Cesar Charlone, ABC
City of God

Cesar Charlone is a native of Uruguay who now lives in Brazil. He developed an early interest in drawing, painting and still photography. Charlone attended Escola Superior De Cinema, a film school in Sao Paulo. He began his career shooting commercials and documentaries in both Brazil and Sweden. Charlone worked with director Fernanco Meirelles on the short film Golden Gate (Palace II), prior to their collaboration on City of God. The film won the Golden Frog award at the 2003 Camerimage Festival of the Art of Cinematography and the Best Cinematography Award from the Brazilian Cinematographers Association. His other credits include the recently completed Showtime movie S.F.C. (a.k.a. Sucker-Free City) with director Spike Lee, Como Nascem Os Anjos (How Angels are Born), and hundreds of commercials.

Synopsis: The main character in City of God is a place rather than a person. The film chronicles a housing project built in Rio de Janeiro during the 1960s. By the early 1980s, it has become a dangerous place to live. The gritty, neo-realistic film focuses on two men and their intersecting histories. Against all odds, one of them becomes a photographer and the other is a ruthless gangland boss who has committed a long string of murders dating back to his childhood.

Quote: "City of God is based on a true story ... a very sad story.... We hoped as we made the film that it would serve as an alarm, a way to alert people to the cynical politics of how the world deals with the problem of drugs. But we are proud of the energy and the generosity of the non-actors whom you see in the film. The emotion that we had from filming them is something I hoped to share...."

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