CITY OF GOD (CIDADE DE DEUS) Latin Cinema Series

Told with equal parts aching tolerance and smoldering activism, CITY OF GOD is a raw, honest film. Director Fernando Meirelles and codirector Katia Lund assembled 110 non-professional actors into a stylishly imaginative story of one boy’s coming-of-age in the dark suburb of Rio-Cidade de Deus-City of God.

CITY OF GOD, adapted from Paulo Lins’ novel, depicts the growth of organized crime in this Rio suburb. Through the 1960s, ’70s and early ’80s, the story chronicles Buscape (Alexandre Rodrigues), who observes the tough neighborhood kids and longs to be a photographer if he survives. Dahdinho moves into the neighborhood around the same time. He dreams of being Rio de Janeiro’s most dangerous criminal, yearning for the opportunity to kill for the first time.

Fueled by arresting performances, layered storytelling and remarkable direction of the young cast, this mesmerizing work stimulates the mind in a raw, perceptive depiction of one man’s troubled relationship with the neighborhood that raised him.