Favela Rising - Mind Blowing Film

I'm at a lack for words right now. Anything I think of writing about this movie just can't convey how amazingly mind-blowing it is. The subject, the film-making, the main "characters" in the story.
If you watched City of God you should watch this movie to get another perspective of a similar issue. If you didn't watch City of God because of the unbelievable violence it portrays, then you should check out Favela Rising for sure. It's uplifting, it's positive, hopeful. If you work with young people of color here in the U.S. of elsewhere and/or people who are disadvantaged, poor, this is a great movie to show them and hold discussions afterwards. It makes me want to go back to the classroom and try to change my students' lives for the better. Showing them that there's nothing they can't accomplished if these guys in Brazil who had everything to go wrong were able to overcome. And not only that, but to be proactive in a way that has been changing countless people's lives. People from the Rio de Janeiro's worst favelas (slums).

All through music. What they call "Afro-Reggae," which is also the name of their movement.

I still can't believe that this film was made by two relatively young and unknown American film-makers. That's why the movie exists in the first place -- they had no idea what they were getting themselves into, so they just filmed. The implications of their acts they were to find out only years later, at the Tribeca screening last year (05). They were risking their lives and they didn't even know it.

Don't be put off by the "documentary" part. This is a film with an entertaining story, a beginning, middle, and end. With a conclusion, with many lessons. Don't miss the music video. Have you ever seen a kind of ultimate frisbee played with a vinyl LP? And used as a metaphor for the gang violence that plagues the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, nonetheless (too bad there aren't captions for the song lyrics). Oh, yeah, we weren't too happy with the subtitles, but I guess it's OK. Some things are lost in translation... but you should be still able to get the gist of it.

The "making off" is in some respects even more amazing than the film. I just couldn't believe how "innocent" the film-makers were. They really had no idea how dangerous it was even for their lives. This part is a second documentary, albeit much shorter.

I'll stop here. I'll let this film talk by itself, but please go get it right now. I don't know why it isn't available at amazon yet (only for pre-order) if I got the DVD from Netflix. Favela Rising has also a website, oh, great, you can buy the DVD there (or get it from Netflix)!! Here's an Afro Reaggae CD. Last words: this is grassroots activism at its finest. I'm so moved I really want to do something.

Oh, and here's Afro Reggae's website (in Portuguese).

P.S. my apologies for those who get the RSS feed. I have edited this post many many times. It's just that when I write quickly, on the spurt of the moment, I always have things to add (like the image and a few links) or change.