BRASILIA, Jan 15 — Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro yesterday dismissed an Oscar-nominated Netflix documentary about the 2016 impeachment of leftist ex-leader Dilma Rousseff as "rubbish.”

The film, which exposes the deep political divisions in Latin America’s biggest democracy, has been shortlisted alongside American Factory, The Cave, For Sama and Honeyland for the best documentary prize.

"Am I going to waste time on rubbish like that?” the far-right leader told journalists in the capital Brasilia when asked if he had watched The Edge of Democracy by director Petra Costa. 

"Fiction... for those who like what vultures eat, it’s a good film.”

The film follows the rise and fall of left-wing icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the impeachment of his successor Rousseff.

Their political ups and downs paved the way for Bolsonaro’s 2018 election victory, which ended decades of leftist rule in the country.

While various Brazilian-made films have previously been nominated for Oscars, none have won a golden statue. — AFP