The Edge of Democracy

The documentary covers the period in Brazil from Lula's rise to Dilma Rousseff's removal from office and Lula's imprisonment. Petra Costa narrates and folds her own family into it, because her mother was in the opposition under the military dictatorship while her grandmother's family was tied to one of the era's largest construction companies. The subject is not political events but how fragile a democracy is. Costa notes that her generation is the same age as the democracy and builds the entire film on that parallel. The form is first person: the voice-over is the director's own, the camera is often behind closed doors, and she has access to both sides. The footage in the corridors of Congress and inside the presidential palace is unusually close. The film combines personal narration with archive and never claims neutrality; Costa says plainly whose side she is on, and that became the centre of the criticism directed at it. It was released on Netflix and nominated for the documentary Oscar. Who it is for: viewers who follow political documentary and Latin American history. Who it is not for: anyone expecting balanced presentation; the film does not hide the side it defends.