Complexo: Parallel Universe

Favela Government

Invalid date •English

Brazil's "Red Command" drug cartel is considered a plague by the government. But for the people of the favelas they control, Red Command *is* the government. They’re the de facto leadership of the area. The gang has taken over the role of the authorities in their shanty towns, where the state has long abandoned them. Away Days got special access to the Rio favelas, hanging out out with young foot-soldiers, speaking to commanders, and seeing how civilians live between the gangs and the equally violent police militias.

The Miracle of Candeal

September 2004 •Spanish

The story of the Candeal favela in Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, where musician Carlinhos Brown carries out social and cultural initiatives that protect and enrich the lives of its inhabitants every day.

Birth of the Tramp

December 2013 •French

A look back at Charlie Chaplin's early life and career, from his rough childhood and music hall success in England to his early Hollywood days and the development of his enormously popular character, the Little Tramp, also called Charlot.

School Town King

December 2020 •Thai

It follows two teenage rappers in Bangkok who use their musical talent to navigate their difficult circumstances.

The Corporate Coup D'État

November 2018 •English

A democracy should protect its most vulnerable citizens, but increasingly the United States is failing to do so. This investigation blends the insights of experts with the experiences of citizens of the Rust Belt in the Midwest where the steel industry once flourished, but where closures and outsourcing have left urban areas desolate. It is here where Donald Trump finds some of his most fervent supporters.

Our Stories, Ourselves

April 2013 •Portuguese

Sixty-six adolescents, residents of Favela da Maré, were selected to participate in a dance show led by the choreographer Ivaldo Bertazzo, which incorporated their own daily experiences. Ten years later, directors David Meyer and Helena Soldberg search for some of the participants of this experience.

Straight to the Point

November 2012 •Portuguese

Documentary about the singer Bezerra da Silva and the relation with his composers.

Inside the Mind of Favela Funk

February 2016 •English

Set in Rio de Janeiro's most notorious favelas, the underprivileged youth share their perspective on the extremely popular, pornographic favela funk music with respect to their personal (love) lives, situated in a lawless subculture of drug gangs, machismo, violence and sex.

L'Homme de Rio - A vida loca

July 2022 •French

Favela no Ar

January 2002 •Portuguese

The documentary shows the awakening of the poor youth to social consciousness in the identification of life that imitates art with art that imitates life. It is the São Paulo chapter of the cultural history of national rap in the voice of its main exponents.

Dancing with the Devil

January 2009 •English

Rio de Janeiro. September, 2008. Three men stalk the gloomy back-alleys of the city's notorious slums. Spiderman, a 28-year-old drug lord, embarks on a routine patrol through the shadowy streets of Coréia, the sprawling slum he controls. Inspector Leonardo Torres, a muscle-bound operative from Rio's drug squad, inches through the alleys of another shantytown, shots ringing out around him. And Pastor Dione, an evangelical preacher intent on ending Rio's drug conflict, trawls the slums for lost souls. With unprecedented access to some of Rio's most wanted men, Dancing with the Devil in the City of God tells the story of Rio's drug war through the eyes of three men locked into one of the bloodiest urban conflicts on earth. Written by Jon Blair and Tom Phillips

Black I Am

November 2020 •Spanish

The women of the first Garífuna community in Honduras work hard for the future of their daughters. Surrounded by a dazzling landscape, they celebrate their identity and the importance of maternal figures.

São Paulo: Uma Cidade Segregada

November 2020 •Portuguese

Chega de Demanda

January 1973 •Portuguese

Documentary addressing the composer Cartola and the transformations that took place in Morro Carioca and in Samba during his life. Founder of the Escola de Samba Estação Primeira de Mangueira, Cartola has his life and his music marked by his community and his School, far from the city His school, created as a playful and expressive center for the mangueirense, has now become a point of tourist attraction. This made work possible for the inhabitants of the hill, but it transformed the spirit of samba and its aesthetics.

Notes on a True Story

January 1953 •Italian

On the evening of March 11, 1950, Annabella Bracci, a 12-year-old girl, was brutally killed and thrown into a pit on the outskirts of Rome, near the village of Primavalle. A brief and poetic account of the events and their impact on an impoverished community. A handful of wild flowers and a painful catch in the voices.

Under the water

Invalid date •English

A daily life in Korogocho, Kenya, one of the world’s poorest slums.

Complexes

October 2020 •Portuguese

The short documentary ‘Complexos‘ features intimate and emotional views on how residents of favelas in Rio de Janeiro use media and arts to raise their voices and act for justice, dignity and respect. ‘Complexos’ is part of a collaborative process between the Finland-based Anti-Racism Media activism Alliance (ARMA Alliance) and the favela-based audiovisual collective Cafuné na Laje.

The Changing Face Of Salford Collection

January 1970 •English

Between 1968 and 1970, J M Goodger, a lecturer at the University of Salford, made a film record of the living conditions in the slums of Ordsall, Salford, which were then in the process of being demolished. Under the title 'The Changing face of Salford', the film was in two parts: 'Life in the slums' and 'Bloody slums'.

Public Domain

June 2014 •Portuguese

Between 2011 and 2014, the documentary investigated the changes in Rio de Janeiro on behalf of mega-events: UPPs in slums, forced evictions, public spaces privatization and popular uprisings.

Brasilianische Protokolle 2

February 1992 •German

Documentary film about a slum community on the outskirts of Recife, a major city in northeastern Brazil. A portrait of life in extreme poverty and lawlessness: men without work, hopeless women, hungry and sick children.