Film about Lula cost R$12 million and was made 'all with money from companies', says producer

Financing of 'Lula, the Son of Brazil' is once again the subject of debate after the Flávio Bolsonaro case.
Disclosure
The leak of messages between senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) and banker Daniel Vorcaro about the financing of the feature film "Dark Horse" sparked a debate about fundraising models in political biopics.
Among the main targets of questioning is "Lula, the Son of Brazil" Brazil" (2010), a fictional feature film that narrates Lula's trajectory from childhood to the times of union activism in São Paulo in the 1980s.
Sought by g1, the producer of the work, Paula Barreto, detailed how the financial structure was set up at the time:
The budget of R$12 million was made possible through contributions from 18 companies. The list of investors includes giants from different sectors, such as Odebrecht (currently Novonor), Camargo Corrêa, OAS, JBS and EBX, as well as automakers such as Volkswagen and Hyundai.
Part of this group of investors was, years later, at the center of investigations into corruption schemes involving PT governments.
Companies such as Odebrecht, OAS and Camargo Corrêa signed leniency agreements and had executives convicted as a result of operations that uncovered embezzlement in state-owned companies.
Recently, however, court decisions annulled evidence and convictions of some of these executives and companies, citing procedural irregularities.
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According to the production, the film registered a box office of 848 thousand spectators.
Directed by Fábio Barreto and Marcelo Santiago, the film has a script written by Fernando Bonassi, Denise Paraná and Daniel Tendler.
The main cast included Rui Ricardo Diaz, in the role of Lula, Glória Pires, as Dona Lindu, and Juliana Baroni, playing the former first lady Marisa Letícia.
The production is signed by Luiz Carlos Barreto and Paula Barreto.
Also read: Documentary about Bolsonaro, 'A Colisão dos Destinos' debuts in 17 states; Flávio Bolsonaro is among those interviewed
Investigation into 'Dark Horse'
The debate about private financing in cinema was reignited by revelations from the website The Intercept Brasil about the film "Dark Horse".
According to investigations, banker Daniel Vorcaro had allocated R$61 million to the project through an American fund.
The amount is twice as high as the budget of the film "The Secret Agent", which received R$28 million and represented Brazil at the 2026 Oscars with four nominations.
Senator Flávio Bolsonaro admitted to having received resources for the film, without specifying amounts, while federal deputy Mário Frias (PL) initially denied the financing.
The Federal Police are now investigating whether part of the funds had been diverted to cover Eduardo's expenses. Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, in the United States.

Source: G1