
City of God
Director: Fernando Meirelles Run Time: 130 min. Release Year: 2002 Language: Portuguese with English subtitles
Starring: Alexandre Rodrigues, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen
Screenwriters: Bráulio Mantovani, Paulo Lins
Producer: Andrea Barata Ribeiro, Mauricio Andrade Ramos
Co-presented by Vidiots community programming partner The Cinegogue
In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket (Phellipe Haagensen) is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood. José “Zé” Pequeno (Douglas Silva) is an ambitious drug dealer who uses Rocket and his photos as a way to increase his fame as a turf war erupts with his rival, “Knockout Ned” (Leandro Firmino da Hora). An astounding work of world cinema, this powerful and authentic coming-of-age story was shot on location in the streets and alleyways of Rio de Janeiro.