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Every day we hear reports from Brazil of the degrading conditions in which abandoned children live in large cities like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. This penetrating documentary shows images of the infamous jail Febem in Sao Paulo where children were incarcerated until October 1990. Not just because they had stolen something, but also because there parents were in jail, because they had no parents, because they drifted around in the street or were in some other way a 'nuisance'. There were children here from eight years old. In October 1990 a law came into force forbidding imprisonment of children under the age of twelve. We witness the struggle of parents and action groups to free the children based on this law. A tour of the now deserted prison justifies a comparison with conditions in a concentration camp. Although the situation with abandoned children in Brazil is far from rosy, a documentary like 'Febem: ...' is so important since it shows that protest and perseverance can really change things.
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Henny Kamphuizen
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Camera: Zeca Abdalla, Rita Moreira, Paulo Diesner, Renato Rodrigues
Editing: Rita Moreira, Margareth Espírito Santa
Effects: Eliana Grynberg-Lica
Interviews: Rita Moreira, Cassiana Passos Claro
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