How a fictional Kazakh journalist became a real-world political disruptor in 2020
In short: Fourteen years after his debut, Borat Sagdiyev returned in 2020 to influence the American presidential election. Sacha Baron Cohen’s mockumentary, Borat Subsequent Moviefilm, used elaborate pranks and hidden cameras to expose corners of American culture, sparking intense debate about the boundaries of satire, activism, and the power of comedy.
Released on Amazon Prime Video in October 2020, the sequel followed Borat’s mission to offer his daughter, Tutar, to U.S. officials. The production was a logistical feat, shot on 72 different cameras—ranging from high-end cinema gear to iPhones—to maintain the low-profile, guerrilla aesthetic of the original. Sacha Baron Cohen, who had previously claimed to retire the character, was driven by a desire to combat racism and warn against a slide into illiberal democracy ahead of the 2020 election.
The film’s methodology relied on extreme deception. Maria Bakalova, who played Tutar, auditioned alongside 600 other actresses before joining the project. The crew navigated dangerous situations, including a 2020 gun rally in Olympia, Washington, where they were forced to flee in a private ambulance after the crowd realized they were being pranked. Other scenes involved infiltrating high-profile events, such as the Conservative Political Action Conference, and staging interviews with figures like Rudy Giuliani.
Critical reception was polarized. While the film won Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy at the 78th Golden Globe Awards and earned Bakalova an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, reviewers were divided. Some praised its essential, searing humor, while others, such as The Wrap’s Alonso Duralde, found it to be a "cringe-worthy experience" that failed to recapture the shock of the original. Unlike the first film, which faced legal threats from the Kazakh government, the sequel’s reception was mixed; the Kazakh American Association condemned it for promoting xenophobia, even as the nation’s tourism board later adopted the character's "very nice" catchphrase to boost interest.
Ultimately, the film served as a bridge between entertainment and political activism. Amazon Studios acquired the distribution rights for $80 million after Universal Pictures sought to offload the project due to its controversial content. By the time of its release, the film had become a cultural lightning rod, with marketing stunts involving inflatable Borats in London and mask-wearing projections on historic sites, cementing its status as a unique, if divisive, artifact of the 2020 political landscape.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
- Also: Wikidata — Borat Subsequent Moviefilm · CC0
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