Fernanda Faya
Filmmaker, Director, Producer
Fernanda Faya
is a filmmaker, director of photography, and curator born and raised in São Paulo, currently based in Brooklyn, New York.Across fiction and nonfiction, her work foregrounds female and queer perspectives, centering stories on the brink of disappearance.
Recent Work
Cultural Program
Founder, Program Director, Curator
United States, Recurring
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Re-Exist in the Present, Imagine the Future.
A multidisciplinary event celebrating Indigenous filmmaking as cultural resistance and decolonial expression. Held across various New York institutions, the aim of this programming is to spotlight Brazilian Indigenous audiovisual and foster a dialogue with global Indigenous cinemas. Through screenings and expert-led discussions, the program examines how filmmakers reclaim narrative agency and assert ancestral knowledge through unique aesthetic and political lenses. The program amplifies Indigenous voices and expands discourses in film, anthropology, and media activism.
Juana Suárez
Marina Bedran
Carolina Canguçu
Wewito Piyãko Ashaninka
Past Participants
Amalia Cordova
Fabio Andrade
Sueli Maxakali
Cultural Program
Founder, Program Director, Curator
United States, Recurring
Documentary, 72 min
Director, Writer, Producer
Sancho Filmes/Temporal Filmes, Brazil, 2023
Neirud
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Neirud died shrouded in mystery, leaving behind no trace of her past. Confronting family secrets, Fernanda pieces together the life of her enigmatic aunt, who toured Brazil as a wrestler in an underground all-female circus troupe throughout the 60s and 80s. As she investigates Neirud’s controversial ring persona, Gorilla Woman, the filmmaker uncovers a taboo-breaking love story, revealing the surprising nature of Neirud’s role in her own family.
Documentary, 72 min
Director, Writer, Producer
Sancho Filmes/Temporal Filmes, Brazil, 2023
Documentary, 12 min
Director, Producer, Cinematographer
Temporal Filmes, United States, 2016
One For The Road
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As she moves from Brazil to NY, the filmmaker looks back at her grandma's migration as a way to find traces of her own identity.
Documentary, 12 min
Director, Producer, Cinematographer
Temporal Filmes, United States, 2016
Cinematographer, Assistant Director
Director: Desmond Picotte
Feature Documentary
United States, In Development
In Detroit, a group of elder trans women, many of whom came out later in life, gather for a long weekend of joy, connection, and visibility.
During these festive events, known as “Invasions,” they move through the city together, finding safety in numbers and celebrating their identities in public spaces that once felt inaccessible.
What begins as a party becomes a powerful act of solidarity, offering a rare glimpse into a chosen family forged through resilience, laughter, and the shared pursuit of living authentically.
The Ladies
of the Midwest
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Feature Documentary
Cinematographer, Assistant Director
Director: Desmond Picotte
United States, In Development
Director, Cinematographer, Producer
Documentary, 15 min
United States, In Post
Alone Together
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In a seniors' house in Queens, elders of different nationalities find distinctive ways of facing and coming to terms with the challenges of aging and death.
Documentary, 15 min
Director, Cinematographer, Producer
United States, In Post
Writer, Director
Fiction
Substâcia Filmes, In Development