An intimate portrait of Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva that explores the rise, fall, and return to power of a politician considered unique after 19 months in prison. This is the premise of “Lula”, a documentary by American director Oliver Stone and Rob Wilson about the president of Brazil that premiered at Cannes on Sunday (19).
In an interview with the festival’s official website, Stone explained what his documentary is about.
“It deals with the period when Lula was thrown in prison for almost two years, and, more generally, the period between 2016 and 2022. As president of Brazil for two terms from 2002 to 2010, he was responsible for much of the country’s progress. Then came Dilma Rousseff, who was removed from office amid very strange judicial processes. After that, the situation in Brazil shifted much further to the right, with Javier Bolsonaro becoming president in 2018.”
The documentary features never-before-seen interviews with the president and his advisors. The main interview with Lula was conducted by Stone during the 2022 electoral campaign.
“I talked to Lula about his entire life, he is a good man. I think he represents something we really forgot: we can have good liberal presidents. We don’t need war. He is one of the most peaceful people in the world that I know, and he has the ability to make people talk again, to lead countries to change their policies.”
“Lula” was screened in the “Special Sessions” section of the official selection of the Festival and does not participate in the competitive section.
The launch session of the documentary in one of the rooms of the Palais des Festivals was packed, and the film’s team received a great applause. Before the screening, Stone said that the documentary was “about a special person in today’s world, a unique leader.”
Source: g1 and Festival-cannes