Elite Squad / Tropa de Elite
Brazil, Argentina , 2008, 2007

Directed by: José Padilha
Script: José Padilha, Rodrigo Pimentel, Bráulio Mantovani
Producer: Marcos Prado, José Padilha
Production company: The Weinstein Company
Cinematography: Lula Carvalho
Editing: Daniel Rezende
Music: Pedro Bromfman
Cast: Wagner Moura, André Ramiro, Caio Junqueira, Milhem Cortaz, Fernanda Machado, Maria Ribeiro

Format: boja, color, 35mm
Running time: 118'

Synopsis
Elite Squad is an intense and astonishing look at Rio de Janeiro’s notorious favelas, the volatile slums on the edge of the city. The film 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 (State Police Special Operations Battalion) 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 (Wagner Moura) 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 (Caio Junqueira) and Matias (André Ramiro), 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.

Directors Biography
José Padilha, born 1967, Rio de Janeiro, graduated from his hometown university and was also a student at Oxford. After gaining experience as a producer and director of television documentaries, he made the prize wining film Bus 174 (2002). The Elite Squad ties in to the social themes of Padilha’s documentaries and is his feature film debut.

Location and screening schedule: SC Cinema, Saturday, October 25th at 20.00