Lula, Son of Brazil (; ) is a 2009 biographical Brazilian film based on the early life of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Directed by Fábio Barreto, the film was released on January 1, 2010. Upon its release, Lula, Son of Brazil was the most expensive Brazilian film ever, with a budget of over 17 million reais, being later surpassed by Nosso Lar. The film was unanimously chosen by a Ministry of Culture commission as Brazil's submission to the 83rd Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, despite not having been chosen to compete. The film was a commercial and critical failure. Critics charged that it was election propaganda, fostering a cult of personality. Plot The film begins in October 1945 in Garanhuns, a municipality in the countryside of Pernambuco, when Luiz Inácio da Silva, nicknamed Lula, is born as the seventh child of Dona Lindu and Aristides. Two weeks after his birth, Aristides moves to Santos, a coastal city in São Paulo, with Dona Mocinha, a cousin of Dona Lindu. Lindu raises Lula's siblings alone until December 1952, when the family moves to Santos to meet the patriarch. Upon their arrival, Dona Lindu discovers that Aristides had formed a second family with Dona Mocinha. Aristides' two families live in the same house and, as time goes on, they struggle to survive. Lula and his siblings attend elementary school and work as street vendors. Later, Lindu leaves the alcoholic and abusive Aristides and moves with her children to São Paulo. Lula receives certification as a lathe operator and gets a formal job in the automobile industry, where he loses a finger in a press. This and his brother Ziza's arrest lead him into trade union activism, which made him nationally known in a period when such activities were forbidden. Lula is incarcerated for his activities, just as his mother dies. Production Based on the book of the same name by journalist Denise Paraná, the film narrates the story of Lula from his birth until his mother's death, when he was a 35-year-old union leader detained by the political police of the military dictatorship. The screenplay was written by Paraná, Fábio Barreto and Daniel Tendler. Writer Fernando Bonassi was hired to supervise it. João Miguel, better known for his role in Cinema, Aspirinas e Urubus, was initially cast as Lula, but declined due to scheduling problems. Tay Lopez was