The political thriller The Secret Agent, featuring stars and directors Wagner Moura and Kleber Mendonça Filho, has experienced a slight delay.

The delay is due to an unexpected phone call from the President. Brazil.

A few minutes turn into a few more minutes, which is usually not a promising sign for interviewing movie stars and filmmakers, but it turns out there’s a good reason for it – an unexpected phone call from the President. Brazil. This was not the type of caller you would normally ignore.

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, better known as Lula, wanted to congratulate her on the success of the film: a series of honours starting with major wins. The Cannes Film Festival In May, which now includes a Critics’ Choice Award, Golden Globe wins for Best Actor and Best Non-English Language Film, as well as two BAFTAs and four Oscar nominations.

Moura, being the first Brazilian to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, has made history.

“I think it means a lot to Brazilians, especially because we went through a terrible moment in our history where artists and culture were viewed in a very negative way,” Moura says. “It’s a huge change, you know, and it’s a big change.”

Veteran leftist da Silva returns as Brazil’s president in 2022 after defeating far-right Jair Bolsonaro. In November last year, Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after his election defeat.

The former leader’s three-year term was marked by misogynistic and homophobic rhetoric and hostility toward culture and the arts; things have changed dramatically under da Silva.

“We were living in a country where we were seen by the powers that be as the enemy of the people, to the point where the president himself was calling us to say, Hey, we’re proud of you,” says Moura. “The president stated, ‘I view culture, including movies and books, as an important tool for the country’s development.'” It’s a reconnection.”

The story of Secret Agent is set in 1977 Brazil during a brutal military dictatorship that lasted for more than 20 years, and Moura plays Armando, a professor forced to go into hiding after a clash with an official of the regime. Although it began as a period thriller, it also has echoes of recent history.

‘It takes courage to stick to your values.’

The Portuguese-language film is one of the most talked about in Hollywood’s awards season, especially after Moura’s Best Actor win at the Globes over favourite Michael B. Jordan’s portrayal of twin brothers in Sinners.

Mendonca Filho says that the part of Armando was “tailor-made” for Moura. After years of talking about making something together, “it only came to fruition when I finally sat down to write a script thinking specifically about working with him.”

Moura, who is known globally for playing notorious Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar in the hit series Narcos, says the film is about generational trauma and values, and he was able to learn from his experiences.

“This film is about a man who holds on to his values ​​during a dictatorship, which are clearly the opposite of [his] values,” he says.

“What Kleber and I went through during the Bolsonaro years in Brazil is a wonderful example of this. It takes a lot of courage to stick to your values ​​when the establishments around you say the opposite, especially in this polarised world.

“I believe it is becoming increasingly difficult because the concept of truth is fading; facts no longer seem to matter.”

“There was a time when both the right and the left discussed issues and even fought over them, but we were all looking at the same reality,” he adds. “Now, it’s not about facts; it’s about versions, so we’re not in the same mental space, which is very dangerous.”

Red Carpet Awards controversy

But people are connecting with The Secret Agent. Moura says, since Cannes, “this film has been getting so much attention consistently – it hasn’t dropped – which is very rare and surprising, especially for a Brazilian film.”

This is why the move to award the Critics’ Choice Awards for Best International Feature Film on the red carpet rather than at the ceremony proved particularly controversial.

The awards hierarchy is nothing new, with the Oscars in recent years being criticised for planning to not televise some technical (read: not enough star power) awards to tighten up broadcast times.

But Filho, clearly surprised by receiving the Critics’ Choice award unceremoniously, now says – as Donald Trump’s controversial immigration crackdown continues in the US – that it’s a particularly troubling time to make this kind of decision around international films.

“I think politically, whoever decided this has no understanding of what’s going on in the world and in the United States,” he says. “I think once you invite someone to your party, you should give them all the drinks they deserve; you know, don’t say, ‘Oh, I don’t have the right to drink it like everyone else.'”

Moura highlighted several outstanding non-English language films in the awards conversation this year, including Sentimental Value from Norway, Seurat (Spain) and It Was Just an Accident (France).

“In a year where international films are so good…politically, this doesn’t feel right at all.”

Now is an important time for filmmakers, says Filho. “It feels like the world is going back to a period of conflict. This resurgence is occurring in various regions, and totalitarian regimes are reemerging significantly.

“Although the current situation feels very troubling and we remain concerned about ongoing events, it is also a fertile time to develop and share stories, as the irony of electricity use in today’s world is a significant aspect of our lives.”