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![The Guardian]()
“Powerful. An intimate primer about Brazil’s descent into populism and the fraying of the country’s democratic fabric.”
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![New York Times]()
"Searing and enlightening. Both a thriller and epic."
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![New York Magazine]()
"Moving. A lesson in the nature of history itself."
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![Los Angeles Times]()
"Completely fascinating. An edge-of-your-seat dive into brazilian politics."
The Edge of Democracy
SYNOPSIS
Documentary | 121' | color | Brazil | 2019A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis, the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. Combining unprecedented access to leaders past and present, including Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, with accounts of her own family's complex past, filmmaker Petra Costa (ELENA) witnesses their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains.
Filmmaker Petra Costa (ELENA, Olma and the Seagull) saw democracy take root in Brazil following years of authoritarian rule under a military dictatorship. Gaining unprecedented access to working-party leaders Lula de Silva and his protégée Dilma Rousseff, Costa traces the downfall of both democratic leaders that resulted in the impeachment of Rousseff, the imprisonment of de Silva, and the rise of the far right.
Was Brazil's democracy a short-lived dream? Merging the personal and the political, Costa delves to the heart of her country's unfolding identity crisis, examining widespread institutional corruption while connecting her own family's complex past to Brazil's current crisis. Capturing a unique historical moment, The Edge of Democracy examines the forces at play in the global erosion of democracy.
CREDITS
Written, directed and produced by PETRA COSTA
Produced by JOANNA NATASEGARA, SHANE BORIS, and TIAGO PAVAN
Executive producers JOSH BRAUN, MAXYNE FRANKLIN
Co-writers CAROL PIRES, DAVID BARKER, MOARA PASSONI
Additional writing RITA GLORIA CURVO, HILTON LACERDA, ANTÔNIA PELLEGRINO, DANIELA CAPELATO, LOGAN HILL, and VIRGINIA PRIMO
Director of photography JOÃO ATALA
Director of photography – exclusive footage RICARDO STUCKERT
Editors TINA BAZ, JORDANA BERG, KAREN HARLEY, DAVID BARKER, JOAQUIM CASTRO, and FELIPE LACERDA
Additional editing AFFONSO GONÇALVES
Consulting editors EDUARDO ESCOREL and YAEL BITTON
Sound design LESLIE SHATZ
Co-producers MARIANA OLIVA, ABIGAIL ANKETELL-JONES, and SARA DOSA
Associate producers ALICE LANARI and JOÃO ATALA
Line producer MAURO PIZZO
Legal affairs LEDA STOPAZZOLLI
Fact-checking GIULIA AFIUNE
Post-production supervisors CAIO BASSETTI and GUGA NASCIMENTO
Assistant directors KAREN GRONICH and MARIANA DE MELO
Production assistants EDIE GIL HOLDER and EMMA NORTON
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
OFFICIAL SELECTION
Sundance Film Festival 2019 – Best Documentary
True/False Film Festival 2019
17th Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights 2019
34th Guadalajara International Film Festival 2019
CPH:DOX 2019 – CPH:DOX Award
San Francisco International Film Festival 2019 – Best Documentary
Hot Docs Documentary Festival 2019 – Best International Documentary
Ambulante Documentary Film Festival 2019
IndieLisboa 2019
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2019
Wisconsin Film Festival 2019 – Best International Documentary
38th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival 2019 – Spotlight: Breakthrough Documentary
Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2019 – Tim Hetherington Award
29th Gotham Awards 2019 – Best Documentary and Audience Award
Critics Choice Documentary Awards 2019 – Best Political Documentary and Best Narration
41st Havana Film Festival 2019 – Best Documentary
Montclair Film Festival 2019
Doc Edge Film Festival 2019
Nantucket Film Festival 2019 – Best Documentary
35th International Documentary Association Awards 2019 – Best Writing, Best Director, Best Feature
Academy Awards 2020 – Best Documentary
Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Award 2020 – Best Feature Documentary
FESTIVALS
Sundance Film Festival 2019 (nominated for Best Documentary)
True/False Film Festival 2019
17th Geneva International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights 2019
34th Guadalajara International Film Festival 2019
CPH:DOX 2019 (nominated for the CPH:DOX Award)
San Francisco International Film Festival 2019 (nominated for Best Documentary)
Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival 2019 (nominated for Best International Documentary)
Ambulante Documentary Film Festival 2019
IndieLisboa 2019
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival 2019
Wisconsin Film Festival 2019 (nominated for Best International Documentary)
38th Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival 2019 (nominated for Spotlight: Breakthrough Documentary)
Sheffield International Documentary Festival 2019 (nominated for the Tim Hetherington Award)
29th Gotham Awards 2019 (nominated for Best Documentary and Audience Award)
Critics Choice Documentary Awards 2019 (nominated for Best Political Documentary and Best Narration)
DOC NYC (Winner – Directing Award)
41st Havana Film Festival 2019 (nominated for Best Documentary)
Montclair Film Festival 2019
Doc Edge Film Festival 2019
Nantucket Film Festival 2019 (nominated for Best Documentary)
35th International Documentary Association Awards 2019 (nominated for Best Writing, Best Director, and Best Feature)
Academy Awards 2020 (nominated for Best Documentary)
Peabody Awards 2020 (Winner – Best Documentary)
PLATINO Xcaret 2020 (Winner – Best Documentary)
Latino Entertainment Journalists Association Film Award 2020 (nominated for Best Feature Documentary)
APCA Trophy 2020
PRODUCERS
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JOANNA NATASEGARA
Joanna Natasegara is a British film producer best known for the Academy Award®-winning Netflix short documentary, The White Helmets. Natasegara also produced the BAFTA and Academy Award®-nominated documentary film, Virunga, which won over 50 international awards including an Emmy, a Peabody, a Television Academy Honor, a Grierson Award, and a duPont-Columbia Award for Outstanding Journalism. Natasegara founded Violet Films in 2013, and has subsequently led several major global film campaigns, including Doc Impact Award winners Virunga and No Fire Zone. She is a Trustee of the Virunga Foundation, the UK Charity which manages Virunga National Park combining conservation with ambitious social development programmes in eastern Congo.
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SHANE BORIS
Shane Boris is a creative producer focusing on films that push the boundaries of conventional forms in order to tell timeless stories. In addition to The Edge of Democracy, he recently produced the narrative feature Walden and is in post with the Sundance-supported The Seer and the Unseen. Other credits include All These Sleepless Nights (Sundance, Best Directing, 2016), Olmo and the Seagull (Locarno, 2015), and Fuck for Forest (Warsaw Film Festival, Best
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TIAGO PAVAN
Tiago Pavan is a Brazilian producer and the managing director of Busca Vida Filmes. His works includes Olmo and the Seagull, which premiered at Locarno, won Best Documentary at the Rio International Film Festival, and enjoyed a wide theatrical release in many South American and European territories. Tiago also worked as the outreach and release campaign manager for Brazil’s most-watched documentary of 2013, Elena. He is also the CEO of Brazilian online bookstore 30porcento and works in his free time as a computer programmer.
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