Pietra Brettkelly is a New Zealand filmmaker, known for her documentaries. She is a three-time Oscar-nominated elected documentary filmmaker, a member of The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and was recently named an Arts Laureate of New Zealand. Her films have premiered in five of the world's six top film festivals – Sundance, Toronto, Venice, Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals and garnered many awards. She is known for her independent, risk-taking style, which has taken her to nearly 100 countries.
Documentary career
VIVA Magazine wrote of Brettkelly: “An extraordinary person who has led an extraordinary life… from Libya to Sudan, Afghanistan and China." Brettkelly's 2018 film, Yellow Is Forbidden, premiered In Competition and Opening Weekend at Tribeca Film Festival. Vogue Magazine noted it as a “film that is … a celebration of how extraordinary women are"; the film was selected for both the Best Foreign Language and Best Documentary sections of the Oscars. The Sydney Morning Herald called it, " deliciously intimate film... a near visceral experience”. Brettkelly's film, A Flickering Truth, which documents the unearthing of the Afghan Film Archive in Kabul, Afghanistan, premiered at the 2015 Venice Film Festival and Toronto Film Festival to critical acclaim. It received a four star review in The Guardian which described it as “an astounding film”. Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter praised the film, describing it as "a documentary not just for archivists but for those who see film as a vital part of local culture" while Indiewire writer Eric Kohn called the movie an "eye-opening documentary... a moving navigation of Afghanistan’s past and present."" A Flickering Truth was selected as the New Zealand entrant for the 2016 Best Foreign Language at the Oscars. Brettkelly met Italian artist Vanessa Beecroft when filming in Sudan after the end of one of the longest running civil war in African history. Beecroft is famous for her provocative performance art, and while in Sudan for a project had decided to try and adopt motherless twins. Brettkelly eventually followed Beecroft's adoption efforts over 16 months, which formed the basis for The Art Star and the Sudanese Twins. Peter Debruge of Variety wrote that “Pietra Brettkelly’s enigmatic rendering…is not a straightforward artist’s profile, political commentary or domestic drama, but a poetic fusion of the three."Still in Motion 's editor posited “I felt I was in the hands of a master storyteller.” The film won Best Editing in the World Documentary section of the Sundance Film Festival. In 2012, Brettkelly's Māori Boy Genius premiered In Competition at Berlin Film Festival. Her Beauty Will Save The World 's World Premier American Film InstituteFilm Festival in Los Angeles.
