“My hope is that everyone here uses their energy to defend democracy, because it was a very complicated thing to create,” stated the filmmaker on Monday night, who was nominated for an Oscar in 2020 for the previous documentary, ‘The Edge of Democracy.’
The new film, ‘Tropical Apocalypse,’ explores how evangelical Christianity gained political influence in Brazil and was key to Jair Bolsonaro’s rise to the presidency.
It includes interviews with the current President, Lula da Silva, pastors, congress members, and voters, most notably with Silas Malafaia, a personal friend of the former president and evangelical pastor leading the Assembleia de Deus Vitória em Cristo.
“Divine power walks hand in hand with wealthy men who want to destroy the state for personal reasons,” the filmmaker pointed out. “They don’t want regulation, they don’t want to pay taxes,” she continued. Every time democracy has been overthrown since Ancient Greece, she added, “it was because the ultra-wealthy didn’t want to pay taxes.”
The imposition of a 50% tariff announced by U.S. President Donald Trump against Brazil, in retaliation for the judicial process faced by Jair Bolsonaro, was one of the topics addressed.
“The relationship between Trump and Bolsonaro is longstanding,” the filmmaker noted, recalling that Eduardo Bolsonaro, the ex-president’s son, left his congressional post to live in the U.S. to lobby for his father.
“Now we see the results of this lobbying,” said Pedra Costa. “We thought Trump was an imaginary friend, but clearly, the friendship is concrete and has many reasons, which are part of what the film documents.”
The filmmaker discussed the parallels between the two countries, which seem to have become “mirrors” of one another politically, including assassination attempts against Bolsonaro and Trump and assaults on the corridors of power, the Capitol in the U.S., and Congress in Brasília.
“These authoritarian governments like each other, spread like a pandemic, and are much more united than progressive governments around the world,” she indicated.
The event in Los Angeles also featured producer Alessandra Orofino, who expressed concern about what might happen in next year’s presidential elections and the attacks that Petra Costa might face.
“It takes a lot of courage to expose oneself in this way,” she considered. “And there are few things that people in authoritarian positions fear more than a good artist. Because artists tell the stories that shape us,” she said.
Orofino pointed out that the current relationship with the United States will not help the situation. “We must be prepared not only for an information space that is very polluted because it depends on American companies aligned with Trump,” she warned. “But also for direct interference from this administration, as is already happening,” she concluded.
‘Tropical Apocalypse’ is produced by Busca Vida Filmes, Plan B Entertainment (Brad Pitt’s production company), Impact Partners, and Play/Action Pictures.
