Film aspires to give rise to change
By Bansari Sheth
Nov. 30, 2005 9:00 p.m.
Rio de Janeiro consists of 600 “favelas” ““ the
Brazilian word for an urban slum or ghetto with illegal squatter
settlements.
Anderson Sá is native to the Vigário Geral favela,
which, controlled entirely by an underworld society of teenage drug
armies and policemen, is considered the most dangerous of them all.
In the midst of such conditions, Sá, along with the other
members of his anti-violence movement, has made a name combating
brutality, using music and art as his weapons of choice.
Directors Jeff Zimbalist and Matt Mochary follow Sá’s
story in their upcoming documentary “Favela Rising,”
which Melnitz Movies screens tonight at 7:30 as part of its
Documentary Salon Series. Both directors will be available after
the film for a Q&A.
Sá, a former drug trafficker himself, led those wanting to
bring change in their favela to band together and form the
“AfroReggae Cultural Group” in January of 1993. As the
group continued to grow, it received a multi-year project grant
from a major U.S. foundation in 1997 and went on to create job
opportunities in addition to an extensive community center. The
group’s band, “Banda AfroReggae,” was signed to
Universal in February of 2001. Other members of the group went on
to join Cirque du Soleil and Barnum & Bailey. In his
documentary, Zimbalist aims to portray this success story as a
model for other communities.
“Instead of seeking revenge against the drug lords, this
film tells the story of a community using media and art to mobilize
change as an alternative to violence,” Zimbalist said.
“We hope to follow screenings of the film with concerts and
workshops that help people change their own communities. The idea
is to present a model for change ““ it worked in Brazil, maybe
this can work for you. It is an ambitious political mission. I see
the film less as a form of entertainment, and more as a tool for
change.”
Spending two and a half years filming, Zimbalist and Mochary
used footage from various sources to put their documentary
together. In fact, they taught members of AfroReggae and any
interested children how to film and edit.
“We shot the majority, but some of the most powerful or
shocking footage is what kids shot,” Zimbalist said.
“We’d leave them with cameras and then watch the seven
or eight hours of footage they’d have. We also did the
editing down there to make sure the voice wasn’t an
outsider’s interpretation, but consistent with the AfroReggae
members.”
Zimbalist became interested in the group because of its struggle
to create a functioning society in the most adverse of
circumstances.
“What works is the idea of creating something out of
nothing, an inside-out model of community development,”
Zimbalist said. “They are asking, “˜What do we have
already that we can use?’ AfroReggae found used tins in the
street and turned them into drums to create music. Through that,
they found a model customized to their community.
“Missionaries might come in to help, but it is hard for
them to identify with the teen drug lords. But Sá or (fellow
activist) José Junior are former drug traffickers and can
relate to them. They are proof that you can get out of the drug
army and make it past 25, and change.”
Despite the group’s impressive accomplishments, the
directors still managed to underestimate Sá and company when
it came time to talk business.
“We felt like we had a strong vision; the proceeds were
going to go to AfroReggae, but they didn’t want money back,
they wanted part ownership,” Zimbalist said. “They
played the business ball with us, and we didn’t expect that,
because we had some preconceptions about the third world ourselves,
so this was an eye-opener, not a conflict.
“For them, it wasn’t about profiting, it’s
about the concept of who is responsible for this. Junior and
Anderson grew up in a system that tried to take advantage of them
and they learned from it, and learned to make demands. What they
did here was symbolic.”
“Favela Rising” has won awards at film festivals all
over the world, was recently named “Film of the Year”
by the International Documentary Association, and has made the
short-list of the top 15 documentaries up for Oscar nominations.
But to Zimbalist, the acclaim is a means to a greater end ““
portraying the struggles of AfroReggae as universal.
“Winning awards creates momentum, but the greatest
satisfaction is when you have teachers or activists come up to you
after the film and say, “˜Let’s try this out,
let’s take this to the other side of the tracks, to the
slums, and show it there,'” Zimbalist said.
“People ask, “˜How can I donate to AfroReggae?’
and we just say, “˜Don’t donate to them. Find a group in
your community and help them instead.'”
