Radiant Shadows: The Films of Pedro Costa
The Block Museum of Art welcomes legendary Portuguese filmmaker Pedro Costa on April 24 and 26 for two screenings that revisit remarkable nonfiction films early in his career alongside the work of key influences. Costa’s uncompromising cinematic voice is a singular blend of documentary and fiction that emerges from bold, inventive barebones production methods forged within a greater ethos of non-conformist filmmaking. Embracing slowness by taking years in production as well extended duration on the screen, Costa’s films are mesmerizing portraits with unparalleled connection to people and places—from the homes and streets of the Fontainhas residents to the editing bay of artistic mentors Straub-Huillet.
The Block Museum is proud to partner with the MFA in Documentary Media, the Department of Radio, Television, and Film, and the School of Communications at Northwestern to welcome Pedro Costa as a 2024 Hoffman Visiting Artist for Documentary Media.
Funded by a generous gift from Jane Steiner Hoffman and Michael Hoffman, this short-term filmmaker residency at Northwestern’s School of Communications will engage Costa in screenings, discussions, and student workshops, including presentations of his landmark documentary IN VANDA’S ROOM (2000) and lesser seen gem WHERE DOES YOUR HIDDEN SMILE LIE? (2001), meta-cinematically paired with SICILIA! (Straub-Huillet, 1999) on 35mm.
