Carandiru (2003)

Interesting facts

• Based on: Estação Carandiru
• Filmed in: São Paulo
• Awards: 0 · Nominations: 1

Carandiru is a 2003 drama film directed by Héctor Babenco. It is based on the memoir Estação Carandiru by Dr. Drauzio Varella. It follows Drauzio, a physician and AIDS/HIV specialist, volunteering work in the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America, in São Paulo, shortly before the 1992 massacre, where 111 prisoners were killed by police forces. The film was shot on location, on the then deactivated prison, months before its demolition in 2002.

Background

Director Héctor Babenco shot the film on location in the actual penitentiary, and in neo-realist fashion he used a huge cast of novice actors — some of whom are former inmates.

The film was first presented at the II Panorama Internacional Coisa de Cinema in Brazil on March 21, 2003. It opened wide in Brazil on April 11, 2003. It was the highest-grossing Brazilian film of the year and third overall (behind Bruce Almighty and The Matrix Reloaded), attracting over 4.6 million spectators.

Later the film was entered into the 2003 Cannes Film Festival in France on May 19.

The picture was screened at various film festivals, including: the Toronto International Film Festival, Canada; the Hamburg Film Festival, Germany; the Edda Film Festival, Ireland; the Muestra Internacional de Cine, Mexico; the Sundance Film Festival, United States; the Bangkok International Film Festival, Thailand; and others.

In the United States it opened on a limited basis on May 14, 2004.

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