City of God (2002)

City of God (Portuguese: Cidade de Deus) is a 2002 Brazilian epic crime film directed by Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund. Bráulio Mantovani's script is adapted from the 1997 novel of the same name written by Paulo Lins, but the plot is also loosely based on real events. It depicts the growth of organized crime in the Cidade de Deus suburb of Rio de Janeiro, between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1980s, with the film's closure depicting the war between the drug dealer Li'l Zé and vigilante-turned-criminal Knockout Ned. The tagline is "If you run, the beast catches you; if you stay, the beast eats you." The cast includes Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Jonathan and Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Daniel Zettel, and Seu Jorge. Most of the actors were, in fact, residents of favelas such as Vidigal and the Cidade de Deus itself. City of God received widespread critical acclaim and garnered four nominations at the 76th Academy Awards; Best Cinematography (César Charlone), Best Director (Meirelles), Best Film Editing (Daniel Rezende), and Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay) (Mantovani). In 2003, it was Brazil's entry for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but it did not end up being nominated as one of the five finalists. It is frequently listed by many critics and audiences as one of the greatest films of the 21st century and one of the best films of all-time. In 2015, the Brazilian Film Critics Association aka Abraccine voted City of God the 8th greatest Brazilian film of all time, in its list of the 100 best Brazilian films.