Attendees: Students mostly aged 16-18 from Sapopemba; human rights workers
Debate speakers: Valdênia Lanfranchi (lawyer and human rights worker, founder of Escola de Cidadânia Sapopemba); Gabriel Feltran (senior lecturer University of São Carlos and author of Brother: A History of the PCC)
We started early in Sapopemba with the lovely Renato and Valdênia, founders of the Escola da Cidadania (Citizenship School). Valdênia and Renato are a couple who have dedicated their lives to defending human rights in Sapopemba. He was an Italian priest but left priesthood to marry Valdênia. They are living in a time where such people are under threat. Valdênia is a lawyer and human rights activist who has had to leave São Paulo in the past due to threats on her life from police. Renato is currently studying social humiliation. They are married and run a human rights centre as well as many other activities and organisation in the community. The screening was in a big auditorium of a CEU (Educational Centre). CEUs are specific to São Paulo and funded by government - they are 46 in the state, attending 120,000 people. They function as normal schools, as well as dance, theatre, sport, courses, and more. Val and Renato almost filled the place, with approximately 200 people. Some were students from secondary school, others were local people of all ages and working mainly in the area of education and human rights. The day, as with others, was a learning experience in different ways. During the screening, Lee, Matt, Valdênia and I formed a factory line to make a few hundred sandwiches!
At the Q and A, among others, was with Gabriel Feltran, a writer of the recently launched book Brothers, a History of the PCC, who has worked in Sapopemba as a researcher for 20 years. It was the partnership with him - which came about when More Earth Will Fall was screened at the British Academy conference on ‘Big Cities’, which he also attended - that allowed the project to flourish, due to his kindness, passion for the project and many contacts of interesting people. Also in the Q and A was Matt Richmond, a geographer from the UK who has lived in Brazil for ten years and was with us translating for Lee but also participating in the debates due to his extensive research in the area of favelas in Rio and São Paulo.
It was so emotional to hear people talk about the film, often telling their own stories which the film reminded them of. Gabriel talked about the film and he talked of an experience he had recently with a mum losing her son. After the debate, another woman who works in education talked to us and she was in tears because she said she could just think about her son as she was watching it. A local politician was there, but left early because he his car was stolen - indicative of the fact car theft in São Paulo is the worst in Brazil. A woman stood up and said she works in the education department at state level and wants to see about showing the film in all 46 CEUs in the State.
Another woman who works with the 5 local CEUs said she can definitely show it in the local CEUs. She was quite overwhelmed. Many, many people said it is not that they do not know the reality that plays out in More Earth Will Fall but it is just the sensitivity of it and the way it touches on so many themes that are so common to so many Brazilians.
Afterwards, they presented us with these pictures they made. They were made by local people at an organisation set up by Valdenia and Renato called CEDECA. They wanted to use art to protest the proposal to reduce the age of criminla responsibility from 18 to 14. So this was their way to express their opposition to that.
At the end of the debate, Lee did a whole speech in Portuguese - that got the biggest cheer of the night!
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