Dancing with the Devil (Rio's Drugs War)

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Sociopolitical Documentary hosted by Jon Blair, published by ABC broadcasted as part of ABC Four Corners series in 2010 - English narration

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Dancing with the Devil

Reporter: Jon Blair

Broadcast: 28/06/2010

Rio de Janeiro is home to nearly 12 million people. Over 2 million of them live in favelas or shanty towns. Those suburbs are, for the most part, controlled by gangs and their bosses who make their living by kidnapping, theft and selling drugs. Some describe these gangs as parallel authorities to the established government. They are in constant conflict with the police. Few people get inside these communities but film director Jon Blair has been given access to tell the story of three men, one of whom will not survive.

Over the next six years, the city of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil will host the soccer World Cup and the Olympic Games. The decision to allow Rio to host both these major tournaments is remarkable, because Rio is one of the most violent cities in the world.

Despite major efforts by the authorities and the police force to reduce the level of crime, up to 8,000 people are killed every year as a result of violence in the city. Each year police kill an estimated 1,000 citizens as they wage an ongoing war with gangs, bandits and drug traffickers.

Now Oscar and Emmy Award-winning director Jon Blair offers us an intimate look at one of the bloodiest urban conflicts on earth. This is a gripping film with unprecedented access to some of Rio de Janeiro's most wanted men, and the specialist police units that hunt down and kill them. In "Dancing with the Devil", three men stalk the gloomy back-alleys of the city's notorious slums.

One is "Spiderman", a 28-year-old drug lord that we first meet as he embarks on a routine patrol through the shadowy streets of Coréia, the sprawling favela he controls.

Another is his enemy, Inspector Leonardo Torres, a muscle-bound cop from Rio's drug squad, who inches through the alleys of another shantytown, as shots ring out around him.

The third of the trio is Pastor Dione, an evangelical preacher intent on ending the city's drug conflict. He trawls the slums for lost souls, trying to broker peace among all parties.

A gripping and ultimately tragic film, it reveals much about the characters and the feelings of the people it portrays.