City of God Research

Fernando Meirelles' City of God is a sweeping tale of how crime affects the poor population of Rio de Janeiro. Though the narrative skips around in time, the main focus is on Cabeleira who formed a gang called the Tender Trio. He and his best friend, Bené (Phelipe Haagensen), become crime lords over the course of a decade. When Bené is killed before he can retire, Lil' Zé attempts to take out his arch enemy, Sandro Cenoura (Matheus Nachtergaele). But Sandro and a young gangster named Mane form an alliance and begin a gang war with Lil' Zé. Amateur photographer Buscape (Alexandre Rodrigues) takes pictures of the brutal crime war, making their story famous. City of God was screened at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival.

Directed by
Fernando MeirellesKátia Lund
Produced by
Andrea Barata RibeiroMauricio Andrade RamosElisa Tolomelli
Written by
Paulo LinsBráulio Mantovani
Starring
Alexandre RodriguesLeandro FirminoPhellipe HaagensenDouglas SilvaJonathan HaagensenMatheus NachtergaeleSeu Jorge
Music by
Ed CortêsAntonio Pinto
Distributed by
Miramax (USA)
Release date(s)
August 30, 2002 (Brazil)
Running time
130 min.
Country
Brazil / France / USA
Language
Portuguese