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'''Davi Pretto''' ([[Porto Alegre]], June 16, 1988) is a Brazilian film director and writer. He has directed four feature films, ''Castanha'' (2014), ''Rifle'' (2016), ''Continente'' (2024) and ''Future Future'' (2025), in addition to a number of short films.

== Career ==
Pretto graduated in cinema at [[Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul|PUCRS]] in 2008. He was a [[DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program|DAAD Berlin Artists-in-Residence]] fellow in 2018.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berliner Künstlerprogramm – Portrait Davi Pretto |url=https://www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de/en/artist/davi-pretto/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=www.berliner-kuenstlerprogramm.de}}</ref> A retrospective of his work was presented at the Arsenal Film Institut in Berlin.

=== ''Castanha'' (2014) ===
''Castanha'' is a dramatised documentary about the actor and drag performer João Carlos Castanha from [[Porto Alegre]].<ref name="Castro">{{Cite journal |last=Castro |first=Guilherme |last2=Lyra |first2=Bernadette |date=2017 |title=Queernesse e transgressão do corpo no corpo do documentário Castanha |url=https://periodicos.uniso.br/triade/article/view/3130 |journal=Tríade: Comunicação, Cultura e Mídia |volume=5 |issue=10}}</ref> It includes intimate and staged scenes, and scholars have argued that it uses strategies from [[queer theory]] in its construction, opening up for a "fluid, variable meaning".<ref name="Castro" /> A review in the Hollywood Reporter called ''Castanha'' "genre-bending", writing that it "provocatively defies fiction/non-fiction categorization".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Young |first=Neil |date=April 21, 2014 |title=Castanha: Copenhagen Review |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/castanha-copenhagen-review-697919/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

The movie premiered at the Forum section of the [[64th Berlin International Film Festival|64th Berlin Film Festival]] in 2014, where it was one of several films exploring queer identities.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Frosch |first=Jon |date=February 9, 2014 |title=Vibrant AIDS drama among LGBT offerings at Berlinale |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20140209-berlin-film-festival-vibrant-aids-drama-among-lgbt-offerings |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=France 24 |language=en}}</ref> It won Best Film<ref>{{Cite web |last=Guerini |first=Elaine |title=Sangue Azul rules Rio awards |url=https://www.screendaily.com/festivals/sangue-azul-rules-rio-awards/5078457.article |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Screen Daily |language=en}}</ref> at the [[Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival|Rio de Janeiro Film Festival]] in the New Trends section.

=== ''Rifle'' (2016) ===
Pretto's second feature film, the neo-western ''Rifle'',<ref>{{Cite web |title={{!}} Berlinale {{!}} Archive {{!}} Programme {{!}} Programme |url=https://www.berlinale.de/en/2017/programme/201710160.html |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=www.berlinale.de |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mintzer |first=Jordan |date=February 12, 2017 |title='Rifle': Film Review {{!}} Berlin 2017 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/rifle-review-974885/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> premiered at the 2016 [[Festival de Brasília|Brasilia Film Festival]], where it won awards for Critics Prize, Best Screenplay and Best Sound.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mayorga |first=Emilio |date=December 1, 2016 |title=Brazil's Davi Pretto on 'Rifle,' Brazil's Rural Diaspora, Doc-Fiction Boundaries |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/davi-pretto-rifle-brazil-rural-diaspora-doc-fiction-1201930816/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> Although ''Rifle'' is fiction, Pretto employs techniques from documentary and nonfiction cinema, and uses real people and real historical situations.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cronk |first=J. |date=2017 |title=RIFLE |url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/rifle/docview/1898937802/se-2 |journal=Film Comment |volume=53 |issue=3 |archive-url= |via=Proquest}}</ref> Although the film won multiple awards, some critics found the "too naturalistic approaches" underwhelming.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mintzer |first=Jordan |date=February 12, 2017 |title='Rifle': Film Review {{!}} Berlin 2017 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/rifle-review-974885/ |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref>

''Rifle'' was presented at the Forum section of the [[67th Berlin International Film Festival|67th Berlin Film Festival]] and later at the [[FIDMarseille|FID Marseille]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=FIDMarseille 2017 |url=https://mubi.com/en/awards-and-festivals/fidmarseille?year=2017 |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=MUBI |language=en}}</ref> The film won the Grand Prize<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Noh |first=Jean |date=May 3, 2017 |title=Jeonju festival crowns Brazil's 'Rifle', France's 'The Park' |url=https://www.screendaily.com/news/jeonju-festival-crowns-brazils-rifle-frances-the-park/5117376.article |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Screen }}</ref> at the [[Jeonju International Film Festival|Jeonju Film Festival]].

=== ''Continente (2024)'' ===
''Continente'' is a rural horror drama written and directed by Pretto where the plot involves an heiress (played by [[Olívia Torres]]), a French boyfriend ([[Corentin Fila]]) and an inheritance. Supernatural elements are suggested, and used as a platform for political reflection.<ref name="Brodersen">{{Cite news |last=Brodersen |first=Diego |date=July 17, 2024 |title="Continente": lo fantástico como plataforma para la reflexión política {{!}} Con dirección del brasileño Davi Pretto |url=https://www.pagina12.com.ar/752926-continente-lo-fantastico-como-plataforma-para-la-reflexion-p |access-date=September 19, 2025 |website=PAGINA12 |language=es}}</ref> Critics described the movie as strange and uneven,<ref name="Brodersen" /> but also laud its "hallucinatory, rarefied, and ominous universe".<ref>{{Cite news |last=Batlle |first=Diego |date=July 18, 2024 |title=Crítica de “Continente”, película del brasileño Davi Pretto |url=https://www.otroscines.com/nota-20520-critica-de-continente-pelicula-del-brasileno-davi-prett |access-date=September 19, 2025 |work=Otres Cines |language=es |via=www.otroscines.com}}</ref>

The movie was internationally co-produced (Brazil, France and Argentina) with the support of the [[World Cinema Fund|Berlinale World Cinema Fund]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Berlinale World Cinema Fund: Twelve New Funding Recommendations |url=https://www.duart.hr/news/berlinale-news-world-cinema |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=www.duart.hr |language=en}}</ref> and [[San Sebastián International Film Festival|San Sebastián Film Festival]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fuente |first=Anna Marie de la |date=September 19, 2022 |title=Selman Nacar, Davi Pretto, 'Penal Cordillera' Feature at San Sebastian WIP Sections |url=https://variety.com/2022/film/festivals/san-sebastian-wip-selman-nacar-luxbox-1235376173/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2024, ''Continent''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Continent {{!}} Sitges Film Festival |url=https://sitgesfilmfestival.com/en/film/2024/continent |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=sitgesfilmfestival.com |language=en}}</ref> was screened in the main competition of the [[57th Sitges Film Festival]] and won Best Director<ref>{{Cite web |last=Continente |first=Revista |title=Festival do Rio anuncia vencedores |url=https://revistacontinente.com.br/secoes/cinema/festival-do-rio-2024 |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Revista Continente |language=pt-br}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=October 29, 2024 |title=Vencedor de Melhor Direção no Festival do Rio, "Continente" chega aos cinemas – Revista de Cinema |url=https://revistadecinema.com.br/2024/10/vencedor-de-melhor-direcao-no-festival-do-rio-continente-chega-aos-cinemas/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |language=pt-BR}}</ref> at the [[Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival|Rio de Janeiro Film Festival]] in the New Trends section.

=== ''Future Future (2025)'' ===
His fourth feature, the lo-fi sci-fi ''Future Future'',<ref name="Szalai">{{Cite news |last=Szalai |first=Georg |date=July 7, 2025 |title=AI Brings Neurological Problems in Near-Future Brazil in 'Future Future' (Exclusive Karlovy Vary Teaser) |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/future-future-film-trailer-ai-neurological-problems-brazil-1236307800/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=The Hollywood Reporter |language=en-US}}</ref> was selected for the [[Karlovy Vary International Film Festival|59th Karlovy Vary Film Festival]] in the Proxima competition and later won four awards, including [[:pt:Candango de melhor longa-metragem|Best Film]] and Best Screenplay, at the [[Festival de Brasília|58th Brasília Film Festival]]. Some planned locations for the film were devastated by the [[2024 Rio Grande do Sul floods|2025 Porto Alegre floods]], so Pretto used AI-generated imagery that he created himself to finish the film as intended, combining pragmatism with a distopic vision.<ref name="Szalai" />

=== ''Short films'' ===
He has also written and directed ten short films, including ''Waiting Room''<ref>{{Cite web |title=exground.com |url=https://exground.com/2010/programm-kurze-vorfilme-quartodeespera.html |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=exground.com}}</ref>(2009), co-directed with Bruno Carboni, ''Como se Vive, Como se Torce'' (2014), ''Half Man, Half Ghost''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Half Man, Half Ghost |url=https://www.bisff.co/selection/half-man,-half-ghost- |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=bisff |language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://mubi.com/pt/br/films/half-man-half-ghost |title=Half Man, Half Ghost (2016) {{!}} MUBI |language=pt |access-date=July 23, 2025 |via=mubi.com}}</ref> (2015) and ''Foreign Desert'' (2020).

== Filmography ==
'''Feature Films'''

* Future Future (86min, 2025)
* Continent (115min, 2024)
* Rifle (88min, 2016)
* Castanha (95min, 2014)

'''Short Films'''

* Foreign Desert (23min, 2020)
* Half Man, Half Ghost (30min, 2015)
* Como se Vive, Como se Torce (13min, 2014).
* Bagagem (16min, 2014).
* De Passagem (11min, 2012).
* Metro (14min, 2010).
* Waiting Room (12min, 2009). co-dirigido com Bruno Carboni.

== Awards ==

* Best Film at the [[Festival de Brasília|Brasília Film Festival]] for Future Future (2025).
* Best Screenplay at the [[Festival de Brasília|Brasília Film Festival]] for Future Future (2025).
* Best Director in the New Trends section at the [[Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival|Rio de Janeiro Film Festival]] for Continente (2024).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rio |first=Festival do |title=And the Prize winners at Festival do Rio 2024 are… |url=https://www.festivaldorio.com.br/en/news/and-the-prize-winners-at-festival-do-rio-2024-are |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Festival do Rio}}</ref>
* Critics' Prize at the [[Festival de Brasília|Brasília Film Festival]] for Rifle (2016).<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Mayorga |first=Emilio |date=December 1, 2016 |title=Brazil's Davi Pretto on 'Rifle,' Brazil's Rural Diaspora, Doc-Fiction Boundaries |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/davi-pretto-rifle-brazil-rural-diaspora-doc-fiction-1201930816/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Best Screenplay at the [[Festival de Brasília|Brasília Film Festival]] for Rifle (2016).<ref name=":1" />
* Grand Prize at the [[Jeonju International Film Festival|Jeonju Film Festival]] for Rifle (2016).[1]<ref name=":0" />
* Best Film at Panorama Coisa de Cinema for Rifle (2016).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gaúcho Rifle é escolhido melhor filme no 12° Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema |url=https://www.correio24horas.com.br/guia-de-fim-de-semana/cinema/gaucho-rifle-e-escolhido-melhor-filme-no-12-panorama-internacional-coisa-de-cinema-1116 |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=www.correio24horas.com.br |language=pt-br}}</ref>
* Outstanding Award at Cine Esquema Novo for Rifle (2016).<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 12, 2016 |title=Cine Esquema Novo concede seu Grande Prêmio a documentário de Eryk Rocha |url=https://gauchazh.clicrbs.com.br/colunistas/roger-lerina/noticia/2016/11/cine-esquema-novo-concede-seu-grande-premio-a-documentario-de-eryk-rocha-8253060.html |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=GZH |language=pt}}</ref>
* Outstanding Art Exploration Award at the Beijing International Short Film Festival for Half Man, Half Ghost (2015).<ref>{{Cite web |last=BISFF |date=September 24, 2018 |title=2018 北京国际短片联展 {{!}} 获奖名单 Award |url=https://www.bisff.co/single-post/2018awards |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=bisff |language=zh}}</ref>
* Best Film at the Novos Rumos section at the [[Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival|Rio de Janeiro Film Festival]] for Castanha (2014).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rio |first=Festival do |title=Veterans and new faces shine at Festival do Rio 2014 |url=https://www.festivaldorio.com.br/en/news/veterans-and-new-faces-shine-at-festival-do-rio-2014 |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Festival do Rio}}</ref>
* Feisal Special Mention Award at [[Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema|Bafici]] for Castanha (2014).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hopewell |first=John |date=April 13, 2014 |title='Fifi,' 'Bug,' 'Manakamana' Win at Buenos Aires' Bafici |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/global/fifi-bug-manakamana-win-at-buenos-aires-bafici-1201156602/ |access-date=July 23, 2025 |website=Variety |language=en-US}}</ref>
* Special Mention Revelation Award at the São Paulo Short Film Festival for Quarto de Espera (2009).[5]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pretto, Davi}}
[[Category:Brazilian documentary film directors]]
[[Category:Brazilian horror film directors]]
[[Category:Brazilian experimental filmmakers]]
[[Category:People from Porto Alegre]]
[[Category:1988 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=Davi Pretto|access_date=2026-03-02}}