Freedom

of speech

Brazil was the last country in the world to abolish slavery. But racism never ended. It even increased after the last elections. Mayors and presidents were elected with hate speeches, playing the population against one another.

TV broadcasters, radios and newspapers keep on reproducing stereotypes of racism. They have built this idea that favelas are a place where no one can go, where people live in isolation and are conniving with trafficking and criminals.

Society always thinks that we are the enemies. And then we pay a very expensive price, retaliation, fake news, arbitrary arrests. It is a war no one has declared yet.

What we have in favelas is a huge war between the police, who wants to dominate a territory abandoned for many years by the State. This territory nowadays is occupied by the gangs, by residents, by all the population that lives here.

From an early age, you have to figure out how to protect yourself. Several times, I was going to school and I had to get into someone’s house. Because we’re in the crossfire, and I could be shot anytime. My fridge, for example, was repeatedly pierced by lost bullets. Who knows if that lost bullet is not rather an aimed bullet?

When governments get here, they don’t come with investments in culture, education, infrastructure or health. The only investment is in more weapons and ammunition for the police.

Governments ended up stealing our dreams. We could dream better and bigger, it could be much better, but our dreams were stolen. And with this war, of trafficking, criminals, police, we unfortunately have children who dream of being a criminals or gang members. And how are we going to change their minds?

Mainstream media always emphasized violence, the gangs, drugs, guns. I wanted to show another side, so I began to think, « How could I make this community newspaper represent the residents »? What about the social problems, the cultural situation, the education, health, all the problems we have here in the favela? And the problem of violence, take it to the resident’s side; show the people that would not dare to go to school nor to work. Show them running risks, show how they could be helped or help each others.

Our most important stories are those that are the most relevant to the residents, like problems of water shortage, which is a very common in many favelas. People were forced to carry buckets of water, into the favela and walks kilometers. So we did a lot of articles, asking the government and the water supply companies to reestablish the service for the people from the community. And they did.

The mainstream media is like a giant beast. It tries to show everything, but in the end it shows nothing. Through us, favelas residents speak 24/7, about what is happening here. They send messages, videos, photos, that we publish in real time.

While filming BIGGER THAN US in Brazil, Melati Wijsen met Raull Santiago, one of the most influential voices in the favelas. Raull is a social entrepreneur, human rights activist, journalist and content producer. For Melati, for us, he explains how white supremacy, poverty and violence build on each others for one single goal : maintaining the system as it is. So that nothing changes. Here is a sequence you won't see in our BIGGER THAN US feature film. To follow Raull: https://linktr.ee/raullsantiagoo

During the filming of BIGGER THAN US, Melati Wijsen met young climate activists from Uganda to Belgium who are campaigning against global warming. They speak with one voice! One call!

When she is not in operation, Mary Finn, one of our seven protagonists returns to her country England and tries to explain to those around her what she has seen and experienced. Most of the time, she meets indifference, anger even. Yet, 3 out of 4 humanitarians suffer from psychological distress. So how does Mary keep hope alive? Here are some things you won't see in our feature-film BIGGER THAN US. An exclusive bonus video, on Mary.

"Rap is a powerful tool to get my generation moving," says Xiuhtezcatl. After more than a decade of protesting and advocating against the fossil fuel industry, he now relies on music, his Aztec heritage and his poetry to have an impact. Here is why, here are words and images you won't see in our BIGGER THAN US feature film. An exclusive bonus video, on Xiu.

He lives in one of the most violent favelas in Brazil, but he has chosen to fight against the stereotypes that weigh on the inhabitants of his neighborhood. He is Rene Silva. This is her story.