The men in Alan Duarte’s family do not die from natural causes. Gun violence in the favela complex of Alemão, Rio de Janeiro, has claimed the lives of 10 close male relatives. After the death of his brother, Jackson, Duarte decided to fight back.

With a few borrowed gloves and castoff punchbags, in 2014 Duarte set up the boxing academy Abraço Campeão (Embracing Champions) to help children and young people develop their potential as well as the skills to forge a better future, despite growing up in a community blighted by armed conflict and decades of state neglect.

“Boxing teaches them how to create a new identity and see the possibilities of their lives differently,” says Duarte, 29, whose project is aimed at 10- to 29-year-olds, the group most at risk of being drawn into the drugs trade or getting caught in regular shootouts between gangs and military police. “They learn values like loyalty, friendship and resilience, and they discover their own potential.”

Situated in northern Rio, Alemão’s official population is around 70,000, though the true number is believed to be much higher. The high levels of violence there are well-documented, but less reported is the social exclusion and stigma young people face because they live in an area long regarded as a stronghold of the drugs trade.

“Children in our community are so used to hearing ‘No’. No, you can’t have that. No, you can’t go there. With the project, we say, ‘Yes, you can box with us’,” says Duarte, whose work as a coach for another boxing non-profit organisation, Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace), in the favela complex of Maré, led him to set up the project in Alemão. “Our young people have so much energy and talent. All they lack is the chance to show it.”

Now the story of Duarte’s fight to forge a better future for his community is the subject of a 16-minute documentary entitled The Good Fight that has been grabbing attention at film festivals worldwide, winning a string of awards including the 2017 best documentary short prize at the prestigious Tribeca festival in New York.



Alan Duarte shadow boxes with a boy named Caio at a training session in the community. Photograph: Neirin Jones/The Good Fight/Abraço Campeão

For British filmmakers Ben Holman and Neirin Jones, what began as a favour to promote a friend’s non-profit organisation has evolved into an international success that has attracted a small army of supporters dedicated to helping Duarte expand his project. Filming over six months, the two-man crew encountered frequent interruptions because of downpours and sporadic shootouts. “Though what we faced to make the film is nothing compared to what the residents face on a daily basis,” says Jones.

The film, which is currently on the festival circuit, opens by highlighting the lack of proper sanitation or housing in Alemão. It captures an air of menace on the streets but also joy, camaraderie and solidarity as boys and girls learn to fight and receive guidance from volunteer staff. In one scene Duarte’s mother explains that at first she did not want him to box because she feared he would get hurt. In another, young children abandon a training session to seek cover as gunshots ring out.

Boxing is an ideal sport for a community that has high levels of violence, says Duarte, who was in London for screenings of The Good Fight. “We are all born with a certain energy which we need to find a way to release. If you can put that energy and drive into boxing, you will be much less likely to take up a weapon.”

In the boxing ring, he says, the project has created a space where children and adults can support each other to take positive steps towards education and employment. Some of the boxers have had success in amateur championships. Others in the community contribute in whatever way they can, whether by making repairs or bringing food. Sometimes it falls to staff, who act as social workers as well as coaches, to comfort children who lose a family member.

Alan Duarte and some trainees from Abraço Campeão set out for a boxing session in Complexo do Alemão. Photograph: Neirin Jones/The Good Fight/Abraço Campeão

Since the film was made, Duarte himself has lost another relative – his 12-year-old cousin, who was an erratic attender at the academy. The tragedy convinced him of the need to reach more young people, and he plans to open two more branches elsewhere in Alemão. Currently, around 100 children take part in training and informal education sessions, with eight regular volunteers.

Brazil’s first boxing gold for Robson Conceição at last year’s Rio Olympics has inspired parents to encourage their children to take up the sport, including local gang members, he said. “Some of them say to their kids, ‘Get off the street and go and box’, because they don’t want them to have the same fate as theirs.”

Since the Games, the economic climate in Rio has grown tougher and the security situation has deteriorated sharply, but Duarte is still optimistic. “After we made the film, I started thinking about my life and all the friends and family in our community who lost their lives in the violence … I counted up to 90 who are dead or in prison. I realised that I was saved by boxing and now I want to do the same for others.”