Between 1987 and 2001, 3,937 children were murdered in Rio de Janeiro, victims not only of drug dealers’ bullets, but also of a culture of permanent marginalization that for decades has forced them and their families to exist as subsistence dwellers in the horrific favelas – or slums – that ring Brazil’s metropolitan crown jewel. Out of this almost incomprehensible maelstrom of senseless death and degradation, where violence has become as much a staple of daily living as air and water, came Anderson Sa, a former child of the favela who pulled off a genuine miracle smack-dab in the center of hell on earth. A musician gifted with both a powerful voice and keen intellect, his movement to use the newborn music of AfroReggae to unite the people of the favelas – drug dealers, victims, and an initially resistant police force as well – Sa is a blessing and a revolutionary to the people of Rio’s slums. Zimbalist and Mochary’s astonishing film documents Sa’s rise with gritty, powerful grace, interviewing not just the musician-cum-miracle-worker, but also the embattled citizenry. Out of this cacophony of dread emerges, beyond all odds, the percussive thrum of hope in a hopeless place. Highly recommended.
Favela Rising screens as part of the Documentary Competition on Saturday, Oct. 22, 9pm at the Arbor, and Thursday, Oct. 27, 7pm at the Dobie.
This article appears in July 21 • 2006.