Brazilian filmmaker Chaim Litewski had a powerful reason to complete his new documentary, “Citizen Boilesen,” which looks at the connections between businessman Henning Albert Boilesen and the repressive Brazilian secret police in the late 1960s and early 1970s. “It was almost like an act of exorcism,” Litewski said of the film. “I had to get it out.”
Litewski first became interested in Boilesen at the time of his assassination in Sao Paulo in 1971, and began working on “Citizen Boilesen” in 1993, spending his own money to make the movie. The May 8 screening at the Politics on Film festival was the U.S. premiere of the film.
“Citizen Boilesen” looks at the close collaboration between Danish-born petroleum executive Boilesen and Brazil’s secret police – the OBAN – in the days after the country’s 1964 military coup, including charges that Boilesen attended brutal torture sessions. The collaboration – denied by the military and family members – ultimately led to leftist militants targeting and killing Boilesen on a Sao Paulo street.
The meticulously researched film includes an impressive set of interviews with both radicals and military officials – all of which is surprisingly backed by a bouncy rumba rhythm. “The theme is so heavy I needed to tell the story in a light way,” Litewski said.
Asked if there could be similar collusion in modern times, Litewski reflected on the seemingly universal relationship between a country’s industry and government elite. “Everywhere in the world, there is a strong symbiotic relationship between government and business,” Litewski said. “They need each other.”
Beyond his long-time interest in Boilesen, Litewski was driven to make the film because “so little has been written or spoken about” the interplay between businessmen and the secret police during the early years of Brazil’s military government.
But that could be changing. With a leftist government in Brazil – and an upcoming election that includes a former guerilla as a viable candidate – Litewski said there has been a “rediscovery of the period” of the military government. And “Citizen Boilesen” has been playing in theaters for five months and is receiving a very positive response in Brazil and beyond, he said.
But don’t wait for a sequel. Litewski described the film’s production as “very painful,” and seemed to rule out another documentary. “In the future, I’m going to write books and paint paintings,” he said. “It’s so much easier.”
By Aaron Lovell