Carolina Costa
filmmaker
Los Angeles, US
cinematography shorts documentary
Selected as one of American Cinematographer’s Rising Stars of 2018, Carolina Costa has traveled the world lensing critically-acclaimed feature films, documentaries, shorts, and commercials. Recently, Carolina won the Women in Media + ZEISS Altitude Award and was on Variety’s list of “10 Latinxs To Watch in 2020”.
Carolina most recently served as the DP and shot the pilot episode for the Amazon Freevee series HIGH SCHOOL from award-winning director Clea Duvall, produced by Plan B Entertainment. She reunited with Mexican filmmaker David Zonana, whom Carolina previously collaborated with on WORK FORCE (MANO DE OBRA), for her upcoming feature HEROICO. She is also lensing the upcoming feature THE GRADUATES from director Hannah Peterson and executive producer Chloe Zhao; as well as the upcoming feature FANCY DANCE starring Lily Gladstone and directed by Erica Trembley. In addition to serving as a DP, Carolina will be directing and lensing VOLUPTAS TRILOGY, a three part trilogy about the exploration of pleasure starring Mabel Cadena and Natalia Solian.
Some of Carolina’s past credits include serving as the DP of: Tara Miele’s film WANDER DARKLY, starring Diego Luna and Sienna Miller, which premiered at Sundance 2022; Minhal Baig and Jada Pinkett Smith’s coming-of-age film HALA, that premiered at Sundance 2019; Tinder’s first interactive series SWIPE NIGHT directed by Karena Evans; the fiction narrative film ICEBOX produced by three-time Oscar winning producer James L. Brooks’, which premiered at TIFF 2018; the multiple award-winning feature CRYSTAL SWAN directed by Darya Zhuk; the award-winning film THEY, which premiered at Cannes Film Festival; Max Winkler’s Tribeca film, FLOWER, starring Zoey Deutch; the horror, thriller film THE EVIL HERITAGE (LA HERENCIA DE MAL); and BABENCO: TELL ME WHEN I DIE from director Bárbara Paz which premiered at the 2019 Venice Film Festival and took home the Best Documentary Award.
Carolina’s first feature as a cinematographer, THE CHOSEN ONES with director David Pablos, premiered at Cannes. The film won five Mexican Academy of Film Arts and Sciences’ Ariel Awards, including Carolina’s Ariel Award for Best Cinematography. Her work was additionally praised by The Hollywood Reporter as “a handsomely shot feature.” In 2020, Carolina and Pablos reunited on the Netflix film, DANCE OF THE 41.
Additionally, Carolina handled second-unit cinematography and B-camera for Luca Guadagnino's critically-acclaimed SUSPIRIA, starring Tilda Swinton and Dakota Johnson. She also lensed several episodes of the HBO Emmy award-winning series INSECURE.
Originally from Brazil, Carolina studied at the University of the Arts, London, where she was mentored by Sue Gibson, the renowned first female president of the British Society of Cinematographers. Costa then moved to Los Angeles and earned her Masters in Cinematography from the American Film Institute. Her AFI thesis film WAY IN RYE went on to compete at Camerimage in Poland, followed by her AFI alumni short CONTRAPELO which premiered at Tribeca before being shortlisted for the Academy Awards.