When cinema turned 100, Maria Joana Figueiredo began studying cinematographic language. She attended the Munich Film School, where she directed her first short film, Ah, Não Ser Eu Toda a Gente e Toda a Parte (2000), which won the now-defunct Encontros de Cinema Documental–Amascultura. She later specialized in editing at the Escola Superior de Teatro e Cinema (IPL Lisbon), experiencing firsthand the transition from analog to digital cinema.
As a trainee, she worked with renowned editor Andrée Davanture on Teresa Villaverde’s feature film Água e Sal (2001), which was edited entirely on a moviola. Maria Joana went on to focus primarily on editing, with notable work including Autografia, directed by Miguel G. Mendes, which won Best Documentary at DocLisboa in 2004.
She furthered her training by attending the screenwriting course organized by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in partnership with the London Film School, and later earned a degree in directing from E.S.T.C.
In addition to her film career, she has been active in the performing arts as the lead singer of the band El Sur and currently performs with Sacatualma.
Maria Joana lives and works in Lisbon as a freelance director, editor, and videographer.