Cidade de Deus

Cidade de Deus (City of God) returns to cinemas 20 years after it’s Dutch premiere, in a new, digital remaster. Buscapé is a poor, black and very sensitive young man who grows up in a universe of violence. He lives in Cidade de Deus, a Rio de Janeiro favela known for being one of the most violent places in the city. Frightened by the possibility of becoming a criminal, he ends up being saved from his fate because of his talent as a photographer, which allows him to pursue a career. It's through his work behind the camera that Buscapé analyses the day-to-day life of the favela where he lives, where violence appears infinite.

An essential arthouse staple of the naughts, Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund’s epic of favela life crackles with passion, violence, color and visual wizardry. De film was shot on a combination of 16mm, 35mm and digital. Brazil’s submission to the Oscars primarily employs amateur actors, who light up scenes of relentless violence and restless flight.