Our Shining Moments of the Decade

Favelas on Film

City of God (Cidade de Deus) is arguably the best Latin American film of the decade. The movie, co-directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, vividly brought the harsh realities of Rio de Janeiro's favelas to life. The recipient of over 50 film awards and four Oscar nominations, the 2002 Brazilian feature (adapted from a 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins) depicts the rise of organized crime in Rio's infamous Cidade de Deus favela. Told from the perspective of a boy named Rocket, the film managed to illuminate the dire situations many of Brazil's poorest city dwellers face. The tag line for the film says it all, ""Fight and you'll never survive...Run and you'll never escape."