The documentary “The Collision of Destinies”, directed by Doriel Francisco, which tells the story of the former president’s life, reaches its first weekend in theaters with failed distribution and empty theaters. Despite being shown in 17 states, the work is outside the Rio-São Paulo circuit.
Professionals in the audiovisual sector say that a film with this political content, in an election year, alienates programmers. Likewise, they say that the film’s release strategy was poorly managed. So much so that, in general, the cinephile community was unaware of its production until its premiere. Just like “”, “A Colisão dos Destinos” is part of a network that has links with funds from Bolsonaro deputies.
In addition to being the director, Francisco owns the production company, Dori Filmes, based in Brasília, and writes the script with William Alves. The argument was created by federal deputy Mário Frias (-SP), who also helped finance the work, in partnership with the former federal deputy. Distribution is done independently, by the producer itself.
The report He tried to contact Dori Filmes, but received no response. “The little investment there is in the film is my own resource,” said Francisco, in an interview with Gazeta do Povo, in April.
On the official website, it is stated that “The Collision of Destinies” was developed in order to review the biography of the former president, from the intimate perspective of friends and family. According to the website’s text, this “70-minute film delves into the deepest layers of Bolsonaro’s private life, challenging conventional narratives and revealing angles unexplored by traditional media.” The text is followed by the trailer.
Among the selected scenes are interviews with the children. In one of them, the camera takes a close-up on the face of the former councilor of Rio de Janeiro (PL), who cries when remembering his father figure. “Making me pay my ass, man.” The senator (PL-RJ), who charged money from banker Daniel Vorcaro to finance the film “Dark Horse”, states, in the documentary, that his father is God’s chosen one.
Solange, the sister, remembers the time when Bolsonaro went fishing and, with the money from the sale, paid a tubaína for the family. The documentary premiered in Brasília on Thursday (14). “It’s not a political film, it’s a cultural film. It’s a film that talks about the human and non-political Jair Messias Bolsonaro”, says Francisco, in a video posted on Instagram. Although all regions receive the film, the work is not being shown, to date, in the country’s two main cultural circuits: São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Coordinator of the Faap course and programmer at the distributor Gullane+, Humberto Neiva says that the absence indicates some obstacles to the circulation of the work. “It’s a documentary about a politician that brings millions of controversies and some exhibitors don’t want to commit to political issues”, says Neiva, exhibitor at Espaço Itaú de Cinema for 28 years. The teacher also sees production errors.
He says that the exhibition market was not even aware of the existence of the work. In general, the rooms have access to the works in advance and evaluate which ones are part of the space’s profile. It is a process that involves a marketing and press relations team, making the film in question a topic in the cinephile community, he says. “This documentary was not released, it was released in an election year.” Owners of two traditional cinemas in the capital of São Paulo say they are unaware of the work.
From France, where he is participating in the Cannes Festival, André Sturm, programmer at Cine Belas Artes and former municipal secretary of Culture, says he has never heard of “The Collision of Destinies” and that no one offered it to Belas Artes. He states that he would have restrictions on his choice. “If it’s a publicity film, don’t [exibiria].” Through his advisor, Adhemar Oliveira, from Espaço Petrobras de Cinema, also says he has not received contact from a distributor and says that the work would not fit the profile of his theater.
Even in other states, the documentary bypasses large networks, such as Cinemark and Kinoplex, being broadcast by less famous brands, namely Grupo Cine, Cine Plus, Cinemas Premier, among others. Exhibitor at Cine Glauber Rocha, in Salvador, Cláudio Marques states that every production goes through quality control in the exhibition halls. And every cinema must know its audience.
“The owner of the room wants to see the room full, regardless of the ideological issue. If they haven’t been to these places, it’s because they think people don’t want to see it,” he says. It turns out that the rooms have been empty.
On Friday night, there were screenings in at least 8 of the 17 cities where Grupo Cine, the largest exhibitor, has a venue. With an hour to go before the film started, four theaters were completely empty. In Itapetininga, two people reserved seats; Rio Claro, Sumaré and Vargem Grande Paulista, just over ten seats occupied.
A professional in the audiovisual sector who prefers not to identify himself says that the production lacked a contract with a recognized distributor. He says that Dori Filmes appears to have an amateur structure as its portfolio does not include any major documentaries.
If it had a contract with a good distributor, the documentary, says this professional, could even be a commercial success, given the growing audience of the production company Brasil Paralelo. But, if the objective is to expand the electorate, the work should be on streaming — and not in the cinema. There is little information about the financing of the work.
It is known, however, that Dori Filmes is involved in a network supplied by funds from Bolsonaro supporters.
Between April and July 2024, he sent R$22,432 to Dori Filmes through a parliamentary quota. Frias claims to have been a punctual collaborator in the production, “helping to coordinate the agenda with President Jair Bolsonaro’s family and also as one of the testimonies”.
The quota money, he says, refers to services provided in the production of advertising material for parliamentary activities, “at a negligible value when compared to the cost of producing a documentary”. Another organization linked to the director, the Passos da Liberdade Association, received amendments totaling R$860,000 from Frias, deputy Marcos Pollon (PL-MS) and Eduardo Bolsonaro.
The revelation was from the UOL portal. The amount was transferred to the production of a documentary, “Genocidas”, created, according to the technical sheet, with the aim of “correlating the horrors of historical genocides in Europe with contemporary facts in Latin America”. This document does not mention Bolsonaro, called genocidal by his opponents, due to his behavior during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pollon’s office says that the amendments were made in a regular and transparent manner and that the work has “a historical character about events that occurred in Europe and their repercussions in Latin America”.
