Political Row in Brazil Over Dystopian Film ‘Executive Order’

The cast and crew of the film 'Executive Order' present their work before a one-off screening at the Rio film festival on December 15, 2021 Daniel RAMALHO AFP
The cast and crew of the film 'Executive Order' present their work before a one-off screening at the Rio film festival on December 15, 2021 Daniel RAMALHO AFP
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Political Row in Brazil Over Dystopian Film ‘Executive Order’

The cast and crew of the film 'Executive Order' present their work before a one-off screening at the Rio film festival on December 15, 2021 Daniel RAMALHO AFP
The cast and crew of the film 'Executive Order' present their work before a one-off screening at the Rio film festival on December 15, 2021 Daniel RAMALHO AFP

In the Brazil of the near future, the government has found what it calls the answer to righting the wrongs of slavery: send blacks back to Africa.

That dystopian premise is the point of departure for the new film "Executive Order," which is generating controversy in the Brazil of the present over allegations it is being censored by far-right President Jair Bolsonaro's government.

The film, the directorial debut from acclaimed actor Lazaro Ramos ("Madame Sata"), has won praise at a series of international festivals, from Moscow to Memphis.

But it does not yet have a release date in Brazil, where there are mounting accusations against the National Cinema Agency (Ancine) of dragging its feet on green-lighting films deemed uncomfortable for the Bolsonaro administration.

"I can't say whether it's bureaucracy or censorship, but both are barriers to culture," Ramos said when the picture screened at the Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, which wraps up Sunday -- for now, the only time the movie is scheduled to play in Brazil.

"Executive Order" stars Ramos's wife, Tais Araujo, renowned actor and singer Seu Jorge ("City of God," "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou"), and Anglo-Brazilian star Alred Enoch (the "Harry Potter" franchise, "How to Get Away with Murder").

Araujo and Enoch play Capitu and Antonio, a doctor and lawyer with the trappings of professional success.

Capitu "is a black woman who doesn't really want to talk about racism at first -- she just wants to live," said Araujo.

"But then life comes calling, and she has to dive deep" into the issue.

The "executive order" of the film's title requires all blacks -- or people with "accentuated melanin," in the script's Orwellian language -- to hand themselves in to the authorities to be removed to Africa.

Through Capitu, Antonio and his cousin Andre (Seu Jorge), viewers see how Afro-Brazilians organize a resistance to this mass deportation as the security forces begin arresting people in the streets.

The film is flush with references to structural racism in present-day Brazil, the last country in the Americas to abolish slavery, in 1888.

Some authorities in its fictional government also bear strong resemblance to real members of the Bolsonaro administration.

In April, Bolsonaro ally Sergio Camargo, head of the Palmares Cultural Foundation, called for a boycott of the film.

"It's pure victim mentality and a defamatory attack on our president," said Camargo, a black Brazilian who has sparked controversy in the past by saying slavery was "beneficial for Afro-descendants."

It is unclear when Ancine will clear the film for release in Brazil.

The production team says it completed its application for funds to distribute the film in November 2020 and has yet to receive the official response.

Ancine says the application is "under review" and that it is following the "standard procedure."

It is not the first such case to cause controversy, AFP reported.

Directed by "Narcos" star Wagner Moura, the film is a biopic on a leftist guerrilla leader who fought Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985).

Bolsonaro, a former army captain, is a fervent admirer of the former military regime, despite its large-scale human-rights abuses.

"Marighella" had its application to Ancine rejected twice in 2019, before finally being cleared for its Brazilian premiere last month.

Shortly after taking office in 2019, Bolsonaro said he wanted to "filter" Brazilian film productions.

"If there's no filter, we're going to get rid of Ancine," he said.

"We're not going to stop debating this issue, or thinking about how this country was built," he said.

"Art is powerful, we can't give that up."



Oasis Fans Converge as Mega-tour Kicks Off in UK

Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
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Oasis Fans Converge as Mega-tour Kicks Off in UK

Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP
Oasis are performing together for the first time since 2009. MIKE CLARKE / AFP

Tens of thousands of ecstatic Oasis fans descend Friday on Cardiff as the legendary Britpop band kicks off a highly anticipated reunion tour nearly 16 years after last performing together.

The concert at the Principality Stadium in the Welsh capital will be the first of a 41-date run of gigs spanning the world, including in the United States, Japan, Australia and Brazil, AFP said.

Once-warring brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher, their bandmates and UK support acts will play in Cardiff on Friday and Saturday before five hometown gigs in Manchester starting on July 11.

Further sold-out British and Irish concerts will follow at London's Wembley Stadium, Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium and Dublin's Croke Park, before the international leg of their Oasis Live '25 tour.

"All that matters is how the people in that stadium feel," Liam Gallagher, 52, said on social media last week, as months of anticipation reach a climax.

Fans have been sharing their excitement at the first chance to see Oasis play live since 2009 -- or ever -- after it was long seen as a remote prospect following one of music's most acrimonious break-ups.

The band's 1990s gigs are the stuff of legend.

"The feeling is biblical!" fuel tanker driver Sean Campbell, 35, told AFP before attending Friday's gig.

"I've been waiting years for their return. I missed out on going years ago, so this is my first time seeing them live."

Ticket controversy

Oasis, famous for 1990s hits like "Live Forever" and "Wonderwall", announced its comeback tour last August, days before the 30th anniversary of their debut album, "Definitely Maybe".

The Manchester rockers split in 2009, with Noel saying he "simply could not go on working with Liam a day longer".

The Gallagher brothers had maintained a war of words about each other for more than a decade, performing individually over those years but never together.

The surprise announcement that they had finally put aside their feud to reunite sparked an online frenzy for tickets but outrage over sudden price hikes that saw Britain's competition watchdog threaten legal action.

Resale tickets costing thousands of pounds have surfaced, while fans have also been targeted by online scams.

Britain's Lloyds Bank estimated in April that victims had collectively lost more than £2 million ($2.7 million).

The tour is expected to be a boon for the struggling UK economy.

Fans could spend more than £1 billion combined on tickets and outgoings such as transportation and accommodation, Barclays bank estimated in May.

'Rough and ready'

Oasis will be supported in the UK by Richard Ashcroft, frontman of British rock band The Verve, as well as the Liverpool-formed band Cast.

The band has not released the setlist for their opening and other shows, with rampant speculation online over which classic tracks will feature and whether any new material will be performed.

There are also many rumors over the potential for special guests appearances.

Illuminated drones displayed Oasis's classic logo above the Cardiff stadium late Wednesday, in a one-night display adding to the buzz around the tour's kick-off.

Gates open Friday at 5:00 pm (1600 GMT), with the band due on stage just over three hours later after both support acts have played.

The performance will wrap up by 10:30 pm, organizers said.

The stadium, which has a capacity of 74,500 for concerts, is set to have its retractable roof closed for both nights, with an incredible atmosphere expected.

Oasis reportedly began jamming together months ago, before starting rehearsals in London more recently.

The band has reportedly welcomed several new members for the tour, including a keyboard player and drummer.

Writing in the tour program, Noel, 58, reflected on the band's enduring popularity, saying "a new generation recognizes how Oasis wasn't manufactured".

"It was chaotic, and flawed, and not technically brilliant. We were rough and ready guys from a rehearsal room, and people recognized it."