Rated: NR    Runtime: 101 mins.
JAN 1 - 7. "Oscar, Emmy and BAFTA award-winning director and producer Jon Blair takes us into the favelas of Rio de Janeiro for a close look at the running battle between the drug lords who control entire areas of the city and the police. Frequent and deadly police raids have done little to either stem the flow of drugs through these neighborhoods, or diminish the daily threat of violence from the traffickers. Blair gains remarkable access to the drug traffickers—many of whom talk plainly and openly about the business they are engaged in as well as about the police, whom they see as exploitative and corrupt. The drug lords see the police as the predators upon the residents of the favelas, and cast themselves as the providers and protectors of the impoverished neighborhoods in which they live. In the midst of the violence is Pastor Dione “Jonny” dos Santos, a former drug trafficker turned minister, who works to broker peace agreements between and within the drug gangs, and unceasingly exhorts the gangsters to put down their guns, turn away from violence and embrace a religious life of service. Of particular focus is Pastor Jonny’s relationship with Juarez “Spiderman” Mendes da Silva, one of the more powerful and feared drug lords, and one who has vowed to quit the gang life to serve God. But Mendes da Silva hasn’t put down his guns yet, and as Pastor Jonny moves through the favelas preaching peace, one begins to wonder if Spiderman is going to follow through on his promise to relinquish his powerful position in the drug trade." -- AFI Silver Docs. Official Site Directed by Jon Blair. U.K., 2009. Running time: 101 mins.

Showtimes: Nightly at 7:00 & 9:00. Additional Saturday & Sunday matinees at (2:30) & 4:45.