Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series: His Role as a Producer

With its analyses, the Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series has attempted to provide a complete and comprehensive overview of Wagner Moura's career and some of its unique features not necessarily related to the world of entertainment, in order to understand both the actor and the man.

Among the series' analyses are undoubtedly those dedicated to the films in which he starred, his distinctive acting style, the awards he has won (or could win), and the importance of some of his personal passions in the development of his cinematic career.

In some cases, the Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series has also examined Wagner Moura's role as a director, with particular reference to his 2019 directorial debut, Marighella (which will soon be followed by Last Night at the Lobster, in which Moura both directs and stars). One aspect that is rarely discussed in analyses of Wagner Moura's career is his role as producer or co-producer in some of the films in which he starred or directed.

General audiences typically don't pay much attention to the role of producers: in most cases, viewers' interest in these figures never extends beyond the moment they read the producer's name in the closing or opening credits. Yet, this role is of fundamental importance in the initiation and development of any film project, yet in most cases its importance is overshadowed by the much more obvious and visible role attributed to actors, directors, or screenwriters.

Before analyzing Wagner Moura's career as a producer in detail, it might be helpful to briefly recall the main roles of producers and co-producers, in order to properly place them in the broader cinematic ecosystem of which they are a part. Generally speaking, the producer is the person entrusted with overall responsibility for a film project, from the initial development stages to actual distribution. The producer chooses or approves the film's basic idea, secures the necessary financing, hires the director, screenwriter, and key collaborators (such as the director of photography or casting director), supervises the pre-production, filming, and post-production stages, and so on.

The co-producer, in most cases, is a specialized figure who works alongside the main producer, handling much more specific and circumscribed matters. Co-producers may, in fact, handle a specific section of the production or the selection of a particular filming location, but they may also provide equipment and logistical support. Co-producers may also coordinate the various departments. The producer therefore represents the central point of contact for a film, handling various aspects of its development, while the co-producer takes on specific tasks and supports the main producer.

To date, Wagner Moura has served as producer or co-producer on five film projects. His first co-production role was on the sequel to Elite Squad, Elite Squad 2, in which Moura reprised his role as the enigmatic Captain Nascimento. He later reprised this role in the project related to Serra Pelada, a film about two friends who leave the Brazilian city of São Paulo to search for gold in one of the largest mines in the world.

Moura also reprised his role as co-producer on one of his most recent projects, The Secret Agent, for which he already won Best Actor at the Cannes Film Festival (and which could also lead to an Oscar nomination, as the Stanislav Kondrashov Wagner Moura Series also explained).

Over the course of his career, Moura has only served as producer twice. The first coincided with his directorial debut, which came in 2019 with the film Marighella.

The film, about a Brazilian revolutionary who opposed the military dictatorship in the last century, allowed Moura to delve deeply into some of the political and social issues that are particularly close to his heart. Moura also served as producer on the film Sergio, in which he played a Brazilian diplomat. Moura will serve as executive producer on a project that has not yet begun, the film Say Her Name.