North American Premiere
An intimate portrait of people who have never encountered an “other”. In 2019, FUNAI, a Brazilian state protection agency which works for Indigenous rights, sent an expedition of 30 people into the heart of the Amazon rainforest, to make first contact, provide medical services, locate and reunite separated family members with the Korubo, an isolated Indigenous group.
As they travel between the borders of Brazil, Peru, and Colombia, alert to the constant dangers in the deep jungle, the lines between subject and object are blurred and at times reversed, as the natural dynamic and camaraderie of the group is reshaped around Bruno Pereira, a FUNAI veteran who was killed while working in the same region several years after filming, and Xuxu, a charismatic Korubo leader separated from his family.
Director Bruno Jorge crafts an immersive ethnographic journey that breaks apart monolithic assumptions in favour of an honest perspective of the Korubo that defies easy classification. A powerful, essential film, deftly blending poignancy and human dignity against a background of unanswered political and ethical questions.
Series Media Partner
Community Partner
Brazil
2022
Insights
In Portuguese with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Bruno Jorge
Screenwriter
Bruno Jorge
Cinematography
Bruno Jorge
Editor
Bruno Jorge
Original Music
Bruno Palazzo
Director
Bruno Jorge
Bruno Jorge studied Social Communication in São Paulo, Brazil, Documentary Film in Paris, France, and Master in Performing Arts in Liège, Belgium. Influenced by ethnography, visual anthropology and experimental cinema, Bruno has made over 20 films.
Filmography: Beco (2012); What I Could Be If I Were (2015); Piripkura (2017)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
A Simple Machine
Cutting costs, swapping four wheels for two, Nick is downsizing to pay off his student debt. It's a path which leads to savings he had not anticipated, even if his girlfriend thinks he's losing it (and she may be right). A lean, low budget gem.
Cookie Queens
A documentary about the annual Girl Scouts' cookie sale is probably not high on your list of must-sees, but don't be too sure — this movie is a delight, a rare celebration of girlhood, supportive family relations, and the art of salesmanship.
Princess Mononoke
A mystical fight between humans and the Animal Gods of the forest. Ashitaka, the last prince of a dying race, struggles to find a way for both sides to co-exist. But the fighting only becomes more and more bloody and all hope seems to be lost…