LUISA MELLO

Luisa Mello is a Lisbon-based filmmaker working across documentary and doc-fiction cinema, with experience in directing, cinematography, and editing. She is a PhD candidate in Performative Arts and Moving Image at the Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Lisbon, holds an MA in Documentary Directing from the DocNomads Joint Master Program (Portugal/Hungary/Belgium), a BA in Cinema, and a PGCert in Art and Philosophy from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She also studied Documentary Filmmaking at the International Film School of Cuba (EICTV).

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Her films as director, cinematographer, and editor have been awarded and screened at international festivals including Rotterdam, Bogoshorts, Vienna Shorts, Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, IndieLisboa, Sheffield Doc/Fest, and Ji.Hlava, and broadcast on Netflix, MUBI, and Brazilian television.

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Luisa works as a researcher in documentary cinema and has served as researcher and director’s assistant on doc-fiction feature films, including Noites em Branco (2020–in production) and Bulakna (2025, Portugal), which premiered at FID Marseille 2025 and was awarded the Prix Renaud Victor.

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She also contributes to collective audiovisual projects and immersive installations, including Visto Permanente (2021–2022, DGARTES-funded) and We Are Together Because… (cinematographer and co-editor), presented at the Centro de Arte Moderna, Gulbenkian Foundation.

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As a practitioner and facilitator, Luisa coordinates workshops, mobile cinema initiatives, and community-based projects across Portugal and Europe, including A Cidade Invisível (2024–present), Mulheres Andantes (2022–present), and the documentary course Arquivo Especial de Uma Vida Normal (2020–2021).

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Her work blends observational documentary and fiction with poetic, minimalistic storytelling, exploring the extraordinary in everyday life and the intersections between cinema, visual arts, and collective practices.