Brazilian president film hits the big screen
Brazilian property owners gaining their first glimpse of a new film about their president were moved to tears.
Lula, O Filho do Brasil (Lula, Son of Brazil), which was shown to a packed crowd at the Brasilia Film Festival, charts president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s rise through his illiterate childhood to become the head of Latin America’s biggest nation.
The movie, which was directed by Fabio Barreto, includes powerful images of poverty in the north-eastern region where Lula was born in 1947 and recounts the tough conditions in which he lived.
It emphasises the tragic parts of his life, including the death of his wife during childbirth and of his mother while he was in prison.
"This is not a film about a politician but rather about an ordinary man, his family and his extraordinary capacity for overcoming difficulties," Barreto said.
The film will be officially released to Brazilian property owners in January 2010, prior to President Lula stepping down as the country’s leader.
