A Symphony for a Common Man

Brazilian Competition for Feature and Medium-length

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Sinfonia de Um Homem comum
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Sinfonia de Um Homem comum
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Dir. José Joffily

The Brazilian diplomat José Bustani was the first director-general of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Under his impartial leadership (1997 to 2002), the OPCW was on the verge of aligning Iraq with its directives when the Twin Towers were attacked on September 11, 2001. The United States, which would invade Iraq two years later, started pressuring Bustani to resign. However, to his immense personal cost, the diplomat endeavored to prove that the justification for the invasion of Iraq—the allegation that it possessed weapons of mass destruction—was entirely bogus. Today, as a retiree in Rio de Janeiro, Bustani devotes his time to his first love: music.