In a rapidly changing film industry, one name out of the many directors has stood out and stayed relevant during this decade: Thiago Leoni. For him, filmmaking has always been his main language. A way to capture and express emotions and transform silence into storytelling while bringing people closer together. Starting his journey in Brazil and rising to acclaim in the US, Thiago has gained deep knowledge and perfected his technical mastery while working behind the scenes and making the magic happen in the audiences’ lives.
From his first major work, Querido Espaço (“Dear Blank”), which rose Thiago to the spotlight with awards such as Best First Time Director at the Roma Short Film Festival, to Projects like Sofia. Take One., and Yesterday at the park, Thiago has come way ahead in the film industry and earned recognition as an extraordinary auteur film director who showcases raw, unfiltered social matters that surround him, in original pieces that confront non-traditional storylines.
In his career so far, he has also contributed to different commercials and advertisement pieces for the Brazilian industry, which have been regarded highly and distinct for their cinematic tone and emotional storylines. His background with narrative short films and documentary projects has sharpened his skills as a storyteller and made his commercial pieces feel more grounded and expressive of his acute sense of the world.
What’s Next for Thiago?
While staying busy with both narrative and commercial pieces, Thiago is all set to launch a new project: an untitled documentary feature with the renowned Brazilian actor Ivo Müller. The project, which is currently in production shooting in Los Angeles and New York City, is projected to be released by late 2026.
Taking a deeper dive into its form, the film veers off from following a conventional documentary narrative structure. Although it remains true to reality and away from fiction, it is not a “sit down interview” or a voice-over-lead type of film. Instead, what the film does is to rely on cinema-verité techniques to immersively follow Ivo on his journey, bringing the audience closer to his actions and thoughts. It highlights the portrayal of that unexplainable reasoning behind making art, entrepreneuring, and pursuing your boldest and most intimidating goals.
Motivation Behind The Curtains
For Thiago, it was never about just telling stories through his work. It was more about continuing to materialize feelings others might have thought were singular to them. To show people that the world is not that small and we should experiment new things, new tastes and new sights. It was to encourage everyone to have some empathy for each other, to be the spark of change, bring discussion, different points of view, and a sense of collectiveness to an increasingly lonely society. Thiago sees film making as a responsibility, and works to make something meaningful out of asking for an audience to sit together in the dark, staring at a screen for two hours.
His short film Manziello is a classic example of this. The film navigates the survival story of a Brazilian immigrant in Los Angeles to the journey of his self-worth, a fictional story that reflects his own real life journey. It was recognized at Festival Cine Urutu and the Lonely Wolf International Film Festival too for being both distinctive and resonant.
Thiago has learnt a lot from his inspirations like Glauber Rocha, Nelson Pereira dos Santos for establishing Brazil as a global film making reference; for U.S documentary visionaries like D.A. Pennebaker and the Maysles Brothers, who adapted to new technologies to push the boundaries on the verité documentary front; and for narrative rebels like Andrey Tarkovsky and Michelangelo Antonioni who redefined precision, pace, and the abstract in modern filmmaking.
Today, he sees references like Walter Salles, Robert Greene and Nuri Bilge Ceylan as progressors in those respective fronts, and feels hopeful to see that, despite of a gigantic media output burst in the last few years, true cinema continues to stand its ground.
Exploring The Unexplored
For Thiago, writing has always been his ground to express himself from the very beginning. Coming from a small Brazilian school in the heart of Rio de Janeiro, he chose the path of unpredictability and exploration. Upon this journey, the spotlight was shined on him to be a voice for the ones who cannot be heard. Thus, his extraordinary pieces of filmmaking are ever more important and needed.
Media Contact
Company Name: Thiago Leoni
Contact Person: Thiago Leoni
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Country: Brazil
Website: https://www.thiagoleoni.com
