Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund, 2002, Brazil, 130'

Already fifteen years ago this impressive and often praised portrait of a group street children and drugs gangs in Rio de Janeiro. The film, which is very violent and full of flashy edits, is loosely based on the eponymous book by Paolo Lins, who wrote the semi-autobiographical story of his own childhood in the favelas. Director Fernando Meirelles would gain international acclaim with Cidade de Deus and would make an impression later on with the social critique of his films The Constant Gardener and Blindness.