ACTS OF MEN should have been a film about the daily lives of massacre survivors in Brazil. Everything was planned for us to start shooting in April 2005. But reality did not wait. On the last day of March, exactly one month before shooting was scheduled to begin, things changed: A terrible massacre took place in Baixada Fluminense, near the city of Rio de Janeiro. Twenty-nine people were killed by a death squad, the largest massacre in the history of Rio de Janeiro. The killers are extermination groups made up of policemen who work in the area, and who are involved in extortions, kidnapping, drug dealing and homicide. This has been going on since the 1950s, but it has never been as extreme as it is today.
The film is organized in four parts: Daily Life in Baixada Fluminense shows footage of residents of the town that suggests it was shot before the massacre; in reality, it was shot afterwards. The Massacre describes the carnage and the feelings it provoked. Death Squads deals with the killing commandos in the area and includes an interview with a professional assassin. Daily Life 2 shows the people in Baixada Fluminense and their attempts to process what they have experienced.

Pays/Country: Brazil, Germany.
feature length documentary, 35mm. 2006.

Réalisateur-Scénariste / Director/Scriptwriter: Kiko Goifman

Image/Cinematographer: Diego Gozze
Son/Sound: Fábio Braga
Sound Design: Guga Bernardo, Marcos Boaventura
Montage/editing: Diego Gozze, Patrício Salgado
Recherche/Research: Marcelo Caetano
Producteurs/Producers: Beto Tibiriçá, Jurandir Muller
Co-Producteurs/Co-Producers: Gudula Meinzolt, Paulo de Carvalho
Direction de Production: Claudia Priscilla, Lorena Delia.
Format: 35mm, 1:1.85
Length: Durée: 75 Minuten, 24 Bilder/Sekunde.
Language: Portuguese (Brazil)

Production / Production
Paleo TV, São Paulo
Plateau Produções, São Paulo.

Co-Production / Co-Production:
Mil Colores Media, München
Cachoeira Films, Tübingen.

Funded in the WCF Jury meeting in June 2005
Funding amount: 25.000 €

Supported by
Prince Claus Fund (Holland) and World Cinema Fund (Germany) -

Rights sold to Germany

FESTIVALS/ SCREENINGS/PRIX/AWARDS

Berlinale 2006 - Berlin International Film Festival | BERLIN, Germany | February 16th 2006
* International Forum
* World Cinema Fund
* World Premiere

2006 | Festival of the 3 Continents, Nantes
* Golden Montgolfier Ex-Aequo for the Best Documentary,

2006 | Festival do Cinema Latino Americano | São Paulo/Rio de Janeiro
* Selection

2006 | "It's all true" Documentary Film Festival, Guadalajara
* Selection

2006 | Festival Internacional de Cine Buenos Aires BAFICI
* Selection

2006 | International Film Festival of Independent Films, Montevideo
* Selection

2006 | XXIV Festival Cinematográfico Internacional del Uruguay
* Selection

A work in progress version was exhibited in Locarno Festival/2005.