[By Xinchao Guanyu Qi Qian]

"This visit to China feels like traveling to the future!"

On the afternoon of June 17, Xinchao Guanyu had a face-to-face dialogue with Petra Costa (Petra Costa), a well-known Brazilian director and screenwriter and a judge for the documentary unit of the 27th Shanghai International Film Festival's Golden Goblet Awards. The topic of discussion was film, democracy, and Sino-Brazilian friendship.

This is Costa's first trip to China. In her eyes, Chinese culture is one of the most complex cultures she has ever experienced, and Chinese films possess a simple, quiet beauty that is completely different from Western films.

Costa told Xinchao Guanyu that her mother visited China in the last century. At that time, Brazil’s development level was even better than China's in some aspects. Now, times have changed, and China's rapid development has surpassed her imagination, leaving her amazed.

Costa's representative work, "On the Edge of Democracy," revolves around the ups and downs of former Brazilian President Lula's political career, telling the disruptive stories of Brazil's democratic political process from 1979 to 2019. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards. The film uses Brazil as a mirror to question the reality of inequality at the intersection of personal narratives and social politics.

At 41 years old, Costa's growth has been closely intertwined with the development of Brazilian democracy, and she presents her understanding of democracy to audiences worldwide through "On the Edge of Democracy." When asked how she maintains objectivity in her film creation, she replied that she believes there is no such thing as objectivity in film creation. Any claim of objectivity is like colonial operation, imposing values on others.

"In fact, I think Brazil's democratic system is sick," Costa told Xinchao Guanyu. Many factors contribute to the illness of Brazilian democracy, but the main one is the infiltration of money into politics. She further pointed out that this not only manifests in corruption but also deeper internal erosion by media empires and large enterprises. For example, the far-right movement prevalent in the United States has spread to Brazil via social media.

Costa said that for democracy to survive in Brazil, it must undergo profound self-renewal, including strong regulation of media and enterprises, ensuring that members of Congress represent the interests of the people rather than those of businesses and lobbying groups.

On the afternoon of June 17, Xinchao Guanyu interviewed Petra Costa

The following are excerpts from the interview:

Xinchao Guanyu: Director, hello. How do you feel about coming to China this time and serving as a judge for the Shanghai International Film Festival?

Costa: This is my first time in China, and I have been looking forward to it for a long time. In Shanghai, I have experienced the most complex culture I have ever encountered, but so far I have only scratched the surface.

Coming to China feels like traveling to the future. I am impressed by the technology, infrastructure, and high-speed rail here. For example, it takes ten hours to take a train in Brazil, while here it only takes four hours and there is no carbon emission. My mother came to China in the 1980s. Back then, Brazil’s development level was even better than China’s in some aspects. Now, China's development level has far surpassed Brazil.

I really like Chinese films. They have a rare and unique simplicity and style, completely different from Western films—Western films usually tend to be noisy, with clear climaxes, endings, and conflicts; watching Chinese films feels more like an expansion of the soul. Many excellent Chinese films contain a simple poetic wisdom, making viewers understand that life is not about intense conflicts but everything happening quietly behind the scenes.

The judges of this year's Golden Goblet Awards come from all over the world, each with different cultural backgrounds, yet they can reach consensus and share the same feelings when evaluating works. This makes me feel very magical. The film festival is rich in content, and I hope to see more movies later.

Question: Your work "On the Edge of Democracy" has many fans in China. Some Chinese viewers consider it a Brazilian version of "House of Cards" with political reflection. What do you think of this evaluation?

Costa: This evaluation is interesting because when the director of "House of Cards" watched my work, he commented that "On the Edge of Democracy" expresses similar, if not more complex, political content. So, hearing this evaluation makes me happy.

Lula and supporters "Edge of Democracy" screenshot

Question: Combining personal growth experiences and family history to showcase Brazil's democratic process is one of your work styles. As a director, how do you maintain "fairness and objectivity" in political documentaries?

Costa: First, I don't believe there is objectivity in film creation. I think any description of reality has a specific perspective. When a work claims to be objective, I think this is actually a form of colonialist operation, imposing one's values on others. This approach has been a tradition in documentaries and anthropology programs for many years until the 1960s and 1970s when it began to change.

In April 2018, Lula stated that he would voluntarily enter prison to serve his sentence but insisted on his innocence Visual China

Question: Many people believe that democracy in Brazil and some developing countries is experiencing what is called a "historical cycle." Considering the content of your work, President Lula took office in 2003, was arrested and imprisoned in 2018, and returned two years ago. Do you agree with this view?

Costa: Actually, I think the democratic systems of many regions are currently in a diseased state. Their illness stems from multiple factors, but the main one is the infiltration of money into politics, along with corruption, but not just corruption.

We used to think that political corruption was simply about politicians embezzling money, but in reality, its harm is much greater, and we may not even realize it. That is the social media empires controlling our democratic systems and eroding them from within.

This phenomenon occurred after the polarization of Brazilian society, starting with social media platforms like Facebook and the influence of the far-right movement prevalent in the United States. This movement gained momentum in the United States first and quickly spread to Brazil.

Question: Are you still optimistic about the future of Brazilian democracy and do you believe Brazil can break the cycle?

Costa: I believe that for democracy to survive, it must undergo profound self-renewal. Social media and large enterprises have influence over the Brazilian parliament, so our first step should be strong regulation of these forces. These enterprises decide which industries will form lobbying groups, thus determining who gets elected to parliament, and these representatives do not act in the interest of the people but rather in the interest of businesses.

In April 2024, former Brazilian President Bolsonaro incited gatherings of the masses Visual China

Question: Let's return to the topic of being a film festival judge. Do you believe artists should pay special attention to social and political issues in their creations? Then, when evaluating works, do you focus more on technical maturity or thematic depth?

Costa: I think that documentaries and general films mainly discuss the questions of how to shoot and what to shoot.

Films that only focus on "content" might be better described as reportage or news reports; films that only focus on "method" might be better suited as installation art. Therefore, to create a powerful film, whether in documentary form or fictional work, you must perfectly combine both. This is one of the main principles I follow when judging a film.

But besides that, like any other art form, a film is a journey that allows us to understand how to live, how to face death, and how to interact with others.

Question: The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) tools has caused significant impacts across various industries. In the film industry, many screenwriters are already using AI to write scripts, and some directors view it as a tool for editing. Do you think technological innovations like AI will weaken the subjectivity of humans in artistic creation?

Costa: AI will undoubtedly bring about great societal changes, right? It's inevitable, just like the internet and the transition from film to digital. These technological advancements are inevitable. We cannot say let's assume AI doesn't exist.

The question is how to regulate them. Otherwise, these forces will be used for greed, becoming tools of exploitation. Therefore, to continue living in a society where equality can be achieved, ensuring the common good for everyone, we need to find methods to regulate these technological advancements internationally to ensure that AI is not monopolized by one large company or a few large companies.

Question: This documentary showcases Brazil's complexity beyond football and samba, revealing the allure of politics and cinema. As a Brazilian director, how do you view Brazilian cinema going global and entering China?

Costa: Well put. One of my motivations for making this documentary was that people's perception of Brazil was too narrow at the time. I'm glad this film can tell the complexity of Brazilian society.

This year is one of the most brilliant years for the Brazilian film industry in recent decades, with several films winning awards at international film festivals and screening at Chinese film festivals. So, despite the previous president of Brazil, Bolsonaro, attempting to destroy the national film industry and cut off all financial support for it, the Brazilian film industry remains strong and is having one of its most brilliant moments, reaching China.

China's large population means that the screening of our films here is significant for us. Moreover, as I mentioned in previous interviews, our two countries have both suffered long-term harm from Western colonizers and have much in common.

This article is an exclusive observation from Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7517552529119527474/

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