Leonardo Pirondi is a Brazilian film director from São Paulo. Pirondi's work explores the intersection between fiction and non-fiction filmmaking using non-conventional structures of documentary, experimental, and narrative modes. In his films he explores contemporary sociopolitical issues and collective anxieties as a lens to look into history, imagination, myth, and technology.
Education Leonardo Pirondi studied filmmaking at the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts), in an analog and 16 mm focussed film program with an avant-garde/experimental film tradition, located in Valencia, California. He holds both B.F.A and M.F.A degrees from the Film/Video program.
Career His films have been presented at the Toronto International Film Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, New York Film Festival (Currents), Vienna International Film Festival, Mar del Plata International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Festival du nouveau cinéma, Slamdance, Melbourne International Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Centre de Cultura Contemporànea de Barcelona, and REDCAT.
Some of his films exist in the UCLA Film and Television Archive, The Film-Makers' Cooperative in New York, and were deposited at the Cinematheque of the Museum of Modern Art, Rio de Janeiro after the 4th edition of the 1666 Festival Internacional de Cinema 16mm. He has had solo and retrospective showings of his films at the Spectacle Theater in New York City, and Galeria Mola in Portugal. He took part in the 2023 Sundance Ignite X Adobe Fellowship.
Pirondi's first co-authored project, the 2023 short film titled When We Encounter the World, was co-directed with Zazie Ray-Trapido and it premiered at the 32nd Curtas Vila do Conde followed by the North American Premiere at the 61st New York Film Festival, the Austrian Premiere at the 61st Viennale, and selected to additional exhibitions at 15th Crossroads by the San Francisco Cinematheque, San Diego Underground Film Festival. The film was also shown alongside an interactive exhibition at Galeria Mola in Portugal.
Pirondi's 2024 short film, Potenciais à Deriva [Adrift Potentials], premiered at the 53rd International Film Festival Rotterdam as part of the Tiger Short Competition, with a North American premiere at the 49th Toronto International Film Festival (Wavelengths) and selected to the 62nd Viennale, 53rd Festival du nouveau cinéma, 49th Mar del Plata International Film Festival, 33rd Curtas Vila do Conde, and 77th Edinburgh International Film Festival. In 2025 the film was selected to the Hong Kong International Film Festival, Prismatic Ground in New York City, and the Umbrales de Vanguardias Latinoamericanas competition at FICUNAM (Festival Internacional de Cine de UNAM).
Pirondi was selected for the fourth edition of the Locarno Residency, which took place during the 78th Locarno Film Festival. He participated with a feature film project in development titled AMERIKA'ATINGA. He received the Paradiso Grant, a support from the Brazilian philanthropic initiative named Projeto Paradiso by the Olga Rabinovich Institute, to attend the Locarno Residency and he also became part of the Paradiso Talent Network.
In 2025, he was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's 25 New Faces of Independent Film and he was awarded a MacDowell Fellowship for the Fall '25 Winter '26 cycle.
Pirondi's 2026 short films, Memórias Encontradas Numa Banheira [Memoirs Found in a Bathtub] and Suíte dos Viajantes [Travelers' Suite], premiered at the International Selections at the 72nd International Short Film Festival Oberhausen and the 39th European Media Art Festival, respectively.
In 2026, his debut feature Fractais Tropicais [Tropical Fractals], starring Ivo Müller and Valentina Rosset, premiered in the National Competition at the 23rd IndieLisboa International Film Festival. Followed by screenings at film festivals and art institutions such as the 70th BFI London Film Festival (Experimenta strand), 33rd Chicago Underground Film Festival, 50th Mostra São Paulo International Film Festival (New Directors Competition), and the RECAT Theater.
Filmography +YearOriginal titleEnglish titleLengthCountryNotesRef.2026Fractais TropicaisTropical Fractals72 minutesDebut feature filmMemórias Encontradas Numa BanheiraMemoirs Found in a Bathtub4 minutesShort filmSuíte dos ViajantesTravelers' Suite7 minutes2024Potenciais à DerivaAdrift Potentials11 minutes2023Seja Bem-Vindo ao LarWelcome Home4 minutesWhen We Encounter The World11 minutesShort film Co-directed with Zazie Ray-Trapido2022Effulgent Gleam7 minutesShort filmVisão do ParaísoVision of Paradise16 minutes 2021In Search of Mount Analogue4 minutesIf a Tree Falls in a Forest15 minutes2020Benning's Dream2 minutesAnimated short film starring James BenningEarth had issues Loading...9 minutesShort film2019This is Mine, This is Yours3 minutes
Awards and nominations +YearResultEventCategory/AwardWorkRef.2026Nominated50th Mostra São Paulo International Film FestivalNew Directors CompetitionTropical Fractals33rd Chicago Underground Film FestivalNarrative Features23rd IndieLisboa International Film FestivalNational Competition72nd International Short Film Festival OberhausenInternational CompetitionMemoirs Found in a Bathtub34th Curtas Vila do CondeExperimental CompetitionTravelers' Suite39th European Media Art FestivalInternational Selection2025Nominated15th FICUNAM (Festival Internacional de Cine de UNAM)Competencia Umbrales de Vanguardias Latinoamericanas Adrift Potentials2024Nominated39th Mar del Plata Film FestivalCompetencia Estados Alterados53rd Festival du nouveau cinémaLes nouveaux alchimistes Competition77th Edinburgh International Film FestivalExperimental Shorts32nd Curtas Vila do CondeExperimental Competition37th European Media Art FestivalInternational CompetitionWelcome Home53rd International Film Festival RotterdamTiger Short Award CompetitionAdrift Potentials30th Slamdance Film FestivalDocumentary Short Grand Jury PrizeVision of Paradise2023Nominated31st Curtas Vila do CondeExperimental CompetitionWhen We Encounter The WorldWon26th Brooklyn Film FestivalBest Experimental AwardVision of ParadiseNominated20th Vienna ShortsFIDO Competition26th Guanajuato International Film FestivalInternational Documentary23rd DokuFestInternational Short DOX
References
External links Interview with Leonardo Pirondi at Cineuropa, 2026 Interview with Pirondi at VoyageLA, 2020
Leonardo Pirondi on Letterboxd Leonardo Pirondi on MUBI Leonardo Pirondi page on Vimeo