Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) (2007)

Director:

Jason Kohn

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

When the rich steal from the poor... the poor steal the rich

Plot:

An examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm. |

Awards:

2 wins

Directed by
Jason Kohn

Produced by
Julio DePietro	....	executive producer
Joey Frank	....	producer
Jared Goldman	....	producer
Jason Kohn	....	producer

Original Music by
Force Theory
Michael Furjanic
Neill Sanford Livingston

Cinematography by
Heloísa Passos

Film Editing by
Doug Abel
Jenny Golden
Andy Grieve

Production Management
Jair Neto	....	production manager

Sound Department
Coll Anderson	....	supervising sound editor
Sean Garnhart	....	sound editor
James Nichols	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby
Matt Snedecor	....	assistant sound editor
Michael Suarez	....	sound technician

Visual Effects by
John Dowdell	....	2K digital intermediate colorist
Lloyd Forcellini	....	2k digital intermediate editor
Peter Heady	....	2k digital intermediate editor
Nuncle	....	title design

Editorial Department
Jean Lane	....	digital intermediate producer
Robyn Semien	....	assistant editor
Mike Trinker	....	digital intermediate editor

Other crew
Cory Monden	....	senior engineer

Thanks
Thomas Doherty	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Kilo Films
• Whitest Pouring Films

Distributors

• Celsius (2007) (non-USA) (all media)
• City Lights Pictures (2007) (Canada) (theatrical)
• City Lights Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sundance Channel (2007) (USA) (TV)
• VVS Films (2007) (Canada) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Nuncle  design and animation

Also Known As:

Send a Bullet (International: English title)

Runtime:

USA:85 min (Sundance Film Festival)

Country:

Brazil | USA

Language:

English | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Brasília, Distrito Federal, Brazil

Company:

Kilo Films

Trivia:

The filmmakers struggled to find a kidnapper to film after the bribes to get into the prison where their preferred interviewee was staying proved too steep. The driver of a cab they used one day delivered "packages" on the side for a kidnapper, and introduced them to the masked man interviewed extensively in the film. Director Jason Kohn also was at the kidnapper's home when police stopped by and walked around the outside, the one moment of filming he said he feared for his life.

Fantastic documentary

This is one of the finest documentaries I have ever seen.

It takes on a very difficult subject, violence and corruption in Brazil, and portrays its impact on the population through the lives of a dozen or so primary characters. The film interviews the ruthless kidnapper-murderer, exposes and interviews the corrupt politician, shows a kidnapping victim getting his ear cut off; yet it conveys this potentially depressing subject matter with stunning visual effects and an uplifting Brazilian music score that captures the great spirit of Brazil's people.

The film has footage of children playing in the slums of Sao Paolo, but they aren't playing soccer. They are instead recreating the growing crime of kidnapping and cutting off the victims body parts. An actual kidnapper tells the camera he doesn't think much about the kidnappings and murders he commits. He then explains as a proud father that he has nine children and his wife is about to have their tenth. He concludes saying, "maybe one of them will grow up to fix this country".

The film opens by saying it cannot be shown in Brazil. I hope this does not prove to be the case and that it can be shown not only in Brazil but throughout Latin America and around the globe. It should be mandatory viewing for everyone everywhere concerned with the escalating vicious cycle of poverty, neglect, violence, and corruption that plagues mankind.