Eduardo Bolsonaro admits signing film contract after initial denial

Eduardo Bolsonaro changed his story on Friday. Less than twenty-four hours after denying any management role in a biographical film about his father, the former federal deputy admitted he had signed a contract granting him financial control over the project. The reversal came after The Intercept Brasil published documents showing he served as executive producer alongside fellow congressman Mario Frias, with authority over budgeting decisions, investor relations, and resource identification for the film titled Dark Horse.

In a video posted to social media, Eduardo explained the contract dated back years, to when the film "was still a dream." He said he had converted 350,000 reais into roughly 50,000 dollars and sent the money to the United States to secure a Hollywood director and get the screenplay started. The production company, he claimed, made him executive producer as compensation for bearing the financial risk. Once actual investors materialized and the project moved entirely offshore, he stepped away from the role and received his money back. "Whoever says Eduardo Bolsonaro received money from Daniel Vorcaro is a liar," he stated flatly. "Whoever says I received money from that fund created in the US is lying. I got my money back because of the contract with the producer, but that didn't go through the fund."

His brother Flávio, a senator and presidential hopeful, echoed the defense in a CNN interview, calling the contract "old" and describing it as the legal mechanism Eduardo used to hold the screenwriter in place before serious financing materialized. But Mario Frias, the other executive producer named in the documents, issued a statement denying Eduardo had ever held that title at all—a contradiction that underscored the shifting explanations surrounding the project.

The film scandal had erupted two days earlier when The Intercept published an audio recording of Flávio soliciting financial support from Daniel Vorcaro, a banker now imprisoned on charges of orchestrating massive fraud at Banco Master. According to the reporting, Vorcaro committed to transferring 24 million dollars—roughly 134 million reais at the time—to fund the production. Between February and May of 2025, at least 61 million reais had actually been released across six transactions. When payments stalled, Flávio sent Vorcaro an audio message in September, calling him "brother" and describing the moment as one of the most difficult of their lives. He detailed the pressure mounting on set, the risk of defaulting on commitments to renowned actors like Jim Caviezel and director Cyrus Nowrasteh, and the need for immediate funds to cover mounting bills. "If you can give me a heads up, a position here Daniel, because we need to know what to do with our lives," Flávio said in the recording. "There are a lot of bills to pay this month and next month too."

The relationship between the senator and the banker had been brokered by Thiago Miranda, a publicist and founder of the Portal LeoDias entertainment website, who arranged their first meeting in Brasilia on December 11, 2024. From there, the contact evolved into direct communication between Flávio and Vorcaro, with messages and calls documenting a deepening familiarity. In one November message, Flávio wrote: "Brother, I am and will always be with you. There's no half-talk between us. I just need you to give me some light." The Federal Police are now investigating whether funds from Vorcaro were diverted to cover Eduardo's living expenses in the United States, where he relocated in February 2024. Both brothers deny this occurred.

Flávio's explanations shifted repeatedly. When first confronted by The Intercept hours before publication, he denied any relationship with Vorcaro entirely. By afternoon, he admitted the financing arrangement but insisted it was purely private and involved no public money or government intermediation. Later, in an interview with Globo News, he claimed a confidentiality agreement had prevented him from discussing the relationship earlier. Then, speaking to CNN, he suggested additional recordings or meetings might surface but insisted they would all relate solely to the film. The production company Go Up Entertainment, based in the United States, denied receiving any money from Vorcaro, stating it relied only on foreign investment unconnected to the banker.

The revelations have fractured the conservative political coalition. Economist Rodrigo Constantino wrote on social media that if the audio was authentic, Flávio's presidential prospects were finished. Senator Ricardo Salles, a former environment minister under Jair Bolsonaro, began publicly backing Romeu Zema, the ex-governor of Minas Gerais who had been discussed as a potential running mate for Flávio. Zema himself released a video calling the audio "a slap in the face of decent Brazilians" and saying it was unforgivable to hear Flávio demanding money from Vorcaro while criticizing similar practices by the left. Political scientists quoted by the BBC assessed that the scandal could interrupt Flávio's momentum in the polls and deepen internal divisions on the right, though the full electoral impact remains uncertain. Meanwhile, allies of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva seized on the revelations, with some calling for Flávio's arrest and others mocking the family's apparent financial desperation masked as filmmaking.