Adelia Sampaio is the first black filmmaker to direct a feature film in the history of Brazilian audiovisual production, in 1984.

At the age of five, Adélia was sent to an shelter in Santa Luzia, Belo Horizonte. Her mother, who worked as a maid, was taken away from her daughter by order of her employer. Adélia stayed away from her mother and sister until she was 13, when they finally met again and moved back in together.

Returning to Rio de Janeiro, she had her first experience in a movie theater watching the Russian film Ivan the Terrible. At first, when the lights went out, she was scared to death. But her sister soon reassured her that the darkness would allow the movie to begin.


"When I entered that huge dark room and the character Ivan appeared on the screen, I went crazy. And I thought - this is the window to the world, and one day I'm going to look into it -."


Her first audiovisual job was at the production company Difilme, where she was a telephone operator. She then worked in different roles on set - make-up artist, script supervisor and producer - until she became a director.

In this interview, conducted for Amostra Cultura: Sétima Arte Feminina at Caixa Cultural in Recife, Adélia tells us a little about her career.

But above all, she reminds us to have courage.