Maria Clara Escobar — Director | Biography, Movies & Career

Biography

Maria Clara is a diretor, screenwriter, casting director, and a poet.

In January 2026, Maria Clara released the tv series “Paloma” (Canal Brasil, Globoplay), which she wrote and directed. A four-episode series that tells the story of a transgender woman's struggle to gain custody of her biological daughter. In 2025, she premiered her second feature film, Dolores, written and directed alongside Marcelo Gomes, at Horizontes Latinos in San Sebastián. The film was also screened at the Rotterdam film festiva, Rio Festival, São Paulo Film Festival, Janela Internacional and Havana Film Festival.

Also in 2025, Maria Clara won the award for best director at the Olhar de Cinema festival in Brazil for her hybrid film “Explode São Paulo, Gil,” which she wrote and directed. The film also won the award for best film and SPA honorable mention at Doc.Lisboa. The film was screened at the Laceno D'oro festival and the São Paulo International Film Festival. Maria Clara wrote and directed the feature film “Desterro,” which premiered in January 2020 as part of the Tiger Competition at the Rotterdam International Film Festival. The film was also screened at festivals such as Viennale, Festival du Nouveau Cinema, Taipei Film Festival, among others. It was released in Portugal, Brazil, Germany, Iceland, and Greece, won the Netflix Portugal award for Portuguese female directors, and was licensed to Netflix worldwide. In December 2022, it was named by the NY Times as one of six films to watch.

Maria Clara also wrote and directed the feature-length documentary “Os dias com ele” (The Days with Him). The film won the award for best film at Doc.Lisboa in 2013, in the national competition. It won awards at the Havana and IBAFF (Spain) festivals. In Brazil, it won awards at the 16th Tiradentes Film Festival (youth jury, official jury, and Itamaraty Award) and at the IV CachoeiraDOC (youth jury and official jury). In 2014, the film premiered in theaters and on DVD by the Moreira Salles Institute. In addition to feature films, Maria Clara has written and directed three short films, “Domingo,” selected for the school cycle of the San Sebastián Film Festival (2004), “Passeio de Família” (2010) and “Onde Habito” (2021). As a screenwriter, Maria Clara wrote Lírio Ferreira's new film, “Serra das Almas,” which won the Netflix award at the Rio Festival in 2024; was screenwriter and assistant director of Julia Murat's feature film “Histórias Que Só Existem Quando Lembradas” (Found Memories; and wrote Bruno Risas' feature film "Ontem Havia Coisas Estranhas no Céu" currently available on Netflix.

Maria Clara is also a casting director and casting coach, having worked on Marcelo Gomes' “Paloma,” Lírio Ferreira's “Serra das Almas,” Matias Mariani's “Cidade Pássaro,” Julia Murat's “Pendular,” Marcelo Gomes' “Joaquim,” Caetano Gotardo's “O Que se Move,” the series O Nó do Diabo by Ramon Porto Mota, Gabriel Martins, Ian Abé, and Jhésus Triuzi, and the short film A Terra Treme by Walter Salles, which is part of the feature film "Where Has the Time Gone?" organized by Jia Zhang-Ke. Maria Clara has three published books: "Medo Medo Medo" (2019), Um Novo Mar Dentro de Mim (2020) and Zonas de Guerra (2021).

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