Pixote
10-year-old Pixote has run away from home and is roaming the streets of Sao Paulo. During a police operation against homeless people he is arrested and taken to a juvenile detention centre. It turns out to be hell on earth, with sadistic guards abusing and humiliating him and the other detainees. When two of the runaways are killed, the police try to put the blame on 17-year-old trans girl Lilica. Pixote helps her and three other boys escape, but outside the detention centre, they are forced into a life of crime, with all the ensuing consequences.
Argentinian-Brazilian director HĂ©ctor Babenco (Kiss of the Spider Woman, etc.) made a deep impression with this raw and documentary-style drama, one of the favourite films of directors such as Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese and Harmony Korine. Actor Fernando Ramos da Silva, who plays the title role, was fatally shot under very suspicious circumstances by police in August 1987. Nick Cave dedicated his album Tender Prey (1988) to him.
Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L’Immagine Ritrovata and The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project in collaboration with JLS Facilitações Sonoras and Cinemateca Brasileira. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
