One of the soldiers of the AdA (friends of friends) faction is patrolling the streets of Morro do Macaco favela, one of Rio’s most violent shantytowns. A long war for controlling the drug market seems to have no end. At night the streets of the favela fall under total control of the AdA soldiers, who protect the favela from possible attacks from the other factions or from the Police. On the other side of town, in Lapa distric, the party goes on non stop.
Every inhabitant of favelas cariocas (of Rio), workers, bandits, old and young people are part of a reality that became internationally famous just after the success of the acclaimed film City of God by director Fernando Meirelles, featuring a bloody drug-related war inside a favela carioca.
These people are the protagonists of a suburban Rio, behind the backstage of the touristy spotlight of Copacabana, where violence, social discrimination and poverty sign their daily existence.