Ieda Rozenfeld

As a Brazilian documentary filmmaker, my works focus on amplifying the voices of marginalized communities, offering a platform to those often overlooked by society. I have crafted scripts and directed films within the storytelling genre, featuring protagonists from various backgrounds, such as homeless individuals, impoverished community members, and isolated Quilombolas of African ancestry of enslaved black people, rural women, fishermen, the LGBTQIA+ community, people deprived of liberty in prisons, psychosocial treatment centers, indigenous tribes in the Amazon, and projects centered on public health. I have ventured into Villages, into remote regions of Brazil, where necessities like clean water, medicine, and Electricity are scarce.

In 2021, I arrived in Tel Aviv, carrying with me the desire to root my art within the pulse of the city. That same year, I took part in Inside Out Project, the global participatory movement initiated by French artist JR. Through monumental black-and-white portraits pasted onto public walls, the project transforms personal identity into public art and intimate stories into collective statements. My involvement became an initiation into a practice I would continue to explore: art as testimony, art as dialogue, art as the visible echo of invisible voices.

By 2024, my path led me to photography through the PHOTOVOICE methodology—a form of visual storytelling that places the camera in the hands of communities themselves. It is not only about capturing images, but about inviting reflection, sparking critical conversations, and challenging policies. With it, photography ceases to be just an aesthetic gesture and becomes instead an instrument of empowerment—particularly for those marginalized or unheard. For me, this approach resonated deeply with my feminist philosophy: to create space where overlooked perspectives can take center stage.

That same philosophy underpins my first exhibition, After 50’s It Gets Better. The work illuminates the vibrant energy of Generation X women, redefining what it means to live beyond fifty through the radical spirit of Sexalescence. These women—restless, curious, technologically adept, and defiantly progressive—refuse the weight of labels like “senior.” They rewrite aging as a chapter of self-determination, joy, and unapologetic vitality. Like adolescence in the mid-20th century, sexalescence emerges as a new social category: a declaration that life after 56 cannot be an ending, but an awakening.

Within this generation lies a quiet revolution. These women, many in their sixties and seventies, have carved out independent lives, transforming work into a source of fulfillment rather than resignation. Some continue their professions with vigor; others, having retired, embrace leisure as a well-earned luxury. But none are resigned to invisibility. Instead, they gaze at the world with clarity, savoring each moment—whether through travel, discovery, community, or looking at the sea with an open heart.

My work stands at this intersection: where personal history converges with collective memory, where art is not an isolated object but a living practice. Through portraits, dialogue, and storytelling, I aim to honor resilience, amplify the voices that are often overlooked, and reimagine what it means to navigate time, identity, and change.