Oscars: Controversy Erupts Over Brazilian Film ‘Aquarius’

26 August 2016 5:17 PM, PDT | Variety - Film News | See recent Variety - Film News news »

At the Cannes Film Festival in May, filmmaker Kleber Mendonça Filho and the cast and crew of his film “Aquarius” staged a protest against the suspension of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff. They held signs reading “Brazil is experiencing a coup d’etat” and “54,501,118 votes set on fire!”

Now, according to Filho and his supporters, the country’s interim government is making them pay for it.

“Join all the dots,” Filho told Variety in an interview. “There’s a lot of talk about the possibility of the film being sabotaged by the illegitimate government.”

Earlier this week, “Aquarius” — set for release Sept. 1 in Brazil — received an 18+ rating from the country’s Ministry of Justice for “explicit sex” and “drugs.” However, many believe it’s too harsh a classification and is merely an attempt to damage the film’s commercial prospects in retaliation for the protest.

The 18+ rating is extremely rare in Brazil. »

- Kristopher Tapley, Shalini Dore and Anna Marie de la Fuente

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