“I knew he was a controversial figure”

The filmmaker Cyrus Nowrastehdirector of the film Black horseabout Jair Bolsonarospoke for the first time about the project, which is scheduled to launch in 2026.

In an interview with BBC Brazil, Nowrasteh said the film would be a “complex and honest portrait” of the Brazilian politician and that he felt “there were a lot of unanswered questions around this event (Bolsonaro’s assassination, 2018) and it was worth exploring them in a film.”

Nowrasteh also said he was developing another project to be made in Brazil when an American producer put him in contact with the production company GoUp Entertainment, owned by Karina Ferreira da Gama, and with federal deputy Mário Frias (PL-SP), who came up with the idea for the film.

“They wanted to do something about Bolsonaro. I was impressed by Mário and his passion for the project. I knew that Bolsonaro was a controversial and polarizing figure – but also very beloved,” the director said.

According to Mário Frias, in the film the former president remembers his life in flashbacks – while he undergoes surgeries – and ends with his election.

“I see work as a thriller contemporary politician, who will help illuminate much of what is happening today in Brazil – and around the world,” says Nowrasteh.

The recordings of Black horse were closed this month. The film will have the actor Jim Caviezel – who gained international fame playing Jesus in the film The Passion of Christ (2004) – in the role of the former president. The first images were posted on social networks in recent weeks by Bolsonian politicians and activists.

Known for his Christian and political films, Cyrus Nowrasteh has to his credit the role of co-author of the screenplay for the American-Brazilian film. Jenipapodirected by Monique Gardenberg. But its best known characteristic is The stoning of Soraya M. (2008), which tells the story of a Muslim woman sentenced to death in a public square in Iran following a false accusation of adultery.

He also directed The young Messiah (2016), International kidnapping (2019), about a Christian journalist who becomes a prisoner in Iran after speaking about Jesus, and Sarah’s oil (2025), about a black girl who believes the land she inherited is rich in oil.

Nowrasteh compares his work in Black horse to that of Greek-French filmmakers Costa-Gavras and American director Oliver Stone, the name behind the documentary Lula (2024), on the trajectory of the Brazilian president in the years leading up to his victory in the 2022 elections.

“Everyone focuses on polarizing themes and vigorously challenges ‘accepted opinions’. It’s a long and noble tradition. I just do the same thing,” Nowrasteh said.