Prisoner of the Iron Bars, High-Rise

“It’s hard to express in words what our life is like in here, perhaps images work better.”—O prisioneiro da grade de ferro—Retratos
 
São Paulo’s Carandiru Penitentiary was the most infamous in South America. Not only because it was the largest prison on the continent, but also because of the bloody massacre that occurred there in 1992, when a police action killed 111 prisoners. At the time of its demolition in 2002, Carandiru contained 7,000 prisoners even though it was designed to hold 4,000. Not long before its destruction, filmmaker Paulo Sacramento held video workshops with prisoners and taught them how to record their daily lives. The resulting documentary, and the shocking conditions it depicts, offers a uniquely radical and moving experience. (123 mins., 35mm)
 
What does it mean to have a penthouse apartment in Brazil, one of the most financially unequal countries in the world? The exciting young filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro invites us into the high-rise homes of the privileged, interviewing residents of nine penthouse apartments across Brazil about topics personal, political, and economic. A strikingly photographed study of Brazil’s architectural development, the film provides unguarded insights into the world and worldviews of Brazil’s elite, as well as the increasing verticalization and urbanization of the nation’s landscape. (73 mins., video)