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This 80-minute documentary focuses on a man and a
movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter
settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and
many of his friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug trafficker
who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro's most-feared
slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street and
Afro-Brazilian dance, he rallies his community to counteract the
violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and
sustained by corrupt police. Just as Anderson's grassroots Afro
Reggae movement is reaching the height of its success, a tragic
accident threatens to silence his work forever.
Favela Rising exposes the gritty reality of life in Rio's
slums, where the average weekly salary is only US$13 (a
drug soldier can make $600), and violence and murder are
commonplace. Frustrated by ceaseless drug wars,
ineffectual police and a government that turns a blind eye,
former drug trafficker Anderson Sá and activist José Junior
set out to offer a different path for the youth of the Vigário
Geral favela.
The film shows the progression of the
movement, from a small reggae/hip-hop newsletter to a
far-reaching organization, with chapters in several favelas
and over 2,000 participants. The music of Banda Afro
Reggae - a hip-hop reggae band fronted by Anderson - is
featured throughout the film, including footage of
performances at schools, parties and local concerts.
For over two years, filmmakers Jeff Zimbalist and Matt
Mochary traveled between Brazil and New York to
document the Afro Reggae movement in Rio's favelas.
While living in the favela with Sá and Junior, Zimbalist and
Mochary taught youth members of Afro Reggae and a
group called Nos do Cinema how to use DV equipment,
often leaving cameras with the children when they returned
to NY. This footage reveals some of the more violent
episodes of the favela and proves to be some of the most
visceral, authentic scenes in the film.
Jeff Zimbalist (Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor)
is a director and editor whose films have been broadcast on
HBO, PBS, and WE television. Zimbalist's work has been
featured at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York,
the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, and The Museum of
Contemporary Art in Chicago. Favela Rising is his feature
film directorial debut. Matt Mochary (Director/Producer/Co-
Cinematographer) is a new filmmaker. Favela Rising is his
first piece of co-direction and production.
Favela Rising has been honored with numerous awards
including: Film of the Year from the International
Documentary Association; Best Feature Documentary at
the Big Sky Documentary Festival; the Tribeca Film
Festival's Best Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award;
Audience Favorite Award at the Leeds Int. Film Festival;
and Best Documentary at the NY Latino Film Festival.
Directors: Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary; Executive Producers: Ravi Anne and Rich Lim; Producers: Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist; Editor: Jeff Zimbalist; Cinematography 1: Jeff Zimbalist; Cinematography 2: Matt Mochary and Kelly Mark Green; Sound Designer: Mike Furjanic; Sound Editor: Paul Bercovitch; Original Score - Force Theory (Sanford Livingston/Ionic Furjanic). For Cinemax Reel Life: Supervising Producer: John Hoffman; Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins.
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