Experiencing Interruptions?

NICOLAU ARAUJO - TIFF DIRECTORS’ LAB – 2026

Bound by a promise they made 10 years earlier, two lifelong friends travel from Brazil to Sweden in search of the Northern Lights, where grief, memory, and the difficult work of survival reshape their bond and their sense of the future.

  • Nicolau Araujo
    Director
    Shedding (Descamar, 2024) Hidden Walls (Paredes Clandestinas, 2019) Don't make me laugh (Como largar de palhaçada, 2016)
  • Nicolau Araujo
    Writer
    Shedding (Descamar, 2024) Hidden Walls (Paredes Clandestinas, 2019) Don't make me laugh (Como largar de palhaçada, 2016)
  • Elisa Souza
    Producer
    What's the deal with birds, 2025
  • Victor Ekstrom
    Producer
    The Advent of Mary (O advento de Maria, 2021), Sony Music - Black Music Month Brazil- Natiruts , 2021 .
  • Camila Márdila
    Key Cast
    "SHE"
    I’m Still Here (Ainda Estou Aqui, 2024) Senna (2024, TV Mini Series) My Name Is Gal (Meu Nome é Gal, 2023) Charcoal (Carvão, 2022) The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?, 2015)
  • Project Type:
    Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Roadtrip
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 50 minutes
  • Country of Origin:
    Brazil
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil, Sweden
  • Language:
    English, Portuguese, Swedish
  • Shooting Format:
    16mm
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Nicolau Araujo

Nicolau is a Brazilian writer-director whose work explores queer, sensory-driven cinema through the use of analog practices. Currently in post-production for his latest short film, Ingrown, and in development for his first feature, After the Pain, shooting in 16mm, his films have screened internationally for over a decade: his debut short won Best Latin American Short Film at the Marbella Film Festival in 2016, while Hidden Walls screened in 12 countries. His latest short, SHEDDING, screened across 15 countries and received 17 awards, including Best Screenplay at the 57th Brasília Film Festival, the oldest ongoing film festival in Brazil, an Honorable Mention at the Academy Award-qualifying Athens International Film + Video Festival. The film also screened on the opening night of XV Janela Internacional de Cinema do Recife, Kleber Mendonça Filho's film festival, alongside the restored version of Carrie.
Alongside his filmmaking practice, Nicolau is a film professor and holds a PhD from NOVA University Lisbon, where his research focuses on the economics of analog film production in Brazil. He is also the author of two books and develops projects in film preservation. As a trans autistic filmmaker, his work is deeply shaped by questions of care, perception, and the experience of moving through the world in a vulnerable body.

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