The Territory

The danger to those who try to speak up about the assault on Brazil's indigenous communities since the far-right government of Jair Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 recently made UK news with the murder of journalist Dom Phillips and indigenous expert Bruno Pereira earlier this summer. Alex Pritz's documentary comes at the issue from a spectrum of viewpoints to show just how wide and deep the threat to a 7,000-square-mile patch of the Amazon and the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau who live there is.

While there's no doubting whose side his film is on, Pritz is comprehensive in his considerations of the perspectives not only of the Uru-eu-wau-wau and environmental activist Neidinha Bandeira but of farm workers, and at the more extreme end 'settlers', who are keen to raise sections of the forest and secure their own patch of farmland. Among them is Sérgio, a labourer who is endeavouring to take over parts of the Amazon via legal means, forming the Association of Rio Bonito and dreaming of a community of smallholders. While his situation may not generate as much sympathy as that of the Uru-eu-wau-wau, who have come under increasing threat since 'first contact' in 1981, it's still possible to feel some empathy for his desire for something better for his family, even if he seems largely unaware of the broader cost. Still, a lot of this apparently stems from misplaced jealousy. "They don't farm or create anything," he complains, when asked about the indigenous community.

Further along the envy spectrum lies Martins, a settler who is determined to grab land with or without legal backing, with heartbreaking scenes showing him and others cutting down ancient trees and setting fires to clear the forest. These incursions are constant but we see the Uru-eu-wau-wau are increasingly organised in their response. Bitaté may only be 19 but he cares deeply about the future of his community and views the Amazon not just as their home but also as the heart of the planet.

The very real dangers faced by those who stand up to the farmers are illustrated, not just by the murder of one of Bitaté's friends, someone Bandeira has also known since he was a baby, but in a tense moment when the activist fears her family has also come under threat. The film shows, however, Bitaté has embraced modern technology to help his people, using drones to map out areas attacked by settlers and conducting a media offensive to help make their point. Pritz and Tangãi Uru-eu-wau-wau shoot the area with an attention to detail, showing the animal life going about its business, while also capturing the enormity of the devastating bigger picture that sees a settler triumphant as he chops down a tree. The message is clear - the world needs to pay much closer attention to what is happening in Brazil, before it's too late.