{"id":31067,"date":"2016-07-29T16:45:11","date_gmt":"2016-07-29T19:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=31067"},"modified":"2025-08-07T12:08:06","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T15:08:06","slug":"the-fighter-rios-vila-autodromo-favela-fights-olympic-bulldozers-film-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=31067","title":{"rendered":"The Fighter: Rio’s Vila Aut\u00f3dromo Favela Fights Olympic Bulldozers [FILM REVIEW]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Documentary film The Fighter<\/em><\/a> tells the story of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>, the favela that borders\u00a0the Olympic Park in Barra da Tijuca<\/a> in the West Zone<\/a> of Rio de Janeiro, through the eyes of 12-year-old Naomy.<\/h4>\n

The Fighter<\/em> was funded by the NGO\u00a0Terre des Hommes<\/a>‘ campaign Children Win<\/a>, which specifically aims to examine the effects of mega-events<\/a> on children living in host cities. The film\u2019s narrative arc begins back in 2014. Naomy reveals that her first introduction to the Olympics<\/a> was in the context of having to leave her community where 900 families originally lived.<\/p>\n

\"Pollution<\/a><\/p>\n

A series of idyllic images introduce life in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo prior to Olympic construction: sun reflecting on the water and silhouettes in front of Barra da Tijuca’s modern urban skyline while paddling across the lagoon\u00a0in small boats. Naomy talks about catching and eating alligators with her father, a fisherman in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo, as an alligator glides through reflections of clouds. But the film\u2019s thematic focus\u2014the trauma and powerlessness felt by children impacted by forced removals<\/a> prior to the 2016 Olympics\u2014is quickly introduced, and suddenly Naomy is shown standing\u00a0amid the rubble of her favela and a few remaining trees<\/a>. The sense of personal inability to control events is\u00a0reinforced throughout the film, with footage of residents looking on as construction workers wield sledgehammers and diggers effortlessly tear down walls.<\/p>\n

Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u2019s destruction, both as a physical space and a community, is reiterated throughout The Fighter<\/em>. Naomy remarks how Olympic construction has polluted the lagoon, destroying the fishing trade<\/a> which was once the community\u2019s main economic lifeline. The camera watches as she walks past a pink dawn on her way to school, with construction already underway. As the film\u2019s trajectory travels towards the present day, the number of residents remaining and the hope among those who stay dwindles. Naomy\u2019s friends and her mother\u2019s family are among the many residents who\u00a0lose hope of holding on to their properties and move away.<\/p>\n

\"Naomy<\/a><\/p>\n

The lack of safe space for children is a theme emphasized throughout the film, with footage of children playing next to moving diggers and on second stories of half-destroyed houses in what remains of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. But the alternative provided by the City, the Minha Casa Minha Vida<\/a>\u00a0(MCMV) public\u00a0housing project Parque Carioca<\/a>\u00a0where Naomy\u2019s mother\u00a0moved to, is not presented<\/a> as a more child-friendly space: small apartments instead of houses, with limited indoor space and no recreational space for children.<\/p>\n

The Fighter<\/em> explores how the City undermined residents’ autonomy, demolishing homes and using police brutality<\/a> to intimidate citizens<\/a>\u00a0and injure peaceful protesters. One such incident results<\/a> in activist Maria da Penha\u2019s<\/a> bloodied nose and black eyes, which can be seen in one interview in The Fighter<\/em>. Naomy\u2019s father Altair<\/a> is forced to build a new home after his original house was demolished\u2013although this house, too, was destroyed with the help of Shock Troops<\/a> after The Fighter<\/em>\u2019s filming finished. But Naomy possesses even less power than adult residents. Unable to attend protests where police brutality is a possibility, Naomy\u2019s uncertainty is contained in writing and the reflections she shares with the camera. She thinks constantly about what will happen to her next, where she will live, what will happen to her friends and the people who used to live in her community, and where Rio found the billions of reais needed to host the Games.<\/p>\n

\"Children<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fighter<\/em>\u2019s examination of how mega-events such as the Olympics and the World Cup<\/a> can violate\u00a0housing rights<\/a> focuses clearly on how severely children are affected by these changes<\/a>\u00a0and the trauma that stems from the instability created. While the film ends on a hopeful note\u2014Naomy, walking past a setting sun, resolves to continue the fight for recognition of her rights\u2014The Fighter<\/em>\u2019s compelling account is just one of many similar narratives across Rio de Janeiro, where government-enforced displacement has sadly become commonplace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The 20 remaining families\u00a0in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo have since reached an agreement<\/a>\u00a0with Rio\u2019s government to remain\u2014in newly constructed homes<\/a>\u2014and were given keys to their new houses this Friday July 29. Naomy and her father were not\u00a0among\u00a0the families able to\u00a0remain living in the original location of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. They are now renting as they build a new home and life for themselves\u00a0thirty minutes away.<\/p>\n

Watch the film here:<\/h3>\n