of the post military dictatorship, about the generation that was born in clandestine circles and grew up between 1970 and 1980, with the very real challenges of having to struggle for their dreams in times of freedom and hope.
[9] The idea of making a film about her sister came about when the director, Petra Costa, was 17 and she came across one of Elena’s old diaries at home, written when she was the same age; just 13.
During this time, Petra was involved in a series of other projects and she directed the award winning short film Droopy Eyes, until she finally felt prepared to delve into her memories of her sister.
The feature film finally began to take form and adopt its definitive structure, when the director decided to introduce herself into the scenes, as both a character and documentary-maker.