Ran away to join circus, came back with a film

When Kelly J. Richardson graduated with a Spanish degree from UC Berkeley, she ran off to join the circus. Six years later, Kelly completed her first featurelength documentary, “Without a Net,” which enjoys an Oscar-qualifying DocuWeeks theatrical run in New York and Los Angeles this month, followed by a screening at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October.

As a child, Richardson attended circus camp, where she learned to walk tightrope. In college, she spent a year abroad in Madrid and performed with the local circus. “I had such a fun time that I decided when I graduated from college, I’d get involved in another foreign circus,” Richardson said.

While performing aerial stunts in a Brazilian big top, Richardson became fascinated with “social circus.” She explains, “The concept is to use circus as a tool for social change. Kids and teenagers can learn skills in circus training that they can transfer to other parts of their lives.”

Funded by a Fulbright scholarship, Richardson spent a year amid the slums of Rio de Janeiro to tell the story of illiterate stunt man Djeferson, acrobat Barbara, contortionist Rayana and 9-year old performer Platini.

Richardson, who shot the movie without a crew, took classes with the kids for two months before she picked up a camera. “I’m not living in poverty and I’ll never know what it’s like to lose a sibling to the drug trade, but we enjoyed these rehearsals together and shared a love of circus,” she said. Hugh Hart is a San Francisco Chronicle correspondent. E-mail: sadolphson@sfchronicle.com