The third part of our short series on great documentary filmmakers comes in the wake of some great news: A BRAZILIAN FILM HAS BEEN NOMINATED FOR THE OSCAR FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY! YES! But despite PETRA COSTA being one of the greatest Brazilian cinematographic talents of the moment, she is not yet on this list. "DEMOCRACY IN VERTIGEM" (2019), the nominee, is controversial, well-constructed and really has all the ingredients that the Oscars look for when selecting documentaries. It shows the downfall of Dilma and the PT during the impeachment process/parliamentary coup of 2016. Even the undisguised bias of the film is not a problem in this case, because Petra is an artist with a very refined aesthetic sense, a great "author"; and nothing is expected from her that is not absolutely personal, therefore imbued with some bias, even if she tries in the opposite direction. But, for this unprecedented feat, I will put Petra in the same conditions as other geniuses mentioned here and recommend another film of hers, in my humble opinion much better than this one: It is "ELENA" , from 2013, a small gem that is unmissable for those who like personal and biographical documentaries, in which Petra searches for her older sister, who traveled to New York 20 years earlier, following her dream of being an actress. DON'T MISS IT!
And since the subject is political documentary, I chose to talk about two of the greatest documentarians in the history of cinema: Eduardo Coutinho and Michael Moore.
AND DUARDO COUTINHO

You see, making a political documentary does not necessarily mean making documentaries ABOUT politics. Because a political documentary has a side, it has political objectives intrinsically linked to the narrators. Documentaries ABOUT politics, on the other hand, need to be neutral, only concerned with objective facts, preferably balanced between the sides of an issue. But although Eduardo Coutinho's most famous documentary is like this, it is like this, Eduardo Coutinho evolved to a language and methodology that avoided pre-judging the stories. And he ended up being recognized throughout much of the world as one of the greatest documentarians in the history of cinema. To follow the pattern, I will only mention three of his masterpieces, but he is a director who is worth a marathon, with his complete work. Unfortunately, Coutinho died in a violent family tragedy, murdered by his own son, who suffered from schizophrenia. But he left behind an incomparable body of work and a group of fans and admirers who learned from his lessons. As is the case with Petra Costa...
You NEED to watch:
CABRA MARCADO PARA DIÁR (1983): In 1962, the leader of the peasant league of Sapé (PB), João Pedro Teixeira, is assassinated by order of landowners. A film about his life begins to be shot in 1964, with the fictional reconstruction of the political action that led to the assassination and directed by Eduardo Coutinho. Filming is interrupted by the Military Coup of 1964. Seventeen years later, in 1981, Eduardo Coutinho resumes the project and seeks out Elizabeth Teixeira and other participants in the interrupted film. Impactful and innovative, "Cabra" is considered one of the 100 best films in the history of Brazilian cinema, was a huge success with the public and won awards at the Berlin Festival.
But the fact is that Coutinho was, above all, a restless artist. And after this great triumph in political documentaries, Coutinho explored, through his enormous gift as an interviewer, characters, places and even cinematic metalanguage. Coutinho loves human nuances and exposes them without judgment, exposing great characters hidden in everyday life.
This is the case of EDIFÍCIO MASTER (2002), which records the daily lives of the residents of the Edifício Master, in Copacabana, and presents a rich array of stories. With 276 apartments and 12 floors, the place serves as a home for the interviewees, who reveal dramas, loneliness, desires and vanities. It hit the nail on the head again.
But when everyone thought his creativity had reached its limits, he surprised everyone again by exploring metalinguistic themes, mixing reality and drama in JOGO DE CENA (2007), in which a contest gives rise to women's life stories, which are then interpreted by actresses, in testimonials. Another point for the genius of testimonials.
MICHAEL MOORE

Michael Moore is perhaps the most successful documentary filmmaker in history (his films have grossed around $350 million at the box office worldwide), even though he hasn't released anything memorable in a few years. That's because he was simply responsible for popularizing the genre between the late 90s and early 2000s.
Known for his critical stance, especially in relation to armed violence in American society, large corporations, and economic and social inequalities, Moore managed to combine political documentaries and scathing humor, surprisingly appealing to audiences in the late 1990s and achieving great success. He is also famous for his provocations targeting the hypocrisy of American politicians, and he was a scathing and irreverent critic of George W. Bush and the invasion of Iraq .
Moore is an admitted manipulator of emotions and a very talented editor. He has no qualms about raising awareness among audiences, especially North American audiences, about extremely important social issues. Unlike Coutinho, his attachment to a single documentary style (and a political stance that is already well-known to the public) ended up alienating audiences from Moore, who has not released a hit film in many years.
You NEED to watch:
Moore began to define a certain style of documentary filmmaking with ROGER AND ME (1989), in which he attempts to find Roger Smith, chairman of General Motors, to shed light on the mass layoffs and closing of eleven plants in Flint, Michigan. GM's decision contributed to the city's downfall in the late 1980s.
SHOTS AT COLUMBINE (2002), a highly impactful anti-gun libel, innovative in its language and shocking in its content, the feature film addresses American gun culture through an analysis of the massacre perpetrated by two young men carrying several large-caliber weapons against students at Columbine High School in 1999. It was the first massacre caused by "bullying", and unfortunately it remained in the memory of both victims and criminals, who on more than one occasion tried to imitate it, including in Brazil. In addition, the documentary was known for destroying the image of Charlton Heston, a former Hollywood star who voraciously defended the right to buy and have large-caliber weapons at home. The film was a huge success worldwide, won an Oscar and turned Moore into the biggest documentary star of the time.
Next came FARENHEIT 09/11 (2004), which was a total success. The most profitable documentary to date, it was the first documentary blockbuster in history, grossing over US$ 120 million at the box office in the US alone. Exploring in depth the reasons why the government of then-US President George Bush Jr. launched the country into a war against Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as examining its actions during the September 11 incidents, the film is an explosive mix of conspiracies, provocations towards the former president and humor.
With his good-natured, progressive and humorous manner, Moore redefined and considerably increased the space dedicated to documentaries in cinema, TV and the media.
Stay tuned to the blog to meet other brilliant documentarians in the coming weeks and don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!
See you then!
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