Elite Squad

The Elite Squad is a semi-fictional account of the BOPE, the Special Police Operations Squad of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police. The film is an intense and astonishing look at Rio de Janeiro's notorious favelas, the volatile slums on the edge of the city. It is set in 1997 and presents an intimate look at the city's vast and intricate web of corruption. Drug trafficking militias have virtual control within the favelas while the police run their criminal enterprises outside. The elite BOPE force combats drug trafficking – keeping order has its price though and their actions make it difficult to distinguish right from wrong and justice from revenge. BOPE Captain Nascimento is facing a crisis: in addition to the pressures of fighting within war zones, the Captain must find and train his own replacement so he can escape the day to day violence and be close to his wife who is about to give birth to their first child. Two of the force's newest recruits, Neto and Matias, are childhood friends: one is quick on the trigger to maintain order and the other refuses to compromise his ideals. Together they are the perfect replacement. Alone they may not have what it takes to survive. The Elite Squad was an outstanding commercial success, and became a cultural phenomenon in Brazil.

The film won the Golden Bear at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival. Other awards include the Silver Condor for Best Foreign Film at the 2008 Argentinean Film Critics Association Awards, the 2008 Cinema Brazil Grand Prize (for Best Actor, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Sound, Best Special Effects, Best Supporting Actor), the Gold Medal for Best Impact of Music in a Feature Film at the 2009 Park City Film Music Festival, the Best Director and Best Editing awards at the 2008 São Paulo Association of Art Critics Awards, and the awards for Best Film, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, Best Director, Best Motion Picture, Best Screenplay at the Prêmio Contigo Cinema Brazil.

Cast:
Wagner Moura (Capitão Nascimento)
André Ramiro (Aspirante Matias)
Caio Junqueira (Neto)
Milhem Cortaz (Capitão Fábio)

Director: José Padilha
Writer: José Padilha, Bráulio Mantovani
Runtime: 115 min
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Language: Portuguese
Production Year: 2007

The screening is part of the 9th Brazilian Film Festival