00:06
Insert: Film clip "5xFavela"

00:05
Drug gangs and corrupt policemen terrorize the residents in the slums of Rio de Janeiro.

 
00:16
The screenplay of this film is taken directly from reality. The director Luciano Vidigal and his film crew grew up in these slums. With their stories they want to show the complex lives of their ghetto world and break down prejudices.
 
00:37
Life in the wildly expanding settlements will be exposed to the world. 

00:49
A few doors down, a French crew are making a music video that uses all the clichés: The image of Rio as the happiest place on earth always sells well.

01:09
Each year 3 million tourists visit the second largest city in Brazil: soon this number will increase. In 2014 the World Cup will be played in Rio, and two years later, the Olympic Games will be held here.

01:27
The preparations for this mega event will take place in a time when the economy is booming as never before. At the Copacabana beach, the meeting point of the middle class, the mood is optimistic.

 1:43 OT
Tirone Dias de Lima
Insurance agent

1:47
"We are in a different state to that of Europe. We do not have serious financial problems like Europe and the United States because we were very well prepared for this development. "
 
1:58 OT
Anita Visconti
Pensioner

2:00
"The politics, the economy, the oil industry - everything is better, everything is expanding. I think the crisis in Europe is because much investment capital flowed over here. "
 
02:15
Brazil has become the sixth largest economy in the world, and all sections of the population will benefit from it.

2:24 OT
Sabelli Lohan
Marketing Consultant

2:29
"Brazil is one of the countries trying to match the first world. Everything is better here. Both the tourism on offer, as well as the level of safety. Just about everything. I think we now have a better country "
 
02:45 OT
Sergio Waddington
Economist

2:51
The local violence is only being fought because of the soccer World Cup. Many tourists feel safe already in the favelas, because the criminals were chased away from there. But they are still at liberty, they simply move to other neighbourhoods to commit their crimes.

But we Brazilians like to depend upon beautiful appearances. You build a cable car in a slum and you believed that all problems are solved. I'm very skeptical. You need to invest much more in social projects.
 
03:25
2 million people live in the favelas. In the north of Rio lies an area in which, until recently, foreigners would not have ventured. But times have changed.

3:36 OT
Luiz Carlos
Community Reporter

3:37
You see, here it is not particularly nice. Still, to me it seems like a paradise. You can imagine how it has here been previously. It was hell: garbage, fire, vermin, stench ...

Everything here was a huge garbage dump. As a child I ate from the garbage heap to survive - just like almost everyone else.

Once I soaked a piece of chicken in water and it came out covered in worms. Unbelievable, isn’t it?

04:18
Luis works as an Internet-TV reporter for his district. Everyone here knows him, and he knows every corner of the favela.
 
04: 29
OT Luiz Carlos

4:31
Look! We have an ATM! It is open 24 hours – all in our favela! Every day, armoured cars bring large amounts of money and leave it here!

04:46
"Previously this would have been something unthinkable! All credit cards are accepted. And here you can take out the money in peace."

04:58
How long has this machine been here?

Luiz Carlos
5:01
Since the programs were introduced by the government. ... Since the pacification.

05:08
"Pacification" is the new strategy of the government. And this is the new peace: for two years the district has been occupied by the military. These soldiers stand guard in front of the latest landmark in Rio: a modern cable car. It serves as a public transport for the 100,000 people who live in this rugged, chaotic mass of slums.

 
05:35
In air-conditioned cabins up to 3,000 passengers per hour are transported for a ticket price equivalent to half a €. To drive along the 3.5 kilometre stretch that connects the six hills around it only takes 15 minutes.

05:57
The cable car is an easy way to reach the heart of the city and connect to the bus and train network. A total of 12 million people live here in the metropolis. 

06:15
Rapid economic growth has created many new jobs. Since 2003, more than 20 million Brazilians have risen out of poverty and into the middle class. More and more people from the favelas now have a regular job here.
 
6:40 OT
Marcela Ferreira

Seller

6:42
"Now I no longer walk up the mountain. I drive down to work and back home, always in these pods. It's wonderful! But - I've gained a few pounds. I was much thinner before, now I'm fat. But for me there is still only the cable car!

07:04
Cable cars for transportation to the slums are not a Brazilian invention. Colombia and Venezuela have already had good experiences with it.

7:16
At an international seminar in the centre of Rio, strategies for innovative urban development are being discussed.

07:25
The Argentine architect JORGE JAUREGUI was responsible for building the cable car from Rio.
His vision for the future of cities has received worldwide recognition. His colleague, Hubert Klumpner, has arrived from Venezuela. The urban planning professor from Salzburg was involved in setting up the cable car in Caracas.
 
7:47 OT
Hubert Klumpner
Architect

"In Latin America there are now a number of projects, which are recognized worldwide as offering a model of best practice. These are then recreated in Asia and Africa. In Europe we know nothing about these, because it is now simply South-South cooperation. So if the Austrian company Doppelmayr, as a good example, had not got itself involved in this circle, they wouldn’t be asked to do these things."

08: 20
Not that the Austrian company is alone in capitalising on this opportunity: A French cable car company has also established an 80 million euro contract with Rio. The industry is on the upswing. Given the global population explosion, the world’s mega-cities urgently need solutions to their slum problem.
 
08: 38 OT
Jorge Jauregui
Architect

"In the favelas, slums house only the working class. And why do they live in slums? Because society as a whole is incompetent. It provides these people with unacceptable living conditions, not much work and no public transport. The state has done nothing for too long, so these settlements have expanded chaotically and without any control. Today, politicians need to understand that they must give priority to the problem areas - with major investments in the best available equipment. "
 
9:10 OT
Luiz Carlos

9:13
"We drive all day in the cable car"

9:16 OT
Lady
"It's nice, but I'm afraid"

9:20 OT
Luiz Carlos
"Look over there, this house is collapsed. This happens today. Luckily nobody was hurt, no one lived there. The surrounding people have been resettled. "

09:39
Many houses were demolished to build the cable car. The residents either received a cheque or they were resettled in new social housing. In other areas of the city, the demolition of illegal settlements has caused protests. But here no one is complaining. 

10:00 OT
Josemar do Nascimento
Construction worker

10:00 "It's much better here. I lived up there on the hill; that was very awkward. Everything is here on the doorstep; it is much better. "

(OPEN)

10:14 OT
Micheli de Almeida Pereira
Housewife

10:17
"Everybody is happy here with the new funding"

 
10:22
Are the insides of the houses beautiful?

10:24 OT
Housewife
10:26
"Compared with the past this is a palace"
 
10:32
But because of their flagship projects, the state have neglected other important redevelopment work.
 
10:41 OT
Luiz Carlos

10:43
"Originally, all these houses should have been torn down here. There were houses here that were demolished to make the road wider. This is important, but we do not know if they will continue. Money has to be made. You know, all the land in the favela belongs to the state, but the houses belong to the inhabitants. The government has paid to have these dwellings excavated. But if it is not acted on soon, the land attracts someone else who again turns this space into a home."

11:13
The granting of real property to the favela residents is planned, but so far remains only that - a plan.

11:26
Nevertheless, Luiz praises the many advances in their neighbourhoods.

11:40 OT
Luiz Carlos

11:41
"The youth can not complain. Those who are not trained here have themselves to blame. There is no shortage of opportunities "

11:50
Luis' family gets the state family allowance, and free child school equipment from the state.

11:49 OT
Luiz Carlos

12:01
"President Lula was excellent in his two consecutive terms. Especially for us in favela Alemao "

12:17
In a gondola another Lula fan sings a spontaneous song of praise to the ex-president.

CAPTION: "Lula is a super guy, he has conquered the favela without firing a single shot. With its social projects he has helped us and showed courage.”
 
12:42
The charismatic ex-President, Ignacio Lula da Silva, is recovering well from his cancer, and today is in the newspaper.

12:53
A photo of the current President, Dilma Rousseff, on his arrival in India can also be seen. The former fellow combatant of the left-wing guerrilla has replaced the former metal trade unionist as the head of the state. So far he has improved upon Lula's success: combining poverty reduction with economic growth.

13:19 The President was taking part in the summit of the BRIC countries in New Delhi - Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa. They are categorized as “still emerging”, but already they are world powers.

13:32 OT
Dilma Rousseff
President of Brazil
13:36
"The BRIC countries have in recent years become a major engine of world economy. Together, we will pay for more than half of the forecast for 2012 economic growth: 55% as calculated by the International Monetary Fund. This phenomenon compensates for the partial loss of demand from Europe and the United States, and changed the geometry of international trade and investment flows."

14:10
The good economic news, however, be accompanied by a disturbing message. On the front cover of the paper is a local favela, where the usual drug-related trouble has struck again.

 The next day the area is swarming with elite military units.

14:45
Special task force BOPE was, in November 2010, supposed to be the decisive blow against the drug cartels here in this neighbourhood. The brutal elite troops had carte blanche to kill, if necessary. They went on the offensive. 37 people died in the small-scale civil war.

15:10
Then the government sent in the regular army, to keep organized crime permanently away from the favela.

15:25
After two years, the first stage of the government’s pacification strategy is concluded. The regular army is withdrawing from here today; they will be used in another problem area instead. Here, everything seems calm – on the surface.
 
15:54 At the same time, the elite troops are penetrating the depths of the favela. But unlike 2010, this time there is not a single shot fired.

16:23
In the ranks of black-clad troops bearing the emblem of the skull, there are only six women. Captain Marlisa Neves acts as spokeswoman.

16:37
They confirmed that a new strategy is being used.
 
16:42 OT
Marlisa Neves
BOPE captain

16:44
"Between a man who runs away and a life that is lost, we would rather that someone runs away. We prefer the life."

16:56
Some gang members have moved to other, more distant slums. But most have remained in their familiar surroundings and just behave more quietly. But the fear remains. Luiz wants to help people to focus on what has improved. At home he creates his Internet television, but he only reports on the positive developments in his area. He avoids any conflict or controversy. 

17:27
Two years ago a 51-year-old reporter was brutally executed. He was caught when he tried to film with a hidden camera in a sex orgy of drug lords with minors.

17:40 OT
Luiz Carlos

17:41
"The gang took him prisoner, put him on the hill and then executed with the so-called Microwave-method.

17:49 They put him in a pile of car tires. They poured petrol over it to set it alight and burnt him ALIVE.

17:56 “So died Tim Lopez "

 
18:00
"If they wanted to kill me today, they had only to say: 'I've seen him with someone from the outside. He is a traitor. They would come here and do the same to me.

18:18 It is enough to just say that someone is a traitor.
 
18:23 Luis takes care of the children while his wife works as a cleaner all day.

18:40
It is not that long ago that Luiz felt afraid to let their children play outside. Shots were fired at any time of day. The gang members wore their weapons on display, the residents had to protect themselves from them, as well as from corrupt police and the brutal BOPE force.
Today, the special command exercise more controlled behaviour.

OT
18:58
Luiz Carlos

19:02
"The elite troops are very energetic and efficient. Even the criminals are afraid of them"

OFF

19:10
Are they less corrupt than the police?

OT
Luiz Carlos

19:13
"Much, much less!"

19:19
Eventually, the Special Forces are also removed. They are soon followed by the police. It forms the conclusion of the government’s pacification strategy.
 
19:34 OT
Luiz Carlos

19:35
"Here a police station is being built for the peace police. It is not yet finished, but it will be soon "
 
19:44
So far, 20 peace commissioners have been installed at different focal points of the city. Before the World Cup it will be increased to 40. The tally of 50 murders a day must be reduced quickly. 500 new applicants begin their training each month, and there are 6000 new peace officers every year. They are tasked with helping to re-integrate the slums into state structures and establish contact with the residents - and all without weapons.
 
20:19 OT
Renato Senna
Police Captain peace

20:23
“I've seen other times: I was even shot. Today I can walk around unarmed, alone, without being frightened. We are experiencing a big change in all parts of the city, where we are stationed long-term."
 
20: 45
The mission of the peace police is "To disarm the favelas, but in a gentle way"
 
20:53 OT
Renato Senna
Police Captain peace
 20:57
"We want to make clear that we DO NOT fight the drug trade. Drug trafficking, will unfortunately always be everywhere. It also exists in the residential areas of the Middle and upper class, or at universities. There the drug dealing is handled differently. Here in the favelas heavily armed drug gangs terrorize nearby residents. We cannot allow that."
 
21:28 The messages seem mixed. Officials claim to not be fighting the drug trade, and yet they have a zero-tolerance policy. Is Brazil quietly modelling itself on the U.S. strategy of executing a war against drugs?
 
21:43 OT
Major Daniel Morais
Military officer

21:46
"The drug trade will always exist in the world. But we have here a problem of naked force. The drug lords have kept the population in check with their weapons, but that is no longer the case here."

 22:02 OT

Marlisa Neves

22:03
"It is true that some drug dealers escape easily into the unoccupied favelas. But we also see that many remain here and there is reduced crime. The dealers keep to the background, they cannot be seen with weapons, they are less violent, and they know that we can combat their violence. However, they usually continue their illegal activities in their hiding places, and they know that they will have no problems if they threaten no one. That's the big difference. The problem for police in Rio is that we are fighting against the illegal importation of weapons from around the world. " 

22:50 In this video campaign, the Justice Department warns of the dangers of hand held fire weapons.

23:08 Most of the weapons on the black market are created in Brazil itself, but anti-weapons activist, Antonio Rangel, criticizes how the Brazilian drug scene is still a profitable business for the international arms industry. He currently advises several governments.
 
23:23 OT

Antonio Rangel Bandeira
Sociologist

23:25
Unlike the drugs, weapons have a legal origin. The drugs are illegal on the whole route, from production to consumption. But 99% of the weapons are legally produced. The legal market cannot prevent a legal weapon used in the illegal trade. Imagine a Glock pistol, which is sold to Paraguay.

23:59 When the Austrian government knows that the illegal arms trade in Paraguay is enormous, and that Latin American drug traffickers buy arms in the shops of Paraguay, then the government of Austria also knows that it is very likely that weapons are exported from Paraguay to the Brazilian drug trade land.

24:30. This I mention as an example. Each government is responsible for the control of our own exports. And even under capitalism, the companies have a social responsibility.

24:43 Weapons are not simply like laptops or mobile phones. Weapons are instruments of killing.

24:52 OPEN

25:10 The few favelas where today there is no real shooting, have become a tourist attraction. For example the favela of Santa Marta, where Michael Jackson once filmed  his hit "They Do not Care About Us". One can now get an impression of a marginal community that was, until recently, living below the line of perception. 

25:36 OT Rosemary cloth
Tourist (Australia)
"Our guide told us that Brazil is a very rich country with natural resources, oil, minerals and many others. A country this rich yet many people still live in poverty. I do not understand, this must be because of the corruption. "

25:50 OT
Christian Klöckl
Tourist (Austria)
"It has changed a lot in Rio. You can notice that in view of the next big events in 2014 and 2016, the football World Cup and the Olympic Games, a lot has been happening."

26:05 OT Rikke Marlene Binch
Tourist (Denmark)
 "It was very nice here"

OT
Line Nohr

26:07
Tourist (Denmark)
"Yes, everything is different than expected. Nice to see that the favelas are not dangerous "

26:13
The guests of the upcoming major sports events in Rio should not have anything to fear. Yet there remains the question of whether the reforms will be implemented further and how sustainable they will be eventually.
 
26:29
Luiz Carlos
Journalist

26:37
"You have a lot of health care, education, sanitary conditions and infrastructure. But people believe in change because they have seen positive signs of which they had not dared to dream. The abstract has become concrete. Previously, we had not even noticed it, but today the state is as present as ever. "

27:05
The Rio Earth Summit + 20 has recognized that poverty reduction is a cornerstone of saving the planet.