APOCALYPSE IN THE TROPICS Trailer: Petra Costa Documents Evangelicalism’s Rise in Brazilian Politics

Following her 2019 Oscar-nominated documentary The Edge of Democracy, director Petra Costa continues to examine Brazil’s rocky politics in her newest film, Apocalypse in the Tropics. Having premiered on the festival circuit last year before America entered its second term of Trump’s fascism, this documentary gives an urgently relevant view of how the evangelical Christian movement paved the way for Jair Bolsonaro’s far-right presidency. It also features Bolsonaro’s liberal predecessor and successor, Brazil’s current president, Lulu da Silva (also featured in The Edge of Democracy), who appealed to Brazil’s evangelical population ahead of his second election.

The film is set to screen at the DOC NYC Summer Selects series in New York on Wednesday, July 9, before streaming on Netflix July 14.

Here’s the official synopsis:

When does a democracy end, and theocracy begin? Apocalypse in the Tropics investigates the increasingly powerful grip that evangelical Christian leaders hold over politics in Brazil. Weaving together past and present, the film holds a mirror up to the rest of the world.

Watch the official trailer below.

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