Andre's Life

Between August 2004 and January 2005 Joseph Carter studied the economic and social effects of tourism on the favela of Rocinha, in Rio de Janeiro for his Masters thesis at U.T. Although tourism was the primary focus of his research, he was very much interested in the realities of Rocinha that the tours do not show. This led him to explore the most precarious areas of the favela and to see how their residents lived, including the neighborhood of Roupa Suja, where a significant number of residents survive by picking up trash. He had been collecting interviews on video for my project on tourism so he decided that he wanted to make a documentary film on the lives of the "catadores"(people who pick up trash) for the second part of the thesis. Joseph believes that images can have a more powerful effect than words, and a documentary film can be more moving than a written report.

In his own words: "I took particular interest in the lives of the residents of Roupa Suja because this area of the favela is considered to be one of the poorest and there is a negative stigma attached to it, an example of social stratification within Rocinha, which is in turn considered a subaltern part of greater Rio. A very steep hike to the top of Roupa Suja leads to some of the most precarious homes in all of the favela. One of the residents here is André Clemente dos Santos. The film is an example of the resourcefulness of the poorest favela residents in the absence of any social assistance or formal employment. The DVD reveals André's economic condition, his relative social exclusion, and his dreams and aspirations. André's experience is an eloquent testimony of the reality lived by millions of Brazilians."

See www.andreslife.com for more information.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• brazil
• rocinha
• favela
• documentary

[lookingfortalent2007]

you forgot to film the drug dealers that RUN the favela

[Tika77]

Nice subject, I also do this kind documentary...my suggest for Andre, trash could be useful, he can make kind of toys with the trash, and sell it...just like some people in Asia who has life like Andre...but, it's just advise.

[enerifebreri]

Kill the polticians destroy de government.

[djmrbrown00]

excellent... all of the best from miami

[gmandamang]

Dam! Everywhere i look my people are under the fingers of the struggle! This world can be a cruel place, in particular to certan races! But woll will rise! Rise above this sh**. Keep Going Andre, keep these documentarys coming.