Peace
Documentary series exploring Rio's shanty-towns, the favelas. In Cantagalo, delivery man Rocky carries goods up the steep staircases overlooking Copacabana and Ipanema.
As the eyes of the world turn to Rio de Janeiro for the 2014 World Cup, this three-part observational series reveals the truth about life inside Rio's famous shanty-towns, the favelas, through the lives of people who live there.
For years, the favelas were considered dangerous no-go areas, ruled by brutal drug traffickers. The government even built walls that hide them from view. Now with extraordinary access to these hidden worlds, this series reveals the favelas are places of energy, resourcefulness and humour, the crucible of all that is hot about Rio.
As part of the preparations for the World Cup and Olympics, the government has launched a military campaign to wrest control of the favelas from the drug gangs, a process they call 'pacification'. The series shows how pacification threatens the favelas' whole way of life, creating new problems even as it solves the old.
The first episode is filmed in one of the first favelas to be pacified, Cantagalo, a labyrinth of secret stairways that sits high on the hills overlooking the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema.
The film follows two men: Rocky, a delivery man extraordinaire, who works every day to support his family carrying fridges, ovens and televisions on his shoulders up Cantagalo's steep staircases. As if those feats were not enough, he's also got to deal with his wayward son Felipe, who's caught up in the battle between the police and drug traffickers for control of the hill.
It also tells the story of Acme, a graffiti artist who lives with his family beside a football pitch where drug traffickers used to execute those who broke their rules. The shooting may have stopped, but Acme faces a new threat, thanks to pacification. The government has declared his house is unsafe and has to be demolished.
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Clips
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Acme - The graffiti artist
Duration: 02:42
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Rocky's epic journey
Duration: 03:04
Music Played
Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes
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Yaiza Varona
Olinda 60's
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Turkish March (Alla Turca)
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Oliver Ledbury
Empty City 3
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Tim Garland
Freeway Beat
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Tina Guo
Sanctus
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Barker & Lomax
Little Nemo
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Giuseppe Verdi
Les Vepres Siciliennes (The Sicilian Vespers)
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MC Júnior & MC Leonardo
Rap Das Armas
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Bob Bradley & Lincoln Grounds
Paris Dreamer 5
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Pete Masitti & John Barrow
Farewell
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Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Hallelujah
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Oliver Ledbury
Empty City 3
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Bill Bruford
Afro Cuban Groove
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Tim Garland
Last Dance
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Christopher Ashmore
Swing Thing
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Richard Wagner
Lohengrin
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Academy of St Martin in the Fields
Glory to the god in the highest
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Crispin Taylor, Ernie McKone & Toby Baker
Down Orange Street
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Arthur Fiedler, Leo Litwin, Samual Lipman, Martin Hoerman & Boston Pops Orchestra
The Cuckoo in the Depth of the Forest
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The Champs
Tequila
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Edvard Grieg
Anitra's Dance (Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op.46)
Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields. Conductor: Neville Marriner. -
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Tim Devine & Francisco Renno
Impressions of Twilight
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Claude Debussy
Clair De Lune
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Barrie Gledden, Richard Lacy & Richard Kimmings
Alley Catz
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Keith Nichols
Royale St.
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Keith Nichols
Voodoo Nights
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Series Editor | Sunshine Jackson |
| Director | Edward Watts |
| Producer | Andrew Palmer |
| Producer | Will Anderson |
"From the moment I set foot in the favelas, I fell in love with them"
Director Edward Watts on how he had ten minutes to film the vital shots.