A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thiago Da Costa is Figura's in house award-winning director and main producer.

Involved in video production and photography since his mid-teens, his work began to get recognition in 1997 when he co-directed CREATING OUR OWN IMAGES, a short documentary that won the "Ideas in Action: Youth Explore the Media Award" from the National Telemedia Council while he was still in high school.

He went on to attend and graduate from New York University’s film program, where he was a Martin Scorsese Young Filmmakers Scholar and where he produced the short THE LOVE SONG OF HENRY MILK (Wasswerman Award Finalist - as seen on the Sundance Channel).

While still a student at NYU, Thiago directed BEFORE TAKE OFF (ANTES DA PARTIDA), a narrative film based on some of his own experiences growing up in Brazil that played in over 20 film festivals around the world and won him 6 awards including Best Emerging Artist from San Antonio's Cinefestival.

While producing his own work, Thiago has worked for years as a freelance production and post-production hand in New York City, Europe and Brazil, working on projects broadcast on Fox, France 24, HBO, Fashion TV, VH1, Arte and A&E amongst other stations.

His current focus is on social issue documentaries. In early 2008, he began editing and doing camera work for CANNIKINS WAKE, a documentary about the dangers of nuclear radiation. At around the same time, in association with Sony Creative Software, he wrote, directed, shot and edited RIO DE JANEIRO: CONTRASTS & CLICHÉS, a short documentary about the city that he hails from.

He is now working as director of photography on MORE THAN A MONTH, an ITVS-funded and PBS-bound documentary about the effects of Black History Month on African-Americans and on the social fabric of the US in general.