Jefferson Sousa, born in Itapetim, in the hinterlands of Pernambuco, is a journalist, documentarian, podcaster, visual artist, game developer, and researcher. His work focuses on orality and the preservation of Northeastern Brazil’s cultural memory, especially in popular literature. At 31 years old, Jefferson holds a Master’s degree in Literature (Literary Studies) from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE, 2024), a Bachelor’s degree in Social Communication from Barros Melo Integrated Colleges (2018), and a technical degree in Radio and Television from Maurício de Nassau University (2013).
As a journalist, Jefferson received the Cristina Tavares Literary Journalism Award in 2018 while working at Jornal do Commercio. He has also contributed reports to major media outlets, including G1, UOL, AdoroCinema, and Agência Retruco.
In the audiovisual field, Jefferson made his directorial debut in 2017 with the independent short film "Poetas Analfabetos do Sertão do Pajeú," which has surpassed 2.2 million views on YouTube. In 2019, he directed the documentary "Leonardo Bastião, o Poeta Analfabeto," which was selected for festivals in 12 countries and won six national and international awards. The film received significant media coverage from the BBC and GloboNews and was added to the Amazon Prime catalog in the United States and the United Kingdom. It has also reached over 180,000 views on YouTube. In 2021, Jefferson released "Pedro Tenório de Lima e a Enxada de um Poeta Analfabeto," which was screened at festivals in South Africa, Chile, India, and Russia.
In 2025, Jefferson released the documentary "A Torre de Itapetim," exploring a historical and cultural landmark essential to the development of the Pajeú region in the mid-20th century. The film was selected, among other events, for the International Festival of Ethnological Film in Belgrade 2025, in Serbia.
Jefferson is also the creator of the podcast "Sertão Sem Nó," which revives and shares popular stories and individual memories from the Northeastern hinterlands. The podcast gained national recognition, entering the Top 100 in the "Documentary" and "Personal Stories" categories on Spotify Brazil.
In 2022, Jefferson wrote, scripted, and produced the electronic game "As Aventuras de um Pajeú Encantado," a magical realism narrative that uses the history and works of poets from the Pajeú region of Pernambuco as an educational and entertaining backdrop. The game has been applied in Recife’s municipal school network and at Senac Patos-PB, engaging hundreds of simultaneous players.
In academia, Jefferson completed his Master's dissertation in 2024, titled "The Spontaneity of Cultural Memory Preservation in Orality: A Study Based on the Works of Popular Poets Vicente Preto and Pedro Tenório de Lima," under the guidance of Prof. Dr. David Pessoa de Lira.
Jefferson is also a speaker and workshop leader, delivering courses on securing public funding for cultural projects and using audiovisual tools to teach and promote popular culture. In front of the camera, he appeared in the GloboPlay/GloboSat series "Qual é o Caminho?" in 2019 and hosted programs such as "TV JC" (interviewing nationally recognized artists), the 2021 Cepe Literary Circuit, and the 2023 Pernambuco International Book Biennial.
His work demonstrates a deep commitment to valuing and preserving the cultural traditions of Northeastern Brazil’s hinterlands, bridging the past and the present through audiovisual media, research, and innovative initiatives that reach diverse audiences both nationally and internationally.