LUIZA CALAGIAN is a director and cinematographer from São Paulo, Brazil. Her first short film, Ava Mocoi, premiered and was awarded at the 68th Oberhausen Film Festival; her second, Anba Dlo, premiered at the 75th Berlinale and won the jury prize at the 49th Hong Kong IFF; and her third, Éter, premiered at the 68th DOK Leipzig.

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Her work as a director and cinematographer has also been awarded in Ann Arbor, Toulouse, Indielisboa, Concordia and Kinoforum, and screened at festivals such as Rotterdam, Visions Du Reel, Guadalajara, FICCI and Biarritz, among others.

 

Her first feature film as screenwriter, director and cinematographer, Arrow for a Stone Heart, is currently in the distribution process. The film was made in collaboration with a Guarani Mbya community in the city of São Paulo, with whom she has worked for over ten years.

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She holds a degree in Social Sciences from the University of São Paulo and completed the Regular Course in Cinematography at the International School of Film and Television of San Antonio de los Baños - EICTV Cuba, where she also took a Master's in Creative Documentary. In 2025, was an Alumni at Berlinale Talents Buenos Aires.

 

Luiza is the founder of the independent São Paulo-based production company Mata Fechada Filmes. She believes in the craft of cinema as a spell, capable of transmuting reality, building and rebuilding bridges between human beings, nature, and spirituality, enchanting the world.