, an award-winning documentary which highlights the hard life and difficult choices faced by inhabitants of a Brazilian ghetto, will screen at the Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) next month.

Set in Vigario Geral, one of the worst of Rio de ,

HE Rolling Stones last week held a free concert in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Opening at Copacabana Beach for that legendary band was a musical group of lesser-knowns ? people from the slums of that city who somehow succeeded against the odds. Their tale is now the focus of

"documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a (Brazilian squatter settlement) united," a BIFF spokesperson explained. "Anderson Sa is a former drug-trafficker who, haunted by the murders of his family and many of his friends, turns revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro's most feared slum.

"Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance he rallies his community to war against the violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police. At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson's grass-roots AfroReggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever."

The film is a collaboration between Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist

Said Mr. Mochary: "About three years ago I'd been very involved in philanthropy and community events, and through my travels, was seeing amazing things in parts of the world that the average person didn't get to see. I thought it was important to share my stories with the world and that the best way was through film. I decided to take a course at the New York Film Academy (NYFA)."

He finished the course and travelled to Brazil intending to highlight extreme discrepancies between Rio's affluent and poor communities. "I met Anderson and Junior within the first few weeks. They had an incredible story and I very quickly realised the story was far bigger than my five-week crash film course skills."

Desperate for an experienced film-maker, Mr. Mochary turned to his former NYFA teacher for assistance. An award-winning director and editor, Mr. Zimbalist had produced numerous documentary films, many of which have been broadcast on HBO, PBS, Women's Entertainment Television, Cinemax and various news programmes. According to the fledgling film-maker, the only incentive he could offer his former professor was a $500 air ticket to Rio and the promise of a good story.

Said Mr. Mochary: "After 30 minutes on the phone, he said he would quit his job and do it. He said it was every film-maker's dream to hear a great story. Our idea was not just to do a film about Anderson, but to document the poverty on the hills and the wealth on the beach, a film demonstrating the lives of people from each society. We wanted to show how close they are physically, but how they never come within 400 yards of each other."

The film-maker said they initially shot for four months and made several subsequent trips in order to complete the documentary. "We needed more footage. We wanted a fuller story. We were just about to leave Brazil when we got the call from Junior that Anderson had been in an accident and that it was very serious. We didn't know what it was but Junior was so panicked it sounded like Anderson was on the brink of death."

Mr. Mochary said both he and Mr. Zimbalist were concerned for their friend ? however, the dilemma, as far as he was concerned, was whether the hospital visit should be filmed.

"Junior called as we were walking out the door and said that Anderson asked that we bring our cameras. It's the simplest lesson for a film-maker ? there's no such thing as your first film. You have to make every film as best as you can."

Asked how close he had become to his subjects because of the time invested, Mr. Mochary said that when Anderson marries in April, he will stand as his best man.

"After spending a bunch of time with someone, you can't help but become affected. I'd been moving around quite a bit over the past four years. I talked a bit about my involvement in the community but really I'd done nothing apart from this film. Anderson and Junior don't make excuses, they just do their thing. I decided if I'm going to be involved with these people I've got to walk the walk."

That decision led to the creation of the Mochary Foundation, an organisation which provides "practical educational opportunities for exceptionally talented and motivated youth" in America's inner cities.

"A year ago in Miami, I decided to teach practical skills to kids in under-served communities. I went and interviewed a bunch of film teachers because I knew I was too busy to do it myself and I wanted to ensure that it led the kids who were participating to go on to university or get a good job."

He hired Michael Barnes. Held after school, the aim was to teach how to make films. The two decided to limit the classes to six kids to maximise learning potential. "After the semester was done, two seniors got jobs as editing assistants in television. I wish they could have gone on to Florida State ? maybe they will in the future, but the job is a start. There are four kids remaining, hopefully they will go on to college."

Mr. Mochary said he moved to New York and kept the programme going but "wondered about the impact" it was having. "Anderson and Junior were teaching 2,000 kids at the time ? I can't compare to that. So I was surprised in October of last year to receive a call from the superintendent of the public school system."

The hope expressed was that Mr. Mochary would apply to run a similar programme for students at two high schools.

"My first thought was: 'That's insane. I have one guy in New York and a part-time guy in Miami!' But Mike and I prepared a presentation and we got it. We're yet to see what the end result of the work that we're doing will be but the experience taught me a huge lesson ? if you do something charitable it may not be apparent where it's going, but with so few others doing the same thing, the chance of your work getting noticed is high. It's possible that someone with bigger funding will approach and say, 'Let's multiply what you're doing by 1000'. So, no matter how small it is, whatever you're doing, if you can do it well, you will make a difference in some way or another.", he agreed, was a good example of that.

"AfroReggae was known in Rio but not that much in Brazil or the world," he explained. "It's now a household name in Brazil. They opened for the Stones last week ? the largest free rock concert in the world. There were 1.3 million people there and so, of course, all the newspapers are talking about AfroReggae and . What a tremendous impact. It's phenomenal.

" explains what they're doing. It explains their spirit, who they are. It's introduced them to people in a short amount of time ? and that's before the film has been shown in commercial theatres in Brazil ? almost every Brazilian now knows about and AfroReggae."

The first-time film-maker admitted the rush of acclaim over the film had come rather unexpectedly.

"It's surprising and sure, a lot of fun. But the real value in this is getting to know these incredible people."