Meet Isabela Costa | Filmmaker, photographer and experimental visual artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Isabela Costa and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Isabela, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
I believe that risk is one of those things in life, which is impossible to avoid. Any decision will make you lose something in order to gain something else. With that in mind, one must understand their limits, principles and objectives to accept and take the right risks. In this way, you can transform the word “risk” into something more positive, such as an opportunity that always depends on self-knowledge. Of course, the number of risks in life is proportional to the financial comfort, community of support and everyone or everything that has your back if things go wrong. Therefore, I do understand taking risks as also a certain privilege. In my particular case, I am lucky to say that I have a loving family supporting my decisions and offering a hand whenever is necessary. This also comes with the investment in my education and a lot of trust in my potential. My home was a place of acceptance for my sexual orientation, creativity and the choice of a non-traditional career path. However, I am not at home anymore, in fact, I am in another country. This means the risk of living in another culture and language, as well as building a new community from scratch. Leaving Brazil was a key decision that exposed me to many artists and an experimental practice of filmmaking that wasn’t very accessible to me during the time I lived in Rio de Janeiro. Then, I finally began to understand risk as something inevitable for artists. In order to make a sincere and touching work, an artist must look at the world with generosity, care and empathy. It is the only way to depict life and transform someone with your film. Also, I do believe in the risk of an eternal self-discovery to understand your voice as an artist and filmmaker. It is deep and exhausting, you might find traumas and unresolved feelings in this path. However, the result is someone prepared to evolve constantly, and this evolution is always clear in your art and language.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My films and photography are usually centered on women and especially the ones living outside of their countries. There is something almost divine in the female sphere, which is meant to create and execute so much harmful self-sacrifice taught to us from day one in this world. However, I believe that my work has gained attention from the humor mixed with its nonlinear and experimental language. For some reason, comedy is so underestimated in non-traditional practices of art. In my perspective, humor walks side by side with bizarre events and so much human vulnerability. Comedy should be praised as a very clever way to transgress boundaries and discuss societal structures. Thinking about humor and the bizarre, I understand that my main challenge was to be weird and proud. The shame of my awkwardness in social gatherings and having a late awakening as a queer person really delayed my artistic development. As I met openly weird and glamorous awkward people, this shame and fear started to fade. Now, the bizarre factor is expressed unapologetically and plays a huge part in my cinematic language. I want the world to know that I don’t make films for scholars or festivals, that those institutions don’t matter in your creative process. What matters for me is the youth, the chaos, the female gaze and the honesty in my artistic piece. If it catches the attention of respected institutions, great. But it shouldn’t be the starting point.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
My best friend and I must go to Koreatown for Karaoke, even if our singing skills are a pain for everyone there. Also, we will visit Highland Park for thrift shopping. I recommend the impeccable Avalon Vintage. The Los Feliz flea market is also lovely and less chaotic than other flea markets in town. There is always a good film at The New Beverly, so we are going there too. Of course, we must drink a milkshake at Fred 62 late at night or at Astro, after dancing at Zebulon. Dancing at Akbar is a necessity too. I hope we can enjoy a concert at The Greek Theater, where I was lucky to see Bikini Kill, an experience I will never forget. We are going to dress up and pretend that we are in the 1970s, as we walk the Sunset Strip and take 35mm pictures. LACMA is one of my favorite museums, so we will be there too. Hopefully, we can catch a screening at the Academy Museum after. There is so much more, and this answer will bore whoever is reading.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I apologize, but I won’t be able to choose one person. My upbringing has taught the importance of freedom of thought since I was a child. It wasn’t uncommon political disagreements and emotional conversations in our routine. My brother, a lover of history, spent nights awake with me talking about great philosophers and all the research he invested so much time in, even as a teenager. My parents never made a distinction among people. Class, race and gender never disqualified someone in their eyes. They expressed love and justice by their actions and exposed me to a countless number of museums and films growing up. In my trajectory, I only had one partner. Anna and I are completing seven years together. She is a passionate and brave person. We met in the undergraduate school, where we began as journalists and later filmmakers. She participated actively in political collectives, and the queer scene in Rio de Janeiro, which was always ready to share love and long conversations about pop culture. Anna acted in most of my films and we both grow together as artistic collaborators every day. At CalArts, I found mentors and a whole new way of understanding film. Gary Mairs is a living encyclopedia on film and music. He is a great speaker and his love for great films is contagious during class. I am grateful for the hours he spent with me giving insightful feedback on my work, and honestly just talking about rock `n roll fun facts. Betzy Bromberg made me understand sound in a radical and innovative way. Her brilliant chaos really defined a new way of editing for me. Charlotte Pryce is a magical being, who showed me how to construct illusions in 16mm. She will teach you how to use a camera obscura, mirrors, and everything you need to find a unique visual language. Finally, I must mention everyone in the Bello Media Group and Maison Privée for sharing with me the mystery and ethereal quality in fashion editorials, my most recent passion in photography. Working in the magazines Bello, Vulkan and Tilted.Style, I have the pleasure to talk to great photographers and discuss the creative vision for a solid photoshoot.

Website: https://isabelacostafilm.com/

Instagram: @isa.chromatic