Favela+Rising

===Filmed in the //favelas//, or slums, or Rio de Janiero, Brazil, this documentary covers the grassroots AfroReggae movement in the late 1990’s-early 2000’s. Leaders Anderson Sa and Jose Junior use drums, hip-hop rhythms and Afro-Brazilian dance to spread their message and lure children and teens away from the death-filled drug cartels that have wreaked havoc for decades. They offer a more positive, empowering way of life that embraces family, community, and honest work. Through what they refer to as the “Shiva Effect,” (a reference to the Hindu goddess of destruction and transformation), they see AfroReggae as a life-affirming movement that brings hope and renewal directly out of the ashes of the //favelas//’ destruction.===

===Shiva is a mythic figure similar to the ancient Greek figure of the Phoenix, the golden-red bird who set itself on fire and then rose, renewed, showing itself to the warrior Achilles in order to restore new life to the Greeks who fought at Troy. The myth originated in Ancient Egypt, and several cultures around the world have had a similar god or mythic figure, particularly China, Russia (the “firebird”) and the Hohokam Indians of the American Southwest.===