Pietra Brettkelly

"I felt I was in the hands of a master storyteller." Still in Motion magazine Pietra is truly passionate about everything she does - the risks she's taken in making her films exhibit either passion or craziness, she says. Pietra is known for creating unique, intimate, beautifully cinematic works that open a window into another world. Pietra didn't attend film school. To paraphrase one of her favorite artists Basquiat "I never went to film school. I just looked". Instead, her parents encouraged a curiosity, taking her from Papua New Guinea to Portugal, inspiring a wonder and appreciation for the diversity of peoples and their stories. Pietra believes her work has a considered quietness, a non-judgmental approach that allows her subjects to tell their stories. She treasures the honesty and the privilege people grant her, to capture and document an often-pivotal time in their lives. Pietra has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Gucci Tribeca Fund, BritDoc, the Binger Film Lab and the New Zealand Film Commission. Pietra is a three times Sundance Institute alum having attended the Creative Producing Labs twice and the Edit and Documentary Lab. 2018 Yellow Is Forbidden - In Competition, Opening Weekend Tribeca Film Festival. 2015 A Flickering Truth - In Competition Venice Film Festival, North American premier Toronto Film Festival. Selected as the New Zealand Best Foreign Language film at the Oscars. 2012 Maori Boy Genius - In Competition Berlin Film Festival. 2008 The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins - In Competition Sundance, wins Best Editing at Sundance Film Festival. 2003 Beauty Will Save The World - World Premier American Film Institute Film Festival in Los Angeles. Pietra's awards include: Best Documentary, Warsaw Film Festival; Best Editing, Sundance Film Festival World Cinema; Best Documentary Human Rights Film Festival, Jordan; Best Documentary Film, NZ Film Awards The Moas; Best Documentary Director Qantas Film and Television Awards, NZ; Best Festival Documentary Qantas Film and Television Awards, NZ; Best Director EIDF Seoul, Korea; Best Documentary Whistler Film Festival, Canada; Special Jury Prize Zurich Film Festival, Switzerland; New Zealand Film Commission Producer's Award. "Pietra Brettkelly's enigmatic rendering ... is not a straightforward artist's profile, political commentary or domestic drama, but a poetic fusion of the three." Variety Magazine