NEWS
EVENTS
Essential Cinema: City of God (2002)
Fernando Meirelles’ Oscar-nominated coming-of-age classic set in Rio de Janeiro in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s documents the violence and poverty of the favelas through the eyes of two young boys, Rocket and Lil Ze.
Rocket aspires to be a world famous photographer through his documentation of the harsh reality of living in the slums. Whilst at the same time, Lil Ze becomes involved in drug dealing… highlighting the dog-eat-dog world that is the Brazilian favelas.
Although having some seriously disturbing scenes (including a scene where a young boy, no older than 10, is given the choice of shooting his own foot or friend’s foot), the film is generally an inspiring tale of achievement rising out of a seemingly doomed childhood. Meirelles introduces us to the idea of being rewarded for following your dreams and staying away from temptation.
If you need even more convincing to watch this incredible piece of cinema, take a look at it's impressive award record. Altogether, the film has won 65 awards and been nominated for a further 32 more. It also ranks at number 21 of IMDB’s top 250 films, with a rating of 8.6/10. Some of it’s most notable achievements are:
× Four Oscar nominations (Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography and Best Film Ending).
× One Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.
× Two BAFTA wins for Best Editing and Best Film not in the English Language.
