King's College London

Around 70 participants joined us at the Transnational Law Institute last month to watch the documentary film "Orphan Mothers" for the first time in the UK. The film, produced by Katu Films and King's College London, was directed by journalist and film-maker Patrick Granja and features rapper and activist MC Leonardo and several mothers from the most affected communities in Rio who have joined forces to fight the scourge of police lethality in their communities.

Police intervention in poor communities in Brazil has resulted in the loss of 6,416 people in 2020. In comparison, in the US, 1,021 people were shot dead by police in the same year.

Following the screening of the film, a Q&A session took place with the director Patrick Granja, MC Leonardo, mothers Ana Paula Gomes de Oliveira and Irone Maria Santiago, and Vitor Santiago Borges, Irone's son and a survivor of police shooting.

Ana Paula Gomes de Oliveira, mother of Jonatha who was killed by the police in Rio, said that "no one should remain the same" after watching the film "Orphan Mothers". The activists described their daily lives in communities affected by police violence, and their struggle to make their voices heard and call for justice. Granja told us before the event that his film "is not a film about Human Rights violations, it's about the struggle for Human Rights of ordinary people".

During the event, mothers Ana Paula Gomes de Oliveira and Irone Maria Santiago took a few moments to commemorate those who lost their lives due to police shooting in Brazil.