film

As the daughter of parents who dedicated their lives to the fight against Brazil's dictatorship, filmmaker Petra Costa has always thought of democracy as her birthright, and explored that relationship in her films by fusing the personal and the political. “Apocalypse in the Tropics” is a continuation of that life-long interest. In it, Petra follows Brazil’s biggest televangelist, Silas Malafaia - watching as he becomes president Jair Bolsonaro’s main political advisor, and continuing through the attempted coup on January 8, 2023. What she discovers is a disturbing relationship between a fast-growing fundamentalist religious movement and the nationalist far right. The film combines direct cinema with essay cinema to explore the history and future of that relationship, Petra’s personal experience of it, and its dangerous appeal in these times. It is a particularly Brazilian story, but also a cautionary tale for the entire democratic world.