The documentary presents the life of young favela dwellers who work with drug trafficking. The documentary was recorded between 1998 and 2006, when the producers visited various poor communities in Brazil, recording a total of 90 hours of video. The name of the documentary comes from the term "falcão" (falcon) used in the slums to refer to the lookouts who keep watch over the community and inform when the police or a rival group approaches. During the recordings the two producers had to face the hostile environment where the boys lived.