cidade de deus

I've been thinking about City of God, or rather I have been thinking about that fact that the film was co-directed by Kátia Lund. The other director, Fernando Meirelles has been praised by the media and has gone on to make a big budget hollywood thriller, The Constant Gardener. The odd thing about this partnership is that the awards industry both in the US and UK refused to recognise that the film was co-directed. Fernando Meirelles was nominated for an Oscar and a BAFTA award for City of God, while Kátia Lund was ignored. I remember hearing her being interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour when the Oscar nomination was announced. She tried to put on a brave face, claiming that even though she had not been nominated, both she and Meirelles knew that they had made the film together, and any award would still be an award for her. I don't have any point to make, really. I just wanted to acknowledge Kátia Lund's contribution. I guess, I have puzzled over this strange incident for a couple of years. I don't doubt that there is a casual sexism involved, but what I don't understand is that once the mistake had been pointed out, why was it not corrected?