The following screening companion will guide you through the planning, set up, and execution of a successful Favela Rising screening workshop. It includes:

I.      Tools

II.           Planning the Screening

III.        Set-up

IV.       Pre-Screening Discussion

V.          Screening

VI.       Post-Screening Discussion

VII.    Favela Rising Worksheet

I. TOOLS YOU WILL NEED FOR A SUCCESSFUL SCREENING:

A.       One DVD copy of Favela Rising

B.       Audio Visual Equipment including:

DVD player

Data Projector or large screen TV for TV screening

Stereo with speakers

RCA Audio-Video Cables (Input/Output cords to connect the stereo to the DVD player)

C.      Screen or white wall to serve as a screen

D.      Before/After Workshop Guide, included in this screening companion

E.       Photocopies of FAVELA RISING worksheet for each student, included in this screening companion.

F.       Extra pens/pencils

II. PLANNING THE SCREENING

The following considerations will help you fine-tune your screening workshop:

Time:

Allow a minimum of two hours total, from beginning to end, to conduct the screening workshop. This time does not include setting up or breaking down, which can require 15-20 minutes before and after the screening workshop.

Space:

- If the group viewing the film is larger than 10, we suggest you do not use a TV to screen the film.

- If you use a projector, please use a room that can be effectively darkened with thick curtains or blinds.

Equipment:

- TESTING THE AUDIO AND VISUAL IN ADVANCE IS VERY IMPORTANT. Try to set up the equipment one hour prior to the screening in order to test the audio and visual. The hour allows you time to find parts you may have forgotten or to ask for help if you have trouble setting up and testing.

III. SET-UP

A.  Technical

All three components of the set up (DVD player, projector, stereo) are connected with one set of RCA Audio/Video Cables:

Yellow Plug: Projector (input) to DVD (output)

White Plug: DVD (output) to Audio Supplier, white hole (input)

Red Plug: DVD (output) to Audio Supplier, red hole (input)

* THINGS TO CONSIDER*

Visual:

There are subtitles in the film. The bottom of the frame (picture projected onto screen/wall) needs to be high enough for all to read easily. Using a thin book under the front of the projector base will help raise the frame to make reading easier.

Stagger chairs so that everyone can read the subtitles at the bottom of the frame. If chairs are lined up directly in front of each other, those in back cannot read the titles.

Audio:

- While testing the audio, keep in mind that the beginning scene of the film is not representative of the powerful music and drumming that the rest of the film displays. Make sure the audio is LOUD enough that the music can be powerful, while making sure the sound is quality and there are no reverberations. The fist big music scene comes about 15 minutes into the film. Be ready to adjust if the sound is too loud.

B. Pre-Screening Discussion

To set up for the pre-screening discussion, write the following terms on the board before the discussion begins:

Favela

Social Movement

Afro Reggae

Anderson Sa

Documentary

You are now ready to begin the pre-screening discussion with the youth.

IV. PRE-SCREENING DISCUSSION

This discussion should not exceed 15 minutes.

ASK the group:

Does anyone know what a favela is?

READ the definition of a favela from the film:

"FAVELA: (Fa-vel-a) - in Brazil, an urban slum or ghetto; illegal squatter settlement."

ASK the group:

What do you think you would find if you went to a favela?

(Write answers on board. If there is no board, write answers on piece of paper. You will refer to these after the film.)

ASK the group:

Does anyone know what a social movement is?

EXPLAIN:

Rather than define a social movement, REFERENCE:

1.The Vietnam War Movement and what it achieved through large numbers of people and non-violence: the end of the war.

2.The Civil Rights Movement and what is achieved through large numbers of people and non-violence: the change of U.S. laws granting African-Americans civil rights.

INTRODUCE:

1. Briefly introduce Afro Reggae.

Afro Reggae is a group of young people that formed in 1993 and seeks to offer a cultural and artistic education for adolescents living in favelas. By offering local youth more chances to do cultural and artistic activities, Afro Reggae hopes to provide an alternative to involvement in the prevalent drug trade.  Over the years, Afro Reggae has significantly improved the favelas for all people who live there, reducing violence and drug-related crime.

2. Briefly introduce Anderson Sa.

Anderson Sa is a former drug-dealer born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil who decided to leave the drug army and make his community less violent through music and art. He co-founded Afro Reggae with a local activist, Jose Junior.

ASK the group:

What is a documentary?

EXPLAIN:

A documentary is documentation of reality, like a newspaper article or an investigative news piece on the evening news. It is not based on a true story- It IS a true story.

IV. PRE-SCREENING DISCUSSION - CONTINUED

PASS OUT Favela Rising worksheets and read through the three questions printed on the sheet.

On Worksheet:

Pay attention to the scenes in this movie and try to imagine what it would be like to be the filmmaker in those scenes.

In what scenes do you think the filmmaker was:

Scared?

Brave?

Having fun?

Write down some of the words or lines that had the most impact on you.

"Free write" your reactions to parts of the film that you liked or disliked below.

V. SCREENING

You are now ready to begin the film. It will last 78 minutes. Please allow the film to play all the way through the ending credits. There is an additional scene at the end of the credits that is important. Encourage students to stay in their seats and to remain quiet until the final scene fades to black.

VI. POST-SCREENING DISCUSSION

This discussion should last at least 25 minutes

ASK the group:

In the film, someone says, "Music changed our reality".  What do you think he means by that?  

What does music have to do with reducing violence in the favelas where the people in the film live?

Why do you think the filmmaker included the part about Anderson almost dying and then recovering?

Why do you think the people in Afro Reggae keep trying to help young people even when their lives are at risk?

The film takes place in Brazil.  Was there anything that seemed similar to your life in the U.S.?  If so, why do you think that is.

How do the police treat people in your community?

Anderson and Junior are working to help their community by giving young people choices so that they don't get involved in violence. What does it mean to you to be part of a community?

How can violence be reduced in our neighborhoods and communities?

What can young people do to help stop violence?

REFERENCE the list made prior to the screening of what students thought they would find in a favela.

COMPARE that list: to the good things that now exist in the favela Vigario Geral, as exhibited in the film.

(Music, dance, freedom of choice to refuse drug dealers, more safety, hope, free concerts, jobs)

ASK the group

What good things happen in your specific community?

Who is responsible for these good things happening?

ENCOURAGE the group to congratulate or support the people who cause these local success stories, including each other for being in school and studying.

ENCOURAGE the group to tell positive stories about their neighborhood and focus on reporting successes.

ASK the group to write a short story about something good that happened in their community. If they don't know, ask them to find a local youth organization in their neighborhood and write a short description of what it does to improve their community.

WORKSHEET

A documentary film is a movie that documents reality, like a newspaper article or an investigative news piece on the evening news. It is not based on a true story- it IS a true story.

In Favela Rising, pay attention to scenes in the film and try to imagine what it would be like to be the filmmakers during that scene.

1.In what scenes do you think the filmmakers were:

Scared?

Brave?

Having fun?

2. Why do you think people in favelas are poor?

3.What are some of the things the people in the film said that had the most impact on you?

4.Below, freely write your reactions to parts of the film that you liked or disliked. You do not have to write in complete sentences. Use the backside of the paper if necessary.