DMovies - Your platform for thought-provoking cinema

Petra von Kant

Filmmaker and Writer

A German-Brazilian diva with a biting tongue


Petra von Kant is a filmmaker, critic and performance artist. She was born Manoel Almeida to Brazilian parents in 1971 in Bremen, Germany. Her parents were political refugees fleeing the military dictatorship in the South American country. Von Kant underwent a sex reassignment surgery in Morocco in 1992. Her mother Bruna LaBrune was an exponent of the Brazilian pornochanchada film movement and an outspoken free speech militant. They trace their roots back to the Yoruba tribes of Nigeria.

Mother and daughter moved to the city of Salvador in Northeastern Brazil in 1982, once censorship laws in the country were relaxed. She started her career as a filmmaker in 1991 with the featurette In the Annals of the Pink Revolution about the LGBT rights in Brazil, a subject virtually uncovered at the time. The film won the Best Script Award in the prestigious Baitola Film Festival in the Brazilian town of São Gabriel da Cachoeira.

Petra von Kant has also directed two documentaries about the plight of transexuals in Brazil, Black Flamingos (1998) and The Lingonberry Reich (2004). She moved to London the following year, and has since worked as performance artist at Duckie, a prominent LGBT cultural night in South London, as well as a film journalist for various national newspapers and independent magazines. She describes her writing as sharp, piercing and insidious.

You can reach von Kant at petra@dirtymovies.org.


Other posts by Petra von Kant
Keep the Bugs Out of My Soup!!!
Conceptual Czech animation originally inspired by a videogame is full of enchantment and playful designs; the project was spearheaded by a multtiskilled artist best known as Tyy Renaissance [Read More...]

Billie
Tribute to both the iconic Billie and the journalist who so profoundly adored her is spiced with very intimate details of their troubled lives - on virtual cinemas on Friday, November 13th and on VoD on Monday, November 16th [Read More...]

Citizens of the World (Cittadini del Mondo)
Three Roman pensioners whose world is entirely confined to the Italian capital wish to break free and blaze new trails for the very first time - on VoD on Friday, June 12th [Read More...]

The dirtiest movie soundtracks ever
Our writer Petra von Kant picks her favourite movie soundtracks, those who have shaken her (and a lot of of other people) to the core since their release [Read More...]

Life lessons from gambling?
In our top 5 dirty movies about gambling, you too can learn one thing or two (or even a life lesson) in the most unlikely of all places: the casino! [Read More...]

High Life
An orgasmic Claire Denis crafts a very unorthodox sci-fi about space voyagers who encounter an elusive "Sex Box", featuring Juliette Binoche and Robert Pattinson - now available on VoD! [Read More...]

Run Lola Run, still going fast 20 years on!!!
Two decades later, Tom Tykwer's movie remains one of the most profitable foreign language films of all times; we investigate the dirty secrets of the highly influential German flick [Read More...]

Happy Prince
The online trailer for Rupert Everett's biopic of Oscar Wilde is out now; the director himself incorporates the literature genius as he lives his final days in exile [Read More...]

Birth of the Dragon
A tale of two dragons: Bruce Lee's epic battle against Wong Jack Man, which catapulted the young fighter to fame, is the subject of George Nolfi's film, starring Philip Ng - in cinemas February 23rd [Read More...]

Dina
Do tell the bride! Fabulous doc investigates and celebrates the very unorthodox marriage of two people suffering from mental health conditions - in cinemas [Read More...]

Touchez pas au Grisbi!
Two French birds with one stone: Studiocanal rescues the legacy of the often underrated French filmmaker Jacques Becker, and our first dirty pick is a timely celebration of the recently departed legend Jeanne Moreau - now on DVD, Blu-ray and EST [Read More...]

Out of Iraq
The humbling story of the impossible love between two gay Iraqi soldiers, which succeeds against all odds - from the BFI Flare London LGBT Film Festival. [Read More...]

Torrey Pines
Deply nostalgic, puerile and unusual stop-motion animation portrays the coming-of-age tale of a transgender girl - showing right now at the BFI London LGBT Film Festival [Read More...]

David Lynch’s dirty secret
In order to celebrate his 71st birthday, we have picked seven extremely unusual and uncredited works by the enygmatic American filmmaker: television commercials! [Read More...]

Tangerine
The loudest, messiest, filthiest and yet most touching and impressive Christmas present you could ever give to anyone; 2015 film shot on iPhone excels in humour, simplicity, compassion and humanity - on Amazon Prime on Sunday, May 2nd [Read More...]

Panic
A dirty immigrant at your rear window! Indie thriller recycles classic Hitchcockian device, blending it with very modern problems endemic to London - now available on most VoD platforms [Read More...]

One Kiss (Un Bacio)
I kissed a boy and he didn't like it: sweet-quickly-turned-sour teenage romance from Italy is a stark reminder that the mediterranean country has to face up issues of consent and homophobia - movie is out in the cinema and soon on DVD [Read More...]

The Unspoken
From the producers of the 'Insidious' and 'Paranormal Activity' films, the new horror flick has some good scares and an unusual twist in the end, but overall it lacks flare and vigour throughout - out in the UK on DVD and Blu-ray [Read More...]

Transit Havana
A social paradise for sexual diversity or an oppressive military regime? The life of transsexuals in modern-day Cuba is full of paradoxes - new documentary at the East End Film Festival in London reveals [Read More...]

Hooligan Sparrow
Undercover filming is a lifesaver for a group of female human rights activists in China denouncing widespread child abuse and dodging government repression - find out why in this new Chinese documentary [Read More...]

The Return
Better inside or outside? The social "reentry" system for former prisoners in the US has severe flaws, leaving many African Americans marginalised and unable to reintegrate - new documentary explores [Read More...]

Symptoms
Complete with lesbian ghostly sex, this chilling, lost and forgotten very British horror movie from 1974 has now been found and restored, and it is guaranteed to give you nightmares [Read More...]

The Pearl of Africa
Fighting prejudice in Uganda: the transgender woman who defied `the world's worst place to be gay` [Read More...]

When We Are Together We Can Be Everywhere
As this LGBT erotica documentary hits Brighton on Thursday, Dirty Movies opens up the discussion about the fine line between art and smut [Read More...]

Carmin Tropical
This Mexican tale of transvestism, singing and murder has an interesting topic, beautiful actors and a fascinating backdrop, but it lacks intensity [Read More...]

I Promise You Anarchy (Te Prometo Anarquía)
A fiery mixture of skateboarders, homosexuality and illegal blood trade is the promising feat of this Mexican film; sadly it fails to gel together [Read More...]

White Out, Black In (Branco Sai, Preto Fica)
In the deeply racist and socially segregated Brazilian capital, black dwellers bear the violent brunt of institutionalised oppression [Read More...]

Alice’s House (A Casa de Alice)
The mundane lifestyle of the Brazilian lower middle-class can both challenge and enrapture the viewer [Read More...]

News from Planet Mars (Des Nouvelles de la Planète Mars)
We all go a little animal crazy sometimes, particularly if you are a vegetarian activist [Read More...]

The Way He Looks (Hoje Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho)
Deconstructing the male gaze with love, affection and sun cream [Read More...]

Waste Land (Lixo Extraordinário)
The beautiful garbage of hope: Vik Munoz empowers a community of rubbish pickers, enabling them to turn trash into gold [Read More...]

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