Cannes red carpet protest: 'Brazil is not a democracy'

[Judi Lynn]

5. 'Brazil is divided': Aquarius star Sonia Braga and director address Cannes protests

'Brazil is divided': Aquarius star Sonia Braga and director address Cannes protests

A day after staging a demonstration against what they believe to be a coup in their country, Aquarius writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho and actor Braga explain why they are concerned for Brazil’s future

Nigel M Smith in Cannes
@nigelmfs
Wednesday 18 May 2016 10.41 EDT

“Brazil is divided,” declared writer-director Kleber Mendonça Filho at the Cannes film festival on Wednesday, where his new film, Aquarius, is competing for the Palme d’Or.

His comments, made to the Guardian at a press conference for the drama on Wednesday, come a day after the film’s premiere, where the cast and crew used the opportunity to mount a protest against what they describe as a coup.

Filho and his team are angered about the the recent impeachment of president Dilma Rousseff, the country’s first female president, who was forced from office, as well as interim president Michel Temer’s controversial decision to abolish Brazil’s culture ministry. Temer has since sought to tamp down the criticism by appointing a culture secretary, but four potential candidates have reported refusing the job.

“They picked the wrong month to extinguish the ministry of culture, because a movie made with very public funds is currently competing in Cannes,” Filho said.

The film-maker added that the “dramatic divide” Rousseff’s impeachment has brought to Brazil is “terrible”. “It’s bringing out the worst in both sides - particularly the right side,” he said. “People in congress saying women shouldn’t work because they get pregnant - shocking ideas like that.”

More:
http://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/may/18/brazil-is-divided-aquarius-sonia-braga-cannes-protests