EDGE OF DEMOCRACY, THE
[DEMOCRACIA EM VERTIGEM]
Once a nation crippled by military dictatorship, Brazil found its democratic footing in 1985 and then, in 2002, elected a hugely popular political disrupter: steel worker-turned-activist Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva. Under his watch, 20 million Brazilians were lifted out of poverty, and the country rose to international prominence. In 2010, Lula passed the presidential baton to his prodigy, a fierce female guerrilla named Dilma Rousseff. But beneath their sunny legacy, rumblings of populist rage and institutional corruption seeped into the mainstream — much of it abetted by a partisan judge who fed news outlets sensational, deeply flawed corruption reports that targeted Lula, Dilma and anyone else who refused to scratch the backs of powerful politicians and special-interest groups. With remarkably intimate access, this sharp documentary, directed by Petra Costa (ELENA), follows Brazil's embattled leaders as they grapple with a scandal born out of their country's fascist past and inflamed by a furious and ideologically divided nation. (Note adapted from Sundance Film Festival.) Official Selection, 2019 Sundance, CPH:DOX, San Francisco and Hot Docs film festivals. DIR/SCR/PROD Petra Costa; SCR Carol Pires, David Barker, Moara Passoni; PROD Shane Boris, Joanna Natasegara, Tiago Pavan. Brazil, 2019, color, 113 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
No AFI Member passes accepted.
Run Time: 113 Minutes
Opening Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019
Genre: Documentary - history