I hope he goes to jail': Brazil's Cannes-winning director on Bolsonaro and political amnesia

"When the Brazilian director Kleber Mendonca Filho was writing his latest movie, in 2021, he felt shame about the situation in his homeland as it took a sharp turn to the right under then president Jair Bolsonaro. Well-informed friends would pat you on the back and say: I feel for you, the film-maker recalls. Four years later, as the film hits big screens, Bolsonaro is out of the picture and Mendonca's mood has changed."

"I am very proud of what is happening in Brazil, says the director after recently seeing the far-right populist receive a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup. Mendonca calls Bolsonaro's conviction a sign justice has prevailed. And I do hope he goes to jail, he adds, recalling how the bungled putsch culminated in the 8 January 2023 attacks in Brasilia when rioters wrecked the capital after leftwing candidate Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva beat Bolsonaro in the election."

Kleber Mendonca Filho felt shame in 2021 as Brazil shifted right under president Jair Bolsonaro. He now expresses pride after Bolsonaro received a 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup. Mendonca calls the conviction evidence that justice prevailed and opposes any pardon or amnesty, recalling the 8 January 2023 Brasilia attacks when rioters wrecked the capital after Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva defeated Bolsonaro. Remembering drives Mendonca's new film, The Secret Agent, set in 1977 during the military dictatorship. The film won Mendonca best director at Cannes and follows Armando, an academic forced into hiding after clashing with a regime official.

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