Video of the Week – Kite Fight

By Dan Hutton on April 19, 2015 in Video

Kite Fight from Victory Journal on Vimeo.

After futebol, soltar pipas, or kite fighting, is Brasil’s most popular sport. In the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, flying the pipa is more than a leisurely escape from on-the-ground realities — it’s a venue for battle, with the entire sky as the arena.

Pipa designs and airborne ‘cutting’ strategies have been passed through generations, from rooftop to rooftop.

Filmmakers Guilherme Tensol and Leandro HBL spent time in Rocinha, Rio’s largest favela, among its young pipa warriors and elder statesmen, absorbing their secrets and documenting their stories.

The result is a fascinating and beautifully shot video that I think you’ll all enjoy.