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3 weeks ago
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Children of the Church Steps (Os Quatro da Candelária) dropped on Netflix today. It is inspired by events that took place in Rio, Brazil, in 1993 in what has come to be known as the Candelária Massacre. Eight homeless people – aged between 11 and 19-years-old – were killed when scores of street kids living outside the Candelária Chruch in Rio were attacked. Several of the group that launched the assault were found to be police officers.
The fictionalized account tells the stories of four children in the 36 hours leading up to one of Brazil’s most tragic events. It blends the story of their lives in a harsh urban setting with dreamlike sequences. A predominantly Black cast includes breakout talent Samuel Silva, Patrick Congo, Andrei Marques and Wendy Queiroz. Established stars including Antônio Pitanga, Péricles, Leandro Firmino, Bruno Gagliasso, Maria Bopp and Stepan Nercessian also appear.
Creator Luis Lomenha and Márcia Faria share directing duties on the Netflix Original. Fernando Meirelles (City of God) is among the exec producers on the Portuguese-language miniseries, which was produced by Jabuti Filmes and Kromaki.
As the four-part drama launches globally the filmmakers open up on the project, how they made it, what they hope it achieves and how they worked with survivors of the massacre. Lomenha has spoken to local press about the project. Meirelles was speaking exclusively to Deadline.
DEADLINE: Do you hope to create empathy, or to create a sense of anger at the social injustice that we see, or perhaps something else altogether?
Luis Lomenha: With Os Quatro da Candelária, I hope audiences see these children not as symbols of tragedy, but as real, joyful human beings with dreams, hopes, and childhoods that were unjustly cut short. This is more than a story about social injustice – it’s a call to see the humanity of children who are often ‘de-childed’ in the narrative around violence and race.
I hope that viewers feel both empathy and outrage, but also a deeper recognition of the dignity, joy, and dreams these kids held in their lives.
DEADLINE: Fernando, what was your role in this project?
Fernando Meirelles: My role was to support and amplify Luis’s vision. I aimed to help the series reach a broader audience, ensuring that the powerful message at its core would resonate beyond its immediate circles. I hope to help it connect with people on a larger scale, giving this important story the visibility it deserves.
DEADLINE: Telling a story inspired by a real (and traumatic) event clearly comes with responsibility. How did you work with survivors of the massacre?
LL: Working with survivors was essential to authentically representing this story. We collaborated closely with some of them to understand the nuances of their experiences and, importantly, to ensure that their voices were genuinely heard.
Their insights guided us not only in the narrative but in every choice that we made, from dialogue to the portrayal of emotions. This collaboration was crucial in ensuring that the series honors their resilience and the stories of countless others.
DEADLINE: As a narrative device what does telling the story from the perspective of the youngsters achieve?
FM: Telling stories through the eyes of young people allows audiences to see the world in its rawest, most honest form. Young characters experience life without the filters of adulthood, and their perspective can be both innocent and unflinchingly direct.
What Lomenha does in Os Quatro da Candelária is invite the audience to reconnect with the humanity at the core of the story – evoking emotions that perhaps wouldn’t surface if the story were told through an adult’s lens.
DEADLINE: Why did you want to introduce the more dreamlike, or magical realist, dimension?
LL: The magical realism elements are essential to showing that these kids had rich inner worlds full of adventure, fantasy, and joy. Blending these elements with the harsh realities they faced allows us to approach a heavy theme in a way that remains authentic to their lives.
It’s a mix of genres that challenges the common, gritty portrayal of the outskirts in Brazil, putting Rio de Janeiro’s downtown in the centerpiece of the history, adding layers of humor, hope, and resilience. By introducing these elements, we shift the focus to the children’s perspective, as if the camera itself were a child, exploring their world and dreams with authenticity.
DEADLINE: You have worked in film and TV, do you approach both in the same way, creatively?
LL: In many ways, yes, I approached the series as a singular narrative, but the format allowed us to explore each character’s story in greater depth. Each episode builds on the others to form a complete picture, connecting the lives and dreams of these children with larger themes that resonate beyond the screen.
This structure allowed us to create a nuanced, layered story that I hope leaves a lasting impact on the audience.
