Behind Closed Doors

João Pedro Bim – Director Statement

Behind Closed Doors is a documentary feature made entirely with archival material produced during the Brazilian Military Dictatorship (1964-1985). 

In fact, there was something in Brazil that was not shown in the movie theaters: the state repression reached its peak in the early 1970s. To this day, relatives of victims of the regime demand justice. And to this day, in vain: until March 2024, no Brazilian military personnel have been punished for the crimes of the dictatorship.

The film project began in 2018, the year in which we, the left and the Brazilian democratic field, began to realise that a right-wing nostalgia of the dictatorship was coming out, increasingly violent and authoritarian. In October of that year, former army captain Jair Bolsonaro won the national elections leading a far-right coalition with wide support and direct participation by military officers. Bolsonaro was known to be a notorious supporter of the dictatorship. His government was a direct heir of the dictatorship.

The film was edited during the years of the Bolsonaro government. We were affected by the defunding of archival institutions, and by the daily news of threats of “a new IA-5” and successive – now proven – coup attempts. In 2024, Bolsonaro is being investigated for attempting to subvert democracy, and, as history repeats itself as farce, the main evidence against him is the recording of a ministerial meeting of conspiracy.

We would like to be able to confine ourselves to a film about the history of Brazil. But, with the new global rise of the far right in the 21st century, Behind Closed Doors ends up being a case study, a warning about the power of authoritarian discourse to become seductive and, ultimately, very dangerous.