City of Men

Presenting Laranjinha and Acerola, two 13-year-old boys in Rio de Janeiro, best friends and small-time schemers who are doing their best in school, while the allure of the new-sneaker-clad drug gang looms in their lives as a glittering attraction. Acerola is utterly fascinated with guns of all types and violent confrontations between historical figures. He draws a lot, which makes him look like he's not paying attention in class, but in fact he's processing the information through his art in a way none of the other students can match. Laranjinha, is rapidly approaching that fork in the slum: Stay safe and be good, or take up arms, get some shoes and land the girls.

City of Men is created by the team that brought us City of God, the Academy Award-nominated feature directed by Fernando Meirelles (The Constant Gardener). Young lead Douglas Silva was Emmy-nominated in 2005 for Best Performance by an Actor.