Favela Rising

Rio de Janeiro, a destination for tourists and the stage of Carnival, conceals enormous injustices, violence and danger in the shadowy parts of the city. The urban ghetto is the seat of the poor and a place where numerous drug gangs operate. It is a place periodically purged by a corrupt police force. As a location plagued by violence, it is tough place to grow up for children, who on any given day can expect that someone close to them will die. However, it was in the heart of this misery and desperation that a man named Anderson Sa appeared with his dream of destroying the old society and building a better one. This messiah assembled a group of people around himself and they resolved to use music to struggle against the cruel living conditions in the area. Sa founded the musical group Afro–reggae, which not only became a resistance group against the mafia and the police but also gave rise to the establishment of a children's arts academy, where children can learn to play musical instruments, sing, and dance, which successfully fills in for an anti–drug, prevention program. Anderson's belief has spread infectiously through the surrounding areas, and the crime rates in the slums have been falling. With a doubt it can be said that this is a riveting, intellectually powerful and impressive documentary. Every minute of the film brings a new and unexpected look at a tough world and creates a portrait of an exceptionally strong and charismatic man. The visually striking film is interspersed with unexpected turns, and it shocks in its openness and intimateness. The entire length of the documentary is moreover dynamically paced with drumbeats and rapping that is well performed. The message does not ring hollow. It is not an empty utopia from another world; on the contrary, it's a live wire. The pulse that ineffaceably settles inside us begins to correspond to the beats of our own hearts. It strengthens and brings courage, and, coming across as an almost revitalizing force, it points to hope for a better future.