Lula, The Son of Brazil, directed by Oscar nominee Fábio Barreto (Quatrilho) and chosen as Brazil’s entry to the 2011 Academy Awards, will open in New York at Lincoln Plaza Cinemas and Quad Cinemas on January 13, 2012. A national release will follow.
Based on the book by Denise Paraná, Lula, The Son of Brazil is a richly produced, deeply moving story of the early years of Brazil’s most beloved president, Luis Inacio Lula da Silva (Lula). Not to be construed as a film about a politician, or a president, this is more to the point an incredible story of perseverance, family, love, honor, resilience, heroism… a story so fantastic, that it could work as fiction.
Born into extreme poverty in 1945, Lula was guided by a strong mother (Gloria Pires in an award-winning performance as Dona Lindu) who faced overwhelming obstacles to raise her children with the drive and courage to live life without fear. Lindu, who was abandoned by her husband just before Lula’s birth, never wavered from her strict commitment to seeing that her kids live a better life. She raised eight children on her own, and with an unbridled tenacity, she saw to it that each child lived life to the fullest.
Lula spent the better part of his childhood growing up just outside of Santos, Brazil. When he wasn’t in school, he helped support the family. He hustled – shining shoes, selling fruit, working as a delivery boy… Life was getting better and, as fate would have it, he was soon accepted to study at SENAI, a technical school from which he graduated in 1963. As a full-fledged member of the union, Lula found his path to a life in politics. However it wasn’t until he experienced an intense personal transformation following the startling death of his first wife and unborn son, that Lula found the courage and ambition he needed to take full control of his destiny. This “common man” who overcame incredible adversity would soon rise to become one of the world’s most extraordinary men.
By 2010, Time Magazine had declared Lula one of the “Most Influential People in the World” and Forbes ranked him as “One of the World’s Most Powerful People.” He was named the “Man of the Year” by Le Monde and El Pais, and Esquire hailed him as “One of the Most Influential People of the 21st Century.”
Celebrating its 50th year, L.C. Barreto has such a rich history that it can be said it gets mixed up with the history of Brazilian and Latin American Cinema. Since 1961, L.C. Barreto has produced more than 80 films according to the highest artistic and technical standards. Founders Luiz Carlos and Lucy Barreto produced two Academy Award nominees for Best Foreign Film: Quatrilho, in 1996, directed by their son Fábio Barreto (Lula, Son of Brazil) and 1998’s Four Days in September, directed by their eldest son, Bruno Barreto (Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands).
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