Tired from the time difference but happy to defend this new cause which is close to his heart – nuclear power – Oliver Stone was in Paris this week to present to the press the documentary Nuclear Now, a plea in favor of the atom, essential according to him to the ecological transition in progress. On this occasion, the director of Platoon spoke about another of his projects: a documentary dedicated to Lula.
He will return to the incarceration, between 2018 and 2019, then the return to power of the Brazilian president. “He will discuss the legal proceedings (which targeted Lula from 2011 for acts of corruption and money laundering, Editor’s note) and what happened when they put this president of a prosperous country in prison », explains Oliver Stone for whom Lula is “a very interesting man”.
No release date has been announced at this time. The film, which is almost finished, will be presented in festivals, adds the American director, a regular at major seventh art events such as the Cannes Film Festival. Over the course of five decades, Oliver Stone has made several works of fiction and documentaries related to Latin America, starting with Salvador (1986), which starred actor James Woods.
Fidel Castro occupies a special place in his documentary production. He dedicated three films to Lider Maximo (2003, 2004 and 2012). “You can hate him, but you can’t ignore him, Castro is a force in history,” Oliver Stone, viscerally opposed to American imperialism, is wont to say. The Wall Street director also made a 2014 documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, titled My Friend Hugo.
Also read: Oliver Stone films Hugo Chavez as a misunderstood hero
Filming the film about Lula took months, during which Oliver Stone traveled with the veteran Brazilian politician. Asked about the similarities between Lula, Chavez and Castro, he said he saw “humanists” in them. “They are all original and do their best to serve their country,” said the three-time Oscar-winning filmmaker, who describes himself as a “free thinker” and embraces his position as an outsider in Hollywood. Now aged 77, he is also working on writing the second volume of his memoirs.