Cláudio Cruz is a filmmaker and photographer whose work blurs the line between reality and perception. With a background in design and over a decade of meditation practice, he combines observational documentary with narrative fiction, crafting immersive stories that provoke deep reflection on memory, self-awareness, and how we construct our sense of self.
His short Edu (2017), which explores grief following an earthquake in Ecuador, screened at festivals worldwide, earning him the Best Emerging Director award at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. What About Our Future? (2021), a film focusing on youth climate activism, was selected for DOK Leipzig, Planet in Focus, and DOXA, where it won the Nigel Moore Award. Cruz’s photographic work is included in the collection at the Museum of Image and Sound (MIS) in São Paulo.
His latest film, Who Hears As The Wind Blows? (2024), supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, expands the boundaries of documentary. Drawing on real-life accounts of inner dialogue, Cruz collaborated with psychologists and screenwriters to externalize characters’ thoughts through subtitles, creating an intimate cinematic space where thought and perception intertwine. Featuring a mix of actors and non-actors, the film offers a fleeting yet profound glimpse into the impermanence of mental states and emotions, inviting viewers to reconsider the fluid nature of selfhood.
Through his work, Cruz continues to challenge the conventions of documentary filmmaking, exploring how subjective experience shapes and reshapes our understanding of reality.
Film Festivals, Labs & Accolades
2024 ARCTIC OPEN International Film Festival, Russia
2021 Winner of Nigel Moore Award at DOXA, Canada
2021 One World, Czech Republic
2021 SIMA Awards, USA
2021 Vancouver Short Film Festival, Canada
2021 Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Australia
2021 Bali International Short Film Festival, Indonesia
2021 Best Cinematography & Editing at TIFA, Brazil
2021 28º Festival de Cinema de Vitória, Brazil
2020 DOK Leipzig, Germany
2020 Planet In Focus, Canada
2020 Aesthetica Short Film Festival, UK
2020 St. John's International Women's Film Festival, Canada
2020 BIFED, Turkey
2020 CineEco, Portugal
2019 AYA Conference, Spain
2017 Best Emerging Director at Melbourne Documentary Film Festival, Australia
2017 Backup Festival, Weimar, Germany
2017 Asia Centum FilmFest, South Korea
2017 Lisbon International Film Festival, Portugal
2017 V-Art Festival Internazionale Immagine d'Autore, Italy
2017 Whistler Film Festival Doc Lab, Canada
2014 Tribeca Film Institute Filmmaker Workshop, Brazil
2013 DocMontevideo, Uruguay
Photography Exhibitions
2023 Nova Fotografia 10 Anos - Group Exhibition, São Paulo, Brazil
2022 Rotterdam Photo - Group Exhibition, Netherlands
2015 Efêmero Eterno - Solo Exhibition at Museum of Image and Sound, São Paulo, Brazil
2015 6ª Mostra SP de Fotografia - Group Exhibition, São Paulo, Brazil
2014 9º Paraty em Foco - Group Exhibition, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Photography Collections
MIS - Museum of Image and Sound, São Paulo, Brazil