In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of...
When João goes to Brazil in search of a better life, he meets punk music enthusiast Maria and falls in love with her. But his involvement in the local drug trade makes him the target of a vicious drug lord.
Orfeu is a popular composer from a samba school. He lives in the favela and falls madly in love when he meets Euridice, a newcomer to the neighborhood. But the local drug boss Lucinho stands between them and will drastically change both their lives.
Situated just above the awe-inspiring Ipanema beach in Rio is the Cantagalo slum. Every day, floods of Cantagalo residents make their way down the mountain, only to disappear into their surroundings as part of the invisible working-class that cleans apartments, works in restaurants, and sells food...
32 renowned Brazilian screenwriters of the contemporary Brazilian cinema talk about their creative processes. From the concept of script to their agreements and disagreements, going through their experiences with filmmakers, their reaction to the finished film, critic, and even controversies on...
Free adaptation of Romeo and Juliet translated to the harsh life in Favela da Maré, one of largest and most violent slums in Rio de Janeiro. Living in a slum divided between two rival gangs of drug traffickers, Analídia is the daughter of one of the gangs' leaders and Jonathan is a childhood...
With executive production by Fernando Meirelles and direction by Fred Luz, actors Alexandre Rodrigues and Edson Oliveira are Buscapé and Barbantinho, two friends who meet again in today's City of God: bigger, more diverse and connected.
The strange friendship between two men of opposite social classes. Miguel is a senator. His childhood friend Jorge is a major drug-dealer. In the 1970s, they meet in prison: Miguel was there for political reasons, and Jorge, as a common criminal.
One day, Eduardo arrives at his house and discovers that Julia, his wife, tried to commit suicide. She left her husband and two children without saying goodbye. After some time, she comes back home. He tries everything to set her straight, but the impossibility of knowing her fully grieves him. The...
Two young boys, Laranjinha and Acerola, living in Cidade de Deus, one of the most violent neighborhoods in Rio de Janeiro, need some money to go to a concert. The "easiest" (and most dangerous) way to get it is working for some drug-dealers.
A documentary about urban violence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Policemen, drug dealers, and shantytown dwellers get trapped in a daily war that knows no winners.