Rafael Lessa
Screenwriter
Rafael Lessa is a screenwriter and producer based in New York. A prizewinner at festivals such as Berlin, Venice, Rio and Locarno, Rafael holds an MFA in film from Columbia University and an MBA in Entertainment Business from the University of Southern California. Rafael has been working with different formats and narrative projects for over a decade, collaborating with production companies such as VideoFilmes, O2, Floresta and LB Entertainment.
He wrote the two seasons of the series "Samantha!" (2017-19) for Netflix and was head writer and co-executive producer of the series "Lov3" (2022, Prime Video). He also headed the script room for the series "As Aventuras de José e Durval" (2023), a project by O2 for Globoplay based on the lives of singers Chitãozinho and Xororó. He is also the screenwriter of the feature film "Rule 34" (2022), winner of the Golden Leopard at the Locarno Film Festival in 2022.
Rafael also wrote and directed the short film "Jiboia", shown in competition at festivals such as Mix Brasil (Canal Brasil Acquisition Award), Tiradentes and Guadalajara. He directed, wrote and starred as an actor in the short film "Love Snaps", co-directed with Daniel Ribeiro, winner of the best screenplay award at the Mix Brazil festival and the Jury prize at the Rio Festival. His first project as a screenwriter, the short "Tá", by Felipe Sholl, won the Teddy Award at the Berlin Film Festival. He wrote the documentary "Francisco Brennand", which won the critics' prize at the São Paulo International Film Festival.
He is also the creative consultant for Alex Moratto's films "Socrates" (2019) and "7 Prisoners" (2021), which have been shown at festivals around the world. At the moment, Rafael is developing a series, still under wraps, for an international player.