‘Since we don’t have wings we fly kites’ – aerial combat above Rio’s favelas
‘When we fly a kite up high we feel free.’
Kites are hugely popular in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas, where they are made using cheap materials and easily flown in the breezy, coastal skies. But instead of leisurely trying to keep their home-made creations afloat, flyers engage in competitive ‘kite fights’ with the aim of cutting their opponent’s line with their own. While the sport pits rooftop against rooftop and neighbourhood against neighbourhood, its overall effect is to bring people in the favela together around a tradition that’s about fun and freedom above all else.
Director: Guilherme Tensol
Producers: Fernanda Coelho, Mañhana Laborda, Délio Santiago
Website: Mosquito Project, Victory Journal
videoDemography and migration
In California’s farmlands, immigrant workers share their stories of toil and hope
17 minutes
videoEconomics
A tour of New York’s gaudiest neighbourhood with the Marxist geographer David Harvey
13 minutes
videoSports and games
Young Palestinians find fleeting moments of freedom at a West Bank skate park
13 minutes
videoSports and games
Havana’s streets become racetracks in this exhilarating portrait of children at play
5 minutes
videoArt
The sprawling mural that depicts an unflinching people’s history of Los Angeles
7 minutes
videoArt
In his poem ‘London’, William Blake crafted a bleak vision of the city he loved
9 minutes
videoCities
A lush, whirlwind tribute to the diversity of life in a northern English county
3 minutes
videoSubcultures
Drop into London’s eclectic skate scene, where newbies and old-timers find community
5 minutes
videoArt
‘If you’re creative, why can’t you create a solution?’ One artist’s imaginative activism
17 minutes