Interview: Beth de Araújo – Josephine

With the Gotham and Independent Spirit Awards nominations just weeks away, 2026 has already been a major breakthrough year for filmmaker Beth de Araújo. Her sophomore feature, Josephine, won both the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award at Sundance, before going on to compete for the Golden Bear at the Berlinale — a rare achievement. Developed over more than a decade and drawing on events from the Brazilian-American filmmaker’s own childhood, Josephine is a deeply personal project that has found a remarkable life on the festival circuit (with a recent showcase at TIFF). During the film’s recent stop at the London BFI Film Festival, I had the chance to ask de Araújo about her experience at the Sundance Directors Lab and how it helped shape some of the film’s sequences. The Sumerian Pictures folks drop this film on November 20th.