Synopsis

Whether as sweets sellers in public-transit busses, as drink sellers next to their typical Styrofoam chests, or at one of the innumerable hotdog, snack or ware stands: Street hawkers are part of the cityscape of every Latin American metropolis and so as well of Rio de Janeiro. They are the lion’s share of the so called informal labour sector; in a figurative sense, the illicit workers who represent more than half of Brazil’s manpower. Camelô shows an insight of four of them: Luciana, Alexandre, Flávio and Carlos Augusto. The documentary also aims to analyze the causes of informality, which is responsible for more the 6% of the Brazilian GDP.

Intensions for making the film

The basis of the documentary Camelô emerged from the beginning of my two and a half years of studies and internship in Rio de Janeiro. It was my objective to understand and gain an image as profound as possible of Brazil and especially of the city. I did not want to achieve this by a journalistic view from outside, but by integrating myself in a social environment: by studying at the Federal University, by working to finance the studies, by my sport, by learning the language and by that getting to know about the local literature, history, politics, economy, architecture and so on.

This is the fundamental enquiry for the documentary which understands itself as alternative draft to the classic (TV-) reportage in which the image of Rio de Janeiro is limited to Copacabana, Ipanema, Football, drug-related violence in the favelas and carnival. While the reportage uses prevalent clichés, the never-ending rhetorical repetition and exoticism, Camelô aims to allude to an important socioeconomic issue and to analyze it. Valuation through e.g. off-comments is avoided. Neither the exotic place nor an extraordinary business idea should come to the fore. Only the participants of “Camelô” are extraordinary. The topic itself can also be transferred to other cultures.

The choice of the protagonists Luciana, Alexandre, Flávio and Carlos Augusto is based on empiric research statistics of the economy professor Dr. Hildete Pereira de Melo of the Federal University of the Rio de Janeiro State regarding social background, sex, age, income or marital status. Nevertheless they do not stand vicariously for THE street hawker, but represent their personal views to the issue as individuals. In our ever increasing world of (economic) statistics, we begin to forget that each number and statistic is represented by real human-beings.

Big thanks to all who supported the production of this documentary. These are primarily the Federal University of the Rio de Janeiro State in Niterói (Universidade Federal Fluminense), the University for Applied Sciences Mannheim, the film production firm Plural Filmes in Rio de Janeiro/Florianópolis and Southern Cross Tours & Expeditions in Rio de Janeiro. Furthermore I would like to thank the protagonists as well as all the supporters. Without their gracious help and dedication it would not have been possible to realize the documentary, respectively the whole project at all.