padilha's film documents this extraordinary incident using the archival footage of the event along with interviews with those involved, including hostages, policemen, reporters and the family, friends and acquaintances of the young hijacker.

he examines the role of social, environmental factors in the occurrence of the incident, interviewing street children, the rio bope police and psychologists in an attempt to examine life in the favelas and more generally the contribution of the social conditions and structural inequities of the lower classes in rio de janeiro to such an event.

the personal childhood traumas of sandro are investigated, including his witnessing his mother being stabbed to death, his consequently becoming homeless at a young age and his survival of the candelária massacre, whereby police opened fire on street children sleeping by candelária church in the center of rio seven years previously.