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The Territory
Directed by
Alex Pritz
Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Alex Pritz, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett, Will N. Miller, and Gabriel Uchida
Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Alex Pritz, Sigrid Dyekjær, Lizzie Gillett, Will N. Miller, and Gabriel Uchida
With:
Bitaté Uru Eu Wau Wau, and Neidinha Bandeira
Cinematography:
Alex Pritz and Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau
Editing: Carlos Rojas and Alex Pritz
Music: Katya Mihailova
Editing: Carlos Rojas and Alex Pritz
Music: Katya Mihailova
Runtime:
85 min
Release Date: 19 August 2022
Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Color: Color
Release Date: 19 August 2022
Aspect Ratio: 2.39 : 1
Color: Color
A riveting, on-the-ground documentary about a community of threatened Indigenous people living in a protected area of the Amazon rainforest. First contacted by white colonizers in the 1980s, the Uru-eu-wau-wau originally numbered in the thousands, but today are only a few hundred people fighting to protect their land, and the remaining uncontacted Indigenous folks, from a network of Brazilian farmers, law-breaking settlers, and an elected government hostile to their legal claim on a small area of untouched forest.
Director/cinematographer Alex Pritz worked in collaboration with his subjects to create this film, much of which is photographed by the community members themselves. But the digital cameras, drones, GPS and radio equipment used by the Uru-eu-wau-wau were not provided by the filmmakers. They were obtained by the tribe's new young leader for the purpose of bringing awareness of their fight to the greater Brazilian population via social media. Bitaté, the quiet yet charismatic eighteen-year-old chosen by the elders to lead the tribe right around the time Pritz started making this documentary, arms his people with modern technology as well as traditional hunting spears. Powerful 16mm archival footage of white men's first contact with Uru-eu-wau-wau, including Bitaté's grandfather, juxtaposes this community's initial fear of film cameras with contemporary footage where they harness the power of video.
Key to The Territory's depth and effectiveness is Pritz's choice (and ability) to also present the perspectives of the invaders—mostly disenfranchised farmers and religious believers—by engaging with them and giving them plenty of screen time. If this documentary crew were also embedded in Brazil's halls of political power, they'd have all sides of this fight on screen. But only allowing us to hear president Jair Bolsonaro's words, and follow the tide of politics via the news media consumed by the various characters, actually serves the film far better. Utilizing these dual perspectives, Pritz creates a powerful narrative container in which all of the movie's action takes place on the disputed land at the heart of this story.
What’s most fascinating is the socialization of the indigenous people who are media savvy and able to harness modern technology, whereas the white settlers seem totally ignorant of practically everything—the history of the land, the environmental effects of their labors, and the false promise of manifest destiny. American viewers may find that the more time we spend with these settlers, the more we identify with how their beliefs have been shaped by self-serving politicians and religious leaders. The film left me wishing the populist movements in my own country were as powerful as the Uru-eu-wau-wau, while simultaneously despairing about the bleak future of this community as well as that of the Amazon rainforest.
Twitter Capsule:
Director/cinematographer Alex Pritz worked in collaboration with his subjects to create this film, much of which is photographed by the community members themselves. But the digital cameras, drones, GPS and radio equipment used by the Uru-eu-wau-wau were not provided by the filmmakers. They were obtained by the tribe's new young leader for the purpose of bringing awareness of their fight to the greater Brazilian population via social media. Bitaté, the quiet yet charismatic eighteen-year-old chosen by the elders to lead the tribe right around the time Pritz started making this documentary, arms his people with modern technology as well as traditional hunting spears. Powerful 16mm archival footage of white men's first contact with Uru-eu-wau-wau, including Bitaté's grandfather, juxtaposes this community's initial fear of film cameras with contemporary footage where they harness the power of video.
Key to The Territory's depth and effectiveness is Pritz's choice (and ability) to also present the perspectives of the invaders—mostly disenfranchised farmers and religious believers—by engaging with them and giving them plenty of screen time. If this documentary crew were also embedded in Brazil's halls of political power, they'd have all sides of this fight on screen. But only allowing us to hear president Jair Bolsonaro's words, and follow the tide of politics via the news media consumed by the various characters, actually serves the film far better. Utilizing these dual perspectives, Pritz creates a powerful narrative container in which all of the movie's action takes place on the disputed land at the heart of this story.
What’s most fascinating is the socialization of the indigenous people who are media savvy and able to harness modern technology, whereas the white settlers seem totally ignorant of practically everything—the history of the land, the environmental effects of their labors, and the false promise of manifest destiny. American viewers may find that the more time we spend with these settlers, the more we identify with how their beliefs have been shaped by self-serving politicians and religious leaders. The film left me wishing the populist movements in my own country were as powerful as the Uru-eu-wau-wau, while simultaneously despairing about the bleak future of this community as well as that of the Amazon rainforest.
Twitter Capsule:
A National Geographic Documentary with the excitement of a 1st-rate political thriller. Alex Pritz works in collaboration with his protagonists, while effectively showcasing the perspectives of his antagonists—all of whom are being manipulated by unseen political and environmental forces.