A Little Rushed

I wasn't expecting to have something to report the day after I posted the previous message, especially something as important as an interview with somebody who has experienced the streets of the Favella (slums) first hand. Anyway despite my lack of preparation I did manage to interview Anissa Ladjemi on Brazilian cinema. Here's how it went.


Q - Does the film City of God represent the life in the Favella accurately?

A - In some ways it does and in some ways it doesn't because the majority of people in the Favella are just poor. The majority are not drug dealers. The problem is that the drug dealers have a lot of ownership around the Favella. So often, say if the electricity went out and someone might have to go over to someone in that environment and pay them to get their electricity back. So in a way poor people have to kind of in a sense respect the groups of people to get things done but it doesn't mean they actually want to its just the way it works.

The majority of people are poor because there is not a social system, there is no help from the government, there is no social security, there is none of that. So in some ways it is, where we were the drugs dealers at the top of the Favella and often you are not allowed beyond a certain point. So there is very much lots and lots of rules and you have to respect the rules of the Favella. If someone tells you not to go somewhere you don't do it, if someone tells you this is dangerous, you don't do it and if something does go wrong then you have to make sure you tell the right person so that it can be sorted out. So there are a lot of rules. So in some ways, I did hear the occasional gun shot, its not like it is on screen on those days people just don't leave their houses. It's not constant the City of God was at a time when Rio was basically at war with each other so City of God was when it was really a war zone between the police and the people living there. It's not as extreme now but it still goes on but not constantly like in the film. That was a moment in time.

Q - Was the City of God well received in Brazil?

A - Yes and no, people thought that it was fantastic that somebody had risen up out of the Favella and become successful but I think they were more worried about the damage it would do nationally because Brazilians who do not live in that community don't want to be judged by the people who do live in that community. They don't want people to think that everyone is a drug dealer, carries a gun or that every policeman is corrupt. So in some ways it was good because that is the reality of that community but it does not represent Brazil as a whole.

Q - The film was criticised, do you think this was a fair criticism?

A - Well, the City of God was based on true events, it's the truth, it's just that sometimes people do not want to hear the truth. It was criticised because it showed so much violence on screen, so I think that was why it was criticised.

Q - Is there a danger that the West only sees Brazil through the eyes of the Director, Meirelles?

A - There is a risk of that. Unfortunately Brazil is a country that is plagues by stereotypes. There is also this idea that the people in the Favella are lazy and don't work but that is not the case. Most people in the Favella work 15 hours a day and barely have enough money for a bowl of rice. The reason why there is so many problems with the drugs and the violence is because that is the way of earning money quickly. Working a 15 hour day for a bowl of rice you are not going to have many savings, you are not realistically going to be able to feed everyone so that's why people go into that because it's quick money, it's all about the money really.

Q- Are there any other films that you could recomend that represent the life of the Brazilian or Latin American people ?

A- Elite Squad is a recent film about corrupt poilice in Rio.

Centeral Station is also a good film, it won many golden globes and was a posertive film in Brazil as people felt it represented the real Brazil rather than just the hard life of the favella.