Joel Zito Araújo is a filmmaker, writer, professor, director, executive producer, and screenwriter of fiction and documentary films and television programs. Joelzito’s work is internationally recognized for its ability to combine cinematographic elements with social issues where he provides reflections on gender, ethnicity, politics, and socioeconomic condition. Since 1984, Araújo has produced 29 award-winning documentaries, features and narrative shorts raising awareness to social issues in Brazil, particularly the nation’s Afro-Brazilian population. Among his impressive body of work, the highlights are his feature-length fiction film Daughters of the Wind (2004), which brought together the largest black cast in the history of Brazilian cinema and won eight awards at the prestigious Gramado Film Festival and his documentaries: Denying Brazil (2001), about prejudices, taboos and the evolution of black characters in Brazilian telenovelas; Cinderellas, Wolves, and One Enchanted Prince (2008) about sexual tourism and exploitation in Brazil; and My Friend Fela (2019) about Fela Kuti.