‘The Secret Agent’ Director Kleber Mendonça Filho Says Hollywood Must ‘Draw a Line’ With Streaming if ‘They Want to Keep Filmgoing Alive’ 

Kleber Mendonça Filho, whose latest film “The Secret Agent” represents Brazil in the international feature film race at the Oscars, sounded the alarm on the disruptive impact of “streaming culture” on moviegoing, especially in countries like the U.S. where theatrical windows are shorter.

While speaking at the Marrakech Film Festival, where he took part in an on-stage conversation, the celebrated Brazilian filmmaker said, “We’re going through a crisis in terms of going to the cinema, but I think with streaming culture and also with the pandemic, the rules were changed.”

“It’d always been very clear that to see a film, you would see it in the cinema (…). Well, this is not so clear anymore. I think this is taking many people away from the cinema-going experience,” he said, before adding that “the industry, particularly in Hollywood, really has to draw a line if they want to keep filmgoing alive.”

Mendonça Filho, who’s due to attend the Gotham Awards where his movie is nominated, went on explaining that Hollywood should make it a rule “to only release films on streaming after three or four months.” The outspoken helmer pointed out that Brazil’s cinema culture and box office have remained healthy, partly thanks to longer theatrical windows.

“Now that ‘The Secret Agent’ is in cinemas in Brazil, we made it crystal clear that this film will be in cinemas only for months, and then only later it will be streaming at some point. If you send that message, if you make it clear, people will come, and this is what’s happening in Brazil now.”

He also admitted he wouldn’t want to make a film knowing it will only be available on streaming, but wouldn’t have an issue having it drop on a platform after its theatrical run. “People say never say never, but I don’t feel like making a film only for a stream,” he said. “I don’t think I would concentrate on what I have to do if I knew that the end result would be screened for the first time on a streaming platform.” He joked that he’s heard some people say they watched his 2012 movie “Neighboring Sounds” in 17 parts over the course of two weeks. “It’s fine, watching it in 17 parts. But at some point, I know that that film had its best life in cinemas,” he quipped.

Sold around the world by MK2 Films, “The Secret Agent” world-premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, where it won two prizes, best director and best actor for Wagner Moura, as well as the FIPRESCI Prize.

“The Secret Agent” is a politically charged thriller featuring Moura as Marcelo, a technology expert on the run during Carnival season in the late 1970s, during the final years of Brazil’s military dictatorship.

Addressing the timeliness of “The Secret Agent,” Mendonça Filho said he realized the contemporary resonance while developing it, as he would draw parallels with Brazil’s former far-right populist president Jair Bolsonaro, who’s now serving a 27-year sentence for criminal conspiracy.

“I was writing about 1977, but at some point, I began to realize that Bolsonaro brought a lot of the logic from 50 years ago to his government,” said Mendonça Filho. “It really felt like him and his people were trying to bring back the good old days of the military regime, almost like a Halloween party.”

He said the film has also struck a chord in Spain, because Spain experienced “the Franco regime,” as well as in “the United States, where there have been very strong reactions,” he noted.

Neon, which picked it up during the Cannes Film Festival, opened it in New York on Nov. 26 and will next launch it in L.A. on Dec. 5, with a national rollout to follow.

The 22nd edition of the Marrakech Film Festival kicked off on Friday night with the Moroccan premiere of “Dead Man’s Wire.” Bong Joon-ho is presiding over a powerhouse jury comprising Celine Song, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jenna Ortega, Julia Ducournau, Karim Aïnouz, Hakim Belabbes, and Payman Maadi.