The University of Lethbridge's Department of New Media will be presenting a screening of the critically-acclaimed film Cidade de Deus (City of God), Monday evening at the Lethbridge Public Library Theatre Gallery.

Dr. Omar Rodríguez from the Department of Modern Languages will introduce the film and later lead a discussion session following the screening.

Cidade de Deus is an engaging and often disturbing journey into the violent slums of Rio de Janeiro. Well inscribed in a Latin American tradition of social violence cinema, the film introduces innovative uses of editing, colour, music and narrative techniques (like the voice-over and the flashback) to create a strong sense of reality without falling into dominant and more traditional forms of realism.

The film reaped numerous awards following its release in 2002 including: Winner of the Gran Coral, Best Fiction Film, New Latin American Film Festival, Havana, 2002; Official Selection, International Film Festival, Cannes, 2002; Winner, BAFTA Award, Best Editing, 2003; Nominee, BAFTA, 2003, Best film not in the English Language; Official nominee on Behalf of Brazil, Oscar, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Hollywood.

The screening and discussion begins at 6 p.m. and runs through 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 9 at the Lethbridge Public Library Theatre Gallery.