It is the First Lady, Rosângela da Silva, known as Janja, who initiates the call and announces the presence of her husband, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (). On the other side of the line are , director of “”, and , the film’s protagonist. Earlier this month, they received two awards — best non-English language film and best drama actor.
On speakerphone, Lula greets the artists and promises more policies for the audiovisual sector, to which the filmmaker responds by recalling the public funding used in his production. The call is filmed, edited with a frevo soundtrack and published on social media, like many others made by the government, celebrating the national team’s winning season, started by “”, by .
According to experts, Planalto uses the awards to validate investments in culture. It thus tries to establish a counterpoint to the former president (PL), suggesting that Lula’s third term reinserted Brazil into the international scene. However, the strategy would be limited in electoral terms.
“The logic is that Brazil is back. Everyone is proud, follows the awards and likes prestige. Planalto uses the awards less to expand the electorate than to build its own reputation”, says Mariana Bonjour, political marketing consultant.
Set in Recife, during the years of the military dictatorship, “The Secret Agent” follows in the footsteps of Marcelo, a university professor played by Moura who returns to his hometown, pursued by hired killers. The film began its victorious journey at the 78th edition of the , where it premiered and won awards in the categories of best director and best actor. More than one nomination is now expected.
It is no exaggeration to say that the government, led by the chief minister of Secom, Sidônio Palmeira, orchestrated a campaign parallel to that of production. The phone call was preceded by three posts, always with relaxed language. One of them has the image of Moura and the inscription “o baiano tem o Golden Globes”, a reference to the hit “O Baiano Tem O Molho”, by O Kannalha. In August, Alvorada hosted a screening of the film, complete with a red carpet, frevo and praise from the protagonist to Lula.
The formula was repeated last year, with “I’m Still Here”, inspired by the book of the same name by Marcelo Rubens Paiva, which also dates back to the dictatorship. The film recalls how the author’s family was shaken by the disappearance of the father figure, deputy Rubens Paiva, played by , and the fight of Eunice Paiva, played by , for justice. At the 2025 Golden Globes, Torres was considered the best drama actress, and the work won the country the Oscar for best international film. Last year, Lula even mentioned the work at the January 8th ceremony.
“The films speak very well to the government’s desire to show the importance of democracy”, says Bonjour.
Specialist in political marketing and audiovisual producer, Felipe Soutello says that Planalto uses jingoism at times, just as it happens when the team wins the World Cup. The feeling may indicate prosperity, he says, but the electoral performance for the PT member, in the case of cinema, should not be high.
“There is an ideological charge, because the success abroad of these films validates a cultural subsidy, something that the PT has the right to celebrate”, says Soutello. “This works more to mobilize militancy.”
In fact, the visibility of Brazilian cinema is increasing abroad in a context of resumption of promotion of the audiovisual sector. Survey by Ancine, carried out at the request of Sheetshows the release of resources from the FSA (Audiovisual Sector Fund), year by year, over the past decade. Operated by the regulatory agency, . The fund is maintained through Condecine, a contribution paid by the entire industry.
From 2022 onwards, when Lula won the presidential election, the graph indicates a growing trend in the release of resources. At Ancine, the heading “investment” refers to the notices contested by productions, while “credit” is the financing intended for infrastructure. There is also release via incentive laws, the so-called indirect promotion.
In parallel, Lula promoted a ceremony, two years ago, to announce the investment of R$1.6 billion in audiovisual and also sanctioned the screen quota law for Brazilian productions until 2033.
The release of resources decreased during the Bolsonaro government, interrupting the increase seen during the presidency of (). . It is also true that a pandemic began the following year and disrupted its cultural management. At that time, Prodav, a financing line for scripts, was paralyzed.
As for the award-winning films, “I’m Still Here” was shot with private funding, and “The Secret Agent” won a public notice two years ago and used R$7.5 million via FSA. In total, the film, which also had private contributions, cost R$28 million. Coordinator and professor of the postgraduate course in cultural management and creative industry at PUC-Rio, Miguel Jost understands the awards for Brazilian films as the result of an audiovisual restructuring, which began in the 1990s.
“Bolsonaro used all the mechanisms he had to drain the funding, but, with the restructuring of the MinC, it returned to institutionalization”, he states. “It’s a sector with growth potential, but reaping political dividends from it is more difficult, because there is a great lack of knowledge about the importance of this investment.”
Film professor at UFC (Federal University of Ceará), Marcelo Ikeda says there is still a lot to be done. According to him, there is a lack of systemic planning, because a lot is invested in production, and not in the entire ecosystem.
Likewise, the government expected to vote, at the end of last year, on the Bill to regulate foreign platforms, but not even the artistic class reached a consensus. Moura himself made a video to criticize the 4% tax, a low value for companies, in the actor’s view.
“Neither eight nor 80. This government’s policies are more favorable, because there was a criminalization of public policies in the previous government”, says Ikeda. “In the case of the Streaming PL, it was important for Wagner Moura to take a position, because there was an expectation of a higher percentage. Any government measure can be questioned.”
