All my life, I’ve been flying kites for fun. Little did I know that there was a sport of fighting kites that I could have playing instead! This fascinating short documentary by Victory Journal explores the kite fighters of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and shows how kids and adults participate in the sport. It looks fun and dangerous and silly and serious, as all good sports should be.
After futebol, soltar pipas, 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.