Favela Olímpica

Before the Olympic flame comes to a city and the Games are opened, hosts of architects, city and traffic planners have already their own competition behind them. They have erected imposing large-scale buildings complete with infrastructure, creating backdrops for a mega media spectacle in which the moment counts and a mix of beauty and excitement is offered to an international audience. The planning risks and the legacy of the Olympic buildings, when the caravan has moved on, are largely left to the host cities. This was also the case in Rio de Janeiro, although the Summer Games in Rio were the last in a series of major events that took place under the aegis of Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was elected in 2008. The 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference, World Youth Day in 2013, the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics all brought billions of dollars' worth of tourism and investment to the city. The residents should also benefit from the Olympic buildings in the long term. For example, the handball stadium was designed so that the arena can be dismantled after the end of the games. The parts should be used to build four schools. The Vila Autódromo favela is located on the access road to the future Olympic Park. The plans called for some of the houses in the favela to be demolished for the big event. The city negotiated for seven years to find compensation apartments and compensation, explains Mayor Eduardo Paes. Nevertheless, many residents of the favela feel that they have been displaced or pushed out. Favela means slum or shanty town, but the residents Penha, Louis and Delma see it differently. They live from simple jobs as laborers, cleaning ladies, and night watchmen, and the favela is their home. They built their houses themselves and value the community that has grown over decades. They are not enticed by fancy new apartments or compensation. They just want to stay. And so the municipal employees who are clearing the favela and offering the residents replacement apartments elsewhere are met with bitter resistance. The film begins two years before the start of the Rio Games. The battle between the two camps is becoming increasingly fierce, and there are only two years left until the Olympic flame is to burn in Rio.