Metal Workers

2002 was an important year for many Brazilians, as it was when the left-wing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva won the presidency. What led up to the victory of his labor party? Metal workers discuss the turbulent 1970s and 1980s, a time when they were exploited and suppressed. "Nothing but suffering" is how one former Volkswagen employee describes his time working for that company. Together, thousands of workers tried to change the world. The massive strikes of 1980 are still etched into the minds of many: "That was like a war, man!" Lula is the great uniting factor. Born into a poor family, the charismatic party leader embodies the dream that there's a way out of all the misery. The photogenic man does wonderfully in the black-and-white archive footage in which he speaks to thousands of frenzied workers, his expression pained, angrily dragging on his cigarette. Like an actor who immerses himself in a difficult character part, Lula takes the time to prepare himself. Full of pride and melancholy, the workers watch the archive footage from the 1980s. They were carried away by Lula - and now, some 20 years later, it seems to be happening all over again. (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)