Favela Rising opens in New York City June 2 at Village East Cinemas (181 2nd Avenue at E 11th St).
Favela Rising documents 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 Janeiros 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.
At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Andersons grassroots Afro Reggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever.
Favela Rising is a powerful documentary and a film with a very different agenda. Favela Rising shows how the music and culture of Brazil's underclass transform into a catalyst for grassroots social-change. It is a film about a community that works.
The directors and producers of Favela Rising are giving all proceeds back to the community where it was filmed and to the Afro Reggae movement.
Favela Rising has won numerous film awards including:
Best Film (International Documentary Association)Best Emerging Documentary Filmmaker for Co-Director's Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary (Tribeca Film Festival)The Audience Favorite Award (Leeds International Film Festival) and many others.
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Visit the official site of Favela Rising for trailers, photos, and more information about the film. And stay tuned to this space for updates about the film, the music, and the community.
