35mm · wide · Cidade de Deus, Rio de Janeiro
Cidade de Deus · Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund · 2002
Paulo Lins’s novel of the neighbourhood he grew up in, filmed with a cast found in Rio’s communities. Meirelles shot the wide landscapes on 35mm and the faces and talk on 16mm. Here the places run wide, and the people close.
The gate
Meirelles shot the wide landscapes on 35mm and the close-ups and dialogue on 16mm, partly to save money. A 35mm frame is four perforations long; a 16mm frame is one. Wind the reel on and switch gauge: wide shows the place now, close shows who was there.
35mm for landscapes, 16mm for close-ups and dialogue.
Four perforations and 16 frames to the foot on 35mm.
One perforation and 40 frames to the foot on 16mm.
010 frames wound · 0.00 ft · 16 frames to the foot on 35mm
35mm, wide. Perforation 1 of 4 on frame 1 of 10: Cidade de Deus.
01 · wide
Cidade de Deus, in the west of Rio de Janeiro
The state of Guanabara planned and built it as part of a policy of clearing favelas from central Rio and moving their residents out to the suburbs.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone.
Cidade de Deus from above, January 2015. Photograph: Junius, public domain.
Cidade de Deus
Before it was a film it was a place people were moved to, in the west of the city, and it is still a home to tens of thousands. The story on screen covers the 1960s to the 1980s; the neighbourhood has gone on.
Cidade de Deus, in the west of Rio de Janeiro
The state of Guanabara planned and built it as part of a policy of clearing favelas from central Rio and moving their residents out to the suburbs.
In the 1970s families moved from other favelas made it grow, without the schools or sanitation it needed.
Paulo Lins grew up here and left at just over thirty. His novel, published in 1997, follows the neighbourhood from the 1960s to the 1980s.
About 38,000 people live here, in about 1.2 square kilometres.
Folha de S.Paulo listed it in 2002 as one of three filming communities; Meirelles has said the crew moved filming to other communities.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone.
Since 29 March 1970
The samba school’s court, Rua Edgard Werneck, Cidade de Deus
It was founded in Cidade de Deus on 29 March 1970 as Acadêmicos da Cidade de Deus, and took its present name in April 2012 at the community’s request.
Its colours are blue and white. Its 2016 parade marked fifty years of the neighbourhood’s history.
A flood in 1996 struck the whole community, and the school’s parade with it.
The neighbourhood’s own samba school. Its rehearsals are community nights in the months before carnival; go with someone local.
US$3.3 million, more than 2,000 tests.
Folha de S.Paulo: “Making of”: TV exibe bastidores de “Cidade de Deus” (23 August 2002)
More than 3.1 million tickets in Brazil, the largest home audience of 2002.
Four Oscar nominations.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences: the 76th Academy Awards, 2004
Rio de Janeiro
Live marketplace results for evenings at Rio samba-school rehearsals before carnival. None is tied to Mocidade Unida; ask locally for its own nights.
Live marketplace results · dates change
Compare toursThe cast
More than 2,000 young people from Rio’s outlying communities tried out. Reports put those chosen at about 100 to 200. They took four and a half to five months of classes, and the boys never read the script: scenes were built in rehearsal, and the dialogue was shaped with them.
Scene —
A scene sheet, written for this page. The dialogue lines are blank.
More than 2,000 tests; Nachtergaele the only professional in a leading part; Fátima Toledo prepared the actors.
Folha de S.Paulo: “Making of”: TV exibe bastidores de “Cidade de Deus” (23 August 2002)
About 2,000 auditioned and about 100 were recruited.
Sucursal do inferno (Carla Aranha, 1 September 2002), SescSP portal
About 200 residents were chosen.
Classes of four and a half to five months; no script for the boys.
Douglas Silva plays the young Li’l Dice; Matheus Nachtergaele, the one established actor in a leading part, plays Sandro Cenoura (Carrot); the musician Seu Jorge plays Knockout Ned. Alexandre Rodrigues is Rocket, Leandro Firmino is Li’l Zé and Alice Braga makes her film debut as Angélica.
Vidigal, on the hillside above the sea in Rio’s South Zone
Nós do Morro is a theatre group of Vidigal residents. The film recruited people who had taken part in its workshops.
Kátia Lund built the approach on an existing project with Nós do Morro.
Lund started a non-profit acting school to find the cast. It became Nós do Cinema, which offers film courses and work to young people from the favelas.
A home neighbourhood on a steep hill. Go with a resident-led guide; the viewpoints at the top are the usual reason to visit.
Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro
Live marketplace results for walks in Vidigal. Choose one led by residents, and check how the money reaches the community.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhere it was filmed
The film carries the neighbourhood’s name, and Folha de S.Paulo listed it as a location in 2002. But after a frightening night while making their short film Golden Gate, Meirelles and Lund chose to work in other communities, through their community centres. The film’s Wikipedia article says most of it was shot in Cidade Alta.
The move to other communities after Golden Gate; community centres; computers and football pitches.
Cidade Alta, Nova Sepetiba and Cidade de Deus as filming communities.
Folha de S.Paulo: “Making of”: TV exibe bastidores de “Cidade de Deus” (23 August 2002)
Cidade Alta, Cordovil, in the north of Rio de Janeiro
Folha de S.Paulo named Cidade Alta as one of the communities where the film was made.
The film’s Wikipedia article says most of it was shot here, because the real Cidade de Deus was in the middle of a conflict at the time.
Meirelles says the production worked through community centres and gave the communities computers and football pitches rather than fees.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone. The photograph is a view of houses elsewhere in Cordovil.
Nova Sepetiba, Sepetiba, on Rio’s far western bay
Folha de S.Paulo named Nova Sepetiba as a filming community.
A September 2002 report said the film was shot partly in Sepetiba, and that Meirelles spent three months living among residents during the shoot.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone. The photograph is Sepetiba beach nearby, which is public.
Rocket and Paulo Lins
The narrator wants to be a photographer, and the film gives him a real newspaper. The writer behind him studied Letters across the bay.
In the story
Avenida Rio Branco, Centro, Rio de Janeiro
In the film, Rocket starts out as a photographer at the Jornal do Brasil.
The paper was founded on 9 April 1891. It stopped printing on 31 August 2010 and came back to the newsstands on 25 February 2018.
Its office today is at Avenida Rio Branco 53.
Named, not pinned: a working office. Avenida Rio Branco is a public avenue in the centre; the photograph is an older view of it.
1997
Faculdade de Letras, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão
Paulo Lins studied Letters at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, joined the Cooperativa de Poetas, and taught Portuguese while he prepared his first novel.
Companhia das Letras published Cidade de Deus in 1997.
A working university faculty. See the building from the campus roads.
2002 to 2004
18 May 2002
1 Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes
City of God played Cannes in 2002, out of competition, in the Midnight Screenings.
It was shown out of competition because Walter Salles, one of its producers, was on the jury.
Meirelles had planned for 14 interviews in Cannes and did about 150.
See the steps from the Croisette. Festival screenings are for accredited guests and ticket holders.
23 February 2003
24–26 Leicester Square, London
At the 56th British Academy Film Awards here, on 23 February 2003, Daniel Rezende won Best Editing for City of God.
The film was also nominated for the foreign-language award.
A working cinema; buy a ticket for any film.
29 February 2004
6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
At the 76th Academy Awards here on 29 February 2004, the film had four nominations: César Charlone for cinematography, Fernando Meirelles for directing, Daniel Rezende for editing and Bráulio Mantovani for the adapted screenplay.
It won none. It had not been put forward in its release year; Miramax campaigned for it the year after, while Meirelles was in London preparing The Constant Gardener.
A working theatre on Hollywood Boulevard; see it from the street. It is now called the Dolby Theatre.
Fernando Meirelles, who paid for the film himself. Kátia Lund is credited as co-director; she was not among the Oscar nominees.
Meirelles paid for the film himself; Lund credited as co-director.
BFI: The City of God phenomenon, a new interview with Fernando Meirelles (Sam Wigley, 23 February 2024)Folha de S.Paulo: “Making of”: TV exibe bastidores de “Cidade de Deus” (23 August 2002)
Lund was not among the nominees.
10 Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes · Breakfast €50 if not included · valet €55–75 a day
A Croisette hotel of almost a hundred years, a few steps from the Palais des Festivals and looking over its steps.
See the hotelLos Angeles
Live marketplace results for walks along Hollywood Boulevard, past the theatre where the film had its four nominations.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare tours9 places on the map: 6 in Rio de Janeiro and 3 in Cannes, London and Hollywood. The communities are marked at neighbourhood level only, and the newspaper is named but not pinned.
Pins mark public places; private homes are named but not pinned.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. The neighbourhood’s own samba school. Its rehearsals are community nights in the months before carnival; go with someone local.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone. The photograph is a view of houses elsewhere in Cordovil.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone. The photograph is Sepetiba beach nearby, which is public.
General reference · Restricted access · Coordinate precision: site · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A home neighbourhood on a steep hill. Go with a resident-led guide; the viewpoints at the top are the usual reason to visit.
General reference · Public access · Coordinate precision: building · Not an exact scene or camera position; not a visitor route. A working university faculty. See the building from the campus roads.
Cidade de Deus, in the west of Rio de Janeiro
The state of Guanabara planned and built it as part of a policy of clearing favelas from central Rio and moving their residents out to the suburbs.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone.
The samba school’s court, Rua Edgard Werneck, Cidade de Deus
It was founded in Cidade de Deus on 29 March 1970 as Acadêmicos da Cidade de Deus, and took its present name in April 2012 at the community’s request.
The neighbourhood’s own samba school. Its rehearsals are community nights in the months before carnival; go with someone local.
Cidade Alta, Cordovil, in the north of Rio de Janeiro
Folha de S.Paulo named Cidade Alta as one of the communities where the film was made.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone. The photograph is a view of houses elsewhere in Cordovil.
Nova Sepetiba, Sepetiba, on Rio’s far western bay
Folha de S.Paulo named Nova Sepetiba as a filming community.
A home neighbourhood, not a film set. There are no film sights here and no shot positions are given. Go only with a resident-led guide, keep to main streets, and ask before photographing anyone. The photograph is Sepetiba beach nearby, which is public.
Vidigal, on the hillside above the sea in Rio’s South Zone
Nós do Morro is a theatre group of Vidigal residents. The film recruited people who had taken part in its workshops.
A home neighbourhood on a steep hill. Go with a resident-led guide; the viewpoints at the top are the usual reason to visit.
Faculdade de Letras, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão
Paulo Lins studied Letters at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, joined the Cooperativa de Poetas, and taught Portuguese while he prepared his first novel.
A working university faculty. See the building from the campus roads.
Stay
A Croisette hotel a few steps from where the film was first shown.
10 Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes · Breakfast €50 if not included · valet €55–75 a day
A Croisette hotel of almost a hundred years, a few steps from the Palais des Festivals and looking over its steps.
See the hotelGo there
Walks in Vidigal and samba-school nights in Rio, best with resident guides, and Hollywood Boulevard.
Vidigal, Rio de Janeiro
Live marketplace results for walks in Vidigal. Choose one led by residents, and check how the money reaches the community.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursRio de Janeiro
Live marketplace results for evenings at Rio samba-school rehearsals before carnival. None is tied to Mocidade Unida; ask locally for its own nights.
Live marketplace results · dates change
Compare toursLos Angeles
Live marketplace results for walks along Hollywood Boulevard, past the theatre where the film had its four nominations.
Live marketplace results · itineraries change
Compare toursWhat’s on
The festival’s 80th edition, where the film had its midnight screening in 2002.
Checking current event dates…
Take it home
Paulo Lins’s novel in English and the 2002 soundtrack album.
Paulo Lins · Black Cat / Grove, 2006
The novel in English.
Find the bookVarious artists · CD, BMG Brasil, 2002
The 2002 Brazilian soundtrack album.
Live marketplace search · listings and condition change
Find a copyDates, prices, rooms and stock change: confirm with the provider before you travel or buy. A stay or tour is described as a filming location only where the card says so.
Every place and moment behind this page, with sources.
10 of 10 places · 13 of 13 Moments
Cidade de Deus, in the west of Rio de Janeiro
The state of Guanabara builds Cidade de Deus for families moved out of central Rio.
Lins takes Meirelles into the neighbourhood he grew up in, before production; his presence lets them through.
The film opens in Brazil. It cost US$3.3 million; more than 3.1 million tickets are sold there, the largest home audience of 2002.
The samba school’s court, Rua Edgard Werneck, Cidade de Deus
Acadêmicos da Cidade de Deus, now Mocidade Unida, is founded in the neighbourhood.
Cidade Alta, Cordovil, in the north of Rio de Janeiro
Cidade Alta stands in for Cidade de Deus.
Nova Sepetiba, Sepetiba, on Rio’s far western bay
Part of the film is shot in Sepetiba; Meirelles lives among residents for three months.
Vidigal, on the hillside above the sea in Rio’s South Zone
More than 2,000 young people from Rio’s outlying communities try out; the cast is almost entirely non-professional.
Months of classes; the boys never read a script, and scenes are built from rehearsal and improvisation.
Faculdade de Letras, Cidade Universitária, Ilha do Fundão
Lins, who studied Letters at UFRJ, publishes Cidade de Deus with Companhia das Letras.
Avenida Rio Branco, Centro, Rio de Janeiro
In the story, Rocket starts as a photographer at the Jornal do Brasil.
1 Boulevard de la Croisette, Cannes
The film is shown out of competition at Cannes and sold to every continent.
24–26 Leicester Square, London
Daniel Rezende wins the BAFTA for editing.
6801 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles
Four Oscar nominations: cinematography, directing, editing and adapted screenplay.
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