then cast, but declined due to medical reasons, since the role required him to gain and lose weight quickly and he suffers from hypertension. Little known 30-year-old stage actor Rui Ricardo Dias was then cast as Lula. Other cast members includes Glória Pires as Lula's mother Dona Lindu, Cléo Pires as Lula's first wife Lourdes and Juliana Baroni as Marisa Letícia Lula da Silva. Lucélia Santos, a close friend of Lula, played a small role as his teacher. Milhem Cortaz, known for playing a corrupt police officer in the Golden Bear-winning film Tropa de Elite, was cast as Lula's father Aristides. The film was produced by Luiz Carlos Barreto and Paula Barreto, father and sister of the director, respectively. The budget of the film was relatively high for Brazilian cinema standards: over 17 million reais (more than 9.5 million U.S. dollars). The Barretos, who supported Lula in both 2002 and 2006 presidential elections, claimed to have obtained financing without government funds in order to repel criticism from their work. According to Agência Estado, however, the film was sponsored by several construction firms, something extremely unusual for the Brazilian film market. Three of these companies maintain direct business with the federal government. The shooting of the film began in late January 2009 in the Pernambuco municipality of Garanhuns, Lula's hometown. In February, the second phase of the production began in Santos and Guarujá, cities on the coast of São Paulo where Lula spent most of his childhood. The shooting was predicted to end on March 21, 2009. The film was then edited in time to premiere in some film festivals prior to its wide release in Brazilian cinemas on January 1, 2010. Cast Main cast: Rui Ricardo Dias as Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Glória Pires as Dona Lindu Juliana Baroni as Marisa Letícia Cléo Pires as Lourdes da Silva Milhem Cortaz as Aristides Sóstenes Vidal as Ziza Supporting cast: Guillerme Tortólio as adolescent Lula Felipe Falanga as young Lula Rayana Cavalho as Dona Mocinha Lucélia Santos as Lula's teacher Antonio Pitanga as Mr. Cristóvão Celso Frateschi as Mr. Álvaro Marcos Cesana as Cláudio Feitosa Clayton Mariano as Lambari Mariah Teixeira as Marinete Suzana Costa as midwife Jones Melo as salesman José Ramos as Pau de Arara driver Antonio Saboia as Vavá Eduardo Acaiabe as Geraldão Marat Descartes as Arnaldo Nei Piacentini as Dr. Miguel Luccas Papp as Lambari (age 15)