Narcos Star Having a Hard Time Financing Movie on Brazilian Leftist Guerrilla

Wagner Moura portrays cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar in Netflix's Narcos Wagner Moura, best known for his portrayal of Pablo Escobar in Netflix’s “Narcos” series, says he is having trouble securing financing for his directorial debut film: a biopic about Carlos Marighella, a communist lawmaker turned guerrilla who was assassinated by Brazil’s military dictatorship.

Moura, who has never shied away from political topics, told Brazil’s UOL that he became interested in making a film about the famous leftist after reading a biography by Mario Magalhães.

“I was very interested in the figure of Marighella, who was also from Bahia, like me. A person who moves away a bit from figure of the classic guerrilla: Che Guevara,” said Moura.

Marighella once served as a federal lawmaker for the Brazilian Communist Party but was forced into clandestine activity after persecution and an attempt on his life by the dictatorship’s secret police and subsequent arrest in 1964.

Wagner Moura portrays cocaine kingpin Pablo Escobar in Netflix's Narcos

He is perhaps best known for writing the “Mini-Manual of the Urban Guerrilla” that sought to inspire and guide revolutionaries opposed to Brazil’s military regime. Unlike Guevara, Marighella saw urban centers, not the countryside, as the focal point of revolutionary struggle.

Moura did not name names but said that he has met resistance from financiers who did not want to make a film about Marighella precisely because of his life-long commitment to revolution.

Right-wing politicians, as well as supporters and beneficiaries of the dictatorship, still view Marighella as a “terrorist” and Moura said he has received emails from people referring to the revolutionary as such.

Often labeled as a leftist himself by Brazil’s right-wing media, Moura says he has always been interested in the history of the 1964-1985 military dictatorship in Brazil and, in particular, the generation that fought the military regime.

“What were they like? Why would a young person leave everything behind and dedicate their lives to a cause?” asks Moura.

The Brazilian actor said the film is ultimately “about sacrifice.”

Moura added that he thinks his country is suffering from a collective amnesia about the dictatorship era in Brazil’s history and seeks to set the record straight about people like Marighella.

He said those efforts to mislead people about history is connected to the way Brazil’s media is trying to frame the current political crisis, which saw an unelected regime install itself in power after ousting democratically elected President Dilma Rousseff.

Moura, who has been vocal in his opposition to the coup regime, argued that the media in Brazil acts like Fox News in the US.

“I tell my US friends, imagine if the only way you could find out what has happening in the US was through Fox News,” said Moura.

“That’s what’s happening in Brazil, as if people had a giant Fox News informing them.”

teleSUR

Tags:

You May Also Like

Brazilian president Michel Temer

Exhausted and Dazed to Act, Brazilians Might Just Keep a Corrupt President

Brazil’s president faces criminal charges and 2% approval rating – but here’s how he ...

Popular protest against Lula's prison

Eager to Fix Politics, Brazil’s Justice May Be Breaking the Rule Of Law.

On January 24, a Brazilian appeals court upheld a criminal conviction against former President ...

Lula and Janja share a kiss after his election win on last October 30. 

Janja, Lula’s Wife, Will Give a New Meaning to First Lady

The future first lady of Brazil, Rosângela Lula da Silva, nicknamed Janja, will work ...

Brazil’s New President Returns the Offense: Coup-mongers Are Those Against the Constitution

In an address broadcast countrywide on radio and television, Brazilian President Michel Temer pledged ...

Another Lula Man Goes to Jail for Corruption: Former Finance Minister Palocci

Brazil’s Federal Police arrested early this Monday, September 26, in São Paulo, former Finance ...

Lady with a sign: Out with Temer - Paulo Pinto/Ag. PT

Is Brazil on the Brink of Political Chaos? Quite Possibly

It is a nail-biter in Brasília: After the impeachment of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff ...

Supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro clash with security forces. Joedson Alves/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Bolsonaro Is the Main Responsible for the Storming of Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Office in Brazil

Thousands of far-right supporters of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro stormed the country’s Congress, ...

Brazilian airports are being privatized to raise cash

Short of Cash, Brazil Plans a Massive Privatization to Raise US$ 28 Billion

With Brazil’s budget deficit calculated at reaching almost US$ 50 billion, president Michel Temer ...

Eletrobrás is on the block to be sold

Fire Sale: Dozens of Brazil Firms to Be Privatized Including Crown Jewel Eletrobrás

The government of Brazilian President Michel Temer says 57 public companies and airport terminals ...