New documentary 'The Territory' chronicles the struggle of Indigenous land defenders in the Amazon
Using footage shot by the Uru-ea-wau-wau people, ‘The Territory’ is an up close look at the struggle to defend the Amazon from illegal settlers and loggers.
Sara Herschander August 19, 2022
As Brazil’s presidential campaign kicks off this week, “The Territory” — a new film created in collaboration with the Uru-ea-wau-wau people of Brazil — documents the urgency and beauty of Indigenous land defenders’ fight to resist settler encroachment in the Amazon.
Looming large over “The Territory,” directed by Alex Pritz and opening in theaters today, is Brazil’s far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, whose election in 2019 emboldened illegal loggers and farmers in their ambitions to exploit Indigenous territory. Since coming to power, Bolsonaro has undermined the agencies tasked with protecting Indigenous land and cut back on environmental protections of the Amazon in favor of commercial interests.
“This is how Brazil was created, and many other countries too,” says one settler interviewed in the film, who wistfully invokes God, country and competition to justify encroachment. “People are coming to claim their land. And if you don’t claim it, someone else will.”
While the film includes footage of loggers, illegal settlers and farmers seeking to exploit protected land in the Amazon, its heart lies firmly in the Uru-ea-wau-wau people, who live in the Jamari village in the Brazilian state of Rondônia. A special focus is given to the group’s charismatic young leader, Bitaté, and environmental activist Neidinha Bandeira, who has been working with the Uru-ea-wau-wau for decades to protect their land.
More:
https://wagingnonviolence.org/2022/08/new-documentary-the-territory-chronicles-struggle-indigenous-land-defenders/
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20 Aug
When Covid-19 reached Brazil's Amazon, and an indigenous tribe sealed off its borders, director Alex Pritz found an innovative way to finish his documentary - he handed the cameras over to the Uru-eu-wau-wau themselves.
The Territory, released by National Geographic on Friday, follows the plight of some 200 hunter-gatherers who live in a protected area of rainforest, surrounded and encroached upon by aggressive and illegal settlers, farmers and loggers.
While shown in the movie dressed in traditional garb and honoring ancient customs, the Uru-eu-wau-wau and their young leader Bitate - the film's main subject - were more than happy to use modern technology to fight back.
"When Covid happened, Bitate made the really bold decision to say, 'Okay, no more journalists coming into our territory, no more filmmakers, no more Alex, no more documentary crew, nobody,'" said Pritz.
More:
https://www.news24.com/channel/movies/news/amazon-tribe-go-behind-the-camera-in-nat-geo-film-the-territory-20220817