In May, now-presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former Brazilian far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, shared on his social media a “leaked” trailer for an upcoming biopic about his father.
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Bolsonaro → share → father
The “most anticipated movie of the year,” Flávio said then, would depict the story of a “true hero.”
asserted
Flávio → say → hero
In the trailer, which had a “disclosure prohibited” watermark, a wig-wearing Jim Caviezel—the American Hollywood actor perhaps most famous for his role as Jesus in Mel Gibson’s 2004 The Passion of the Christ—plays Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence under house arrest for a failed coup attempt after his 2022 electoral defeat.
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who → have → defeat
Director Cyrus Nowrasteh described Dark Horse as a “tense political thriller about power, media, and faith under fire.”
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Nowrasteh → describe → fire
The movie’s trailer, which centers on Bolsonaro’s first presidential run and rise to power in 2018, frames the ex-president as “the voice of the people” and a leader who “fought the system” that tried to silence him.
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that → center → him
It includes a dramatic reenactment of his stabbing during the campaign.
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It → include → campaign
“IF YOU CARE ABOUT OUR ELECTIONS,” Caviezel, who is also known for the more recent Sound of Freedom, posted on Instagram earlier this year, “watch my newest film coming out September 11, 2026!”
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who → care → film
The production company behind the movie advertised it on X.
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company → advertise → X.
“A trailer that circulated online was enough to put the Dark Horse at the center of discussions for months,” says the post in Portuguese.
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post → circulate → Portuguese
“Now, anticipation continues to grow for one of the most awaited international productions inspired by events that marked Brazil.”
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that → continue → Brazil
That September 11 date went by and the movie, which was shot in English, has yet to be released in Brazil; it won’t come out before the first round in a nail-biting presidential race set for Sunday, October 4.
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it → go → Sunday
These federal elections, which include congressional and gubernatorial races alongside the presidential contest, have been dogged by accusations of meddling by the Trump administration, prompting incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to send a clear message to the US leader: “Brazil does not fit in anyone’s backyard.”
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Brazil → include → backyard
While Dark Horse has not featured as a centerpiece in that conversation, it has certainly had its own share of controversy even before hitting the big screen.
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it → feature → screen
The Brazil-US joint production has become the subject of an ongoing investigation that has sent shockwaves through the presidential campaign of one of the main candidates in a high-stakes, knife-edge election.
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that → become → election
Brazilian authorities are actively looking into the financing of the movie by a now-disgraced businessman accused of leading one of the biggest bank frauds in the country’s history.
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authorities → look → history
That financial scandal involves banker Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of the liquidated Banco Master, who is jailed for alleged fraud in a complex billion-dollar scheme involving worthless credit portfolios.
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who → involve → portfolios
The imbroglio has rocked the 214-million-people nation and thrown the Brazilian Supreme Court into an unprecedented institutional crisis, ensnaring justices, including Alexandre de Moraes—a polarizing figure credited by some with having stopped Bolsonaro’s coup plot and vilified by others for judicial overreach—and high-profile politicians and public officials with alleged ties to Vorcaro.
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imbroglio → rock → Vorcaro
Among them is Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who is cited in the investigation by Brazil’s federal police into the financing of the movie for “possible participation” in alleged crimes involving “money laundering, illicit capital flight, corruption, and other related offenses.”
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who → cite → laundering
Last May, the Intercept Brasil exposed audio recordings and messages exchanged between Flávio and Vorcaro in which the senator asks the banker for money to fund Dark Horse.
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senator → expose → Horse
Documents from the federal police indicate Flávio was a “direct interlocutor” in negotiating with Vorcaro about the financing of the movie production.
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Flávio → indicate → production
The bombshell reporting revealed that Flávio, the primary opponent facing off against Lula, who’s vying for re-election, negotiated a $24-million-dollar investment from Vorcaro.
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who → reveal → Vorcaro
At the time, documents obtained by the Intercept Brasil showed that Vorcaro had made payments for the movie adding up to at least $10.6 million, between February and May 2025; the total has since climbed to $12.3 million, according to the federal police.
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total → obtain → police
In a voice message to Vorcaro from September 2025, Flávio pressed the banker on pending payments, stressing the importance of getting the movie across the finish line.
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Flávio → press → line
“Imagine us defaulting on Jim Caviezel, on Cyrus [Nowrasteh], these guys, man, hugely renowned in American and global cinema.
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us → imagine → cinema
Man, that would be really bad,” Flávio said in the audio, a transcription of which is cited in the federal police’s inquiry.
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transcription → say → inquiry
He added: “Now that we’re in the final stretch, we can’t slip up, we can’t fail to honor the commitments here, because otherwise we lose everything.”
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we → add → everything
The Bolsonaro camp had high hopes for Dark Horse, originally projected for release three weeks before election day.
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camp → project → day
“We’ll touch the hearts of a lot of people,” congressman Mário Frias, who was involved in the development of the project and is also named in the investigation, told Vorcaro, “and it will be very important for our country.”
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it → touch → country
Ahead of the election, Flávio Bolsonaro, the presidential hopeful, has found himself having to provide explanations.
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himself → find → explanations
He has dismissed the payments from Vorcaro as “private sponsorship” for a private project, underscoring that no public funds were used in the movie, and denied any wrongdoing.
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funds → dismiss → wrongdoing
Unsealed court documents state that payment transfers for Dark Horse were made via an intermediary company and processed through the Texas-based Havengate Development Fund managed by a Brazilian lawyer close to Flávio’s brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is self-exiled in the United States since last year following a lawmaker’s request for him to be investigated for allegedly lobbying against Brazil’s national interests.
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him → state → interests
This June, Eduardo, who was stripped of his congressional seat for being absent, was convicted of “coercion” for attempting to secure interference from the Trump administration on Brazil’s internal affairs; he sought to persuade them to impose tariffs on Brazil and sanctions on Brazilian justices to help his father’s case.
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he → strip → case
Investigators looking into the origins of the money and its destination have raised the “hypothesis” that Eduardo, who lives in Texas, “directed the management of resources on foreign soil.”
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who → look → soil
They also are investigating whether funds from Havengate may have been used to cover Eduardo’s living expenses, according to multiple reports by Brazilian media outlets.
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funds → investigate → outlets
Flávio has maintained that all the resources allocated to the fund went towards the movie production.
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resources → maintain → production
On X, Eduardo has denied receiving money from the Texas fund, saying his immigration status wouldn’t have allowed it.
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status → deny → it
(He has recently obtained a green card.)
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He → obtain → card
“During my immigration process,” he said, “I explained to the American authorities the whole origin of my assets and I didn’t have any problems.”
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I → say → problems
He added that “all the investments were made in the US because the production was American, with American actors.”
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production → add → actors
Agência Pública, Brazil’s largest nonprofit newsroom, recently reported on Eduardo’s lavish lifestyle; he resides in a luxury home in Southlake, owns a $43,800 SUV, and travels frequently—20 times in 18 months—including to attend a gala at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago, watch a World Cup match in Miami, and surf in Abu Dhabi.
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he → report → Dhabi
…and 45 more, not listed.
The Aporia
