Filmmaker Petra Costa and producer Alessandra Orofino join Frank Schaeffer to explore how evangelical movements fused with authoritarian politics in Brazil—and why the same forces are reshaping democracy in the United States.
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Petra Costa is an Academy Award-nominated filmmaker born in Brazil, where she is primarily based. Her films as a director include the feature documentaries Apocalypse in the Tropics (Venice Biennale 2024, Telluride and New York Film Festival), The Edge of Democracy (Sundance 2019, Netflix), Olmo and the Seagull (Locarno Film Festival 2015), and Elena (IDFA 2012, Havana Film Festival 2013). She also produced Moara Passoni's Ecstasy (2020), served as Associate Producer on Bárbara Paz's Babenco (2019), and was Executive Producer of Rebeca Huntt's Beba (2021). Costa is a Peabody Award winner and a nominee for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. Her work has been recognized with the Film Independent Spirit Award, Cinema Eye Honors, and DOC NYC Best Director Award, among other honors. She is the founder of Busca Vida Filmes, the production company behind her films.
Alessandra is a non-profit executive, activist, director, producer and writer with extensive experience in advocacy and campaigning. Alessandra was a very early member of Purpose PBC which she brought to Brazil before co-founding NOSSAS. She was the curator of Agora É que são Elas, a columnist at Folha de São Paulo and a TED Global speaker. She is the creator and showrunner at Greg News - a satirical journalism show on HBO - and a fellow at the Obama Foundation and the Ashoka network of social entrepreneurs. Alessandra has a degree from Columbia University in Economics and Human Rights.