Photo: via IMDB
Susanna Lira
A master of investigative documentary and social suspense fiction, Susanna Lira uses cinema as a living tool for truth-telling, memory, and historical reckoning.
- Region
- Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Sudeste
- Age
- 51
Authorial vision
Susanna Lira is one of the most prolific and urgent voices in contemporary Brazilian audiovisual culture. Grounded in rigorous research and deep listening, her cinema is devoted to exposing collective traumas, structural prejudice, and struggles for female autonomy and human rights.
Her direction is distinguished by her ability to transform complex subjects, such as institutional violence, Brazil’s military dictatorship, and gender oppression, into engaging and accessible cinematic narratives. Moving fluidly from investigative and poetic documentary to atmospheric fiction, Susanna creates bold cinema that interrogates reality and invites audiences to critical reflection and empathy.
Filmography
- #SalveRosa
2025 · Film · Mistério, Suspense · Director · 95 min
Uma influencer adolescente desmaia na escola e começa a investigar seu passado. Suas descobertas ameaçam tanto seu relacionamento com a mãe superprotetora quanto sua própria existência.
- Fernanda Young: Foge-me ao Controle
2024 · Documentary · Director · 87 min
A documentary exploring the distinctive personality of writer Fernanda Young, who died in 2019.
- Mussum, um filme do Cacildis
2019 · Documentary · Director · 75 min
The career of musician and comedian Mussum, from his time as a vocalist with *Os Originais do Samba* to his work in film and television as a member of *Os Trapalhões*, the group that revolutionized comedy on Brazilian television.
- Torre das Donzelas
2018 · Documentary · Director · 97 min
*The Virgin’s Tower* — Memories of a group of rebellious women who were imprisoned by the Brazilian dictatorship in the 1960s.
- Intolerância.doc
2016 · Documentary · Director
What drives hate crimes and intolerance in Brazilian society?
Social channels
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