Feature premieres Sunday (28) on Netflix for Latin America
With the announcement of the Covid-19 pandemic, at the beginning of 2020, Edivan Guajajara found himself facing the biggest challenge of his life. He had been collaborating with two American directors (Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman) on a documentary about forest defenders for 3 months. Edivan had been called first to help with logistics and translation into Tupi during the interviews. As he was interested in images, he became a camera. The pandemic meant that foreigners needed to return to the United States. At their request, Edivan continued filming and was appointed director. He even created the name Somos Guardians . The 1 hour and 20 minute long film premieres this Sunday (28), on Netflix, for all of Latin America. “I'm thrilled. We want to show that the fight is not just ours”, says Edivan, now 36 years old.
Edivan's story with images has been one of enchantment, especially since 2015. He found himself enchanted by the images he learned to record with his cell phone. When, in 2017, he was part of Coletivo Mídia India, he had the dream, together with other indigenous communicators, of giving more visibility to the struggle of his people. He, who is from the Zutiwa village, in Terra Araribóia, in Maranhão, was already thinking about ensuring light in the fight for territorial protection and environmental defense.
He explains that the documentary highlights the stories of indigenous guardians and leaders who fight to protect the Amazon, and also the relationship with loggers and farmers in the region. Edivan considers that the protagonists are the indigenous leader Puyr Tembé and the forest guardian Marçal Guajajara in the fight to protect their territories from deforestation.
“We deal with climate change, the invasion of territories, public policies and also the multimillion-dollar companies that supply and support great destruction. So, it’s a film that talks about many very important things.”
The film, which won the support of names such as Leonardo di Caprio as executive producer, has already won three international film festivals as best documentary.
Read the article and listen to the interview here:
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