Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa examines the complex systems that run the country, both for better and for worse. Blending the personal, poetic and political, filmmaker Costa charts the unfolding political landscape of Brazil to explore one of the most dramatic periods in her country's history. With unprecedented access to Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, Petra explores the rise and fall of both leaders and the tragically polarised nation that remains, juxtaposed with accounts of her own family's complex political and industrial past. As accusations fly and ideologies clash, the stability of Brazil's political and public frameworks hang in the balance, a fact that Costa makes abundantly clear throughout the film. The film not only captures these crucial moments in history but serves as a cautionary tale for the current times of democratic crisis.
Brazilian filmmaker and actress Petra Costa made her documentary feature-debut with the film Elena in 2012, after years producing short films and acting. Prior to filmmaking, she studied Anthropology at Barnard College.
"A powerful document of a wave of nationalism sweeping both Europe and the Americas in recent years." - The Wrap