Do you know the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau? Nope ? No wonder that. They are no more than 180 representatives of this indigenous population of Brazil living in a piece of Amazonian forest surrounded by illegal farms. Documentary filmmaker Alex Pritz followed them for three years in their fight to defend their territory against the settlers who appropriate hectares and hectares of forest with great blows of chainsaws and fires.
At the head of this community which once numbered thousands of natives, Bitaté, only 18 years old, guides the viewer through the land of his ancestors and through his fight to preserve what he considers to be “the heart of the world”. “. With him, the activist Neidinha Bandeira, who has known Bitaté since he was born, makes the link with modern Brazilian civilization eager to safeguard its green treasure.
In front of them, we discover Sérgio and Martins, two settlers convinced of the merits of their approach, who are relentlessly clearing what they consider to be their land.
The Territory, the first film by documentary filmmaker Alex Pritz, stands out from previous films about saving the Amazon, because it presents two diametrically opposed visions in equal parts. However, don’t look for impartiality, that’s not the goal of this documentary which is already ringing the alarm bells.
The earthen pot against the iron pot
On the one hand, we have Bitaté and his family, who, although they no longer wear the traditional clothes of their elders, live off the forest and the river in complete harmony. On the other hand, there are the illegal settlers who grant themselves land to live their ” brazilian dream “.
For the latter, the struggle of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau is almost an insult, because these natives do nothing with the territory to which they cling.
Farmers consider themselves more deserving, because they create something with their hands and see in their actions of deforestation the natural development of any country. They are not criminals, but pioneers awaiting state support.
As the minutes pass, this difference in vision takes on the air of open warfare where bows and arrows clash with machetes and guns.
Particularly contemplative in his way of filming the Uru and their territory, Pritz touches our hearts by immersing us in the fight of this community which is afraid of seeing itself disappear. The satellite images which show us the retreat of the forest over the years succeed in a K.-O. technical as they are shocking.
questionable methods
The settlers, more often referred to as “invaders”, are themselves increasingly demonized through some of the most determined personalities whose dubious methods we discover against the backdrop of a soundtrack that is as dark as possible. The tendentious process is assumed, and its effectiveness guaranteed on the views of illegal fires.
However, the director never interferes in the unfolding of events, from the lightest to the most tragic. He never appears in the picture or lets the sound of his voice be heard. Not even when he questions the protagonists of this territorial struggle. This one stays back and lets his stunning images speak for themselves with eloquence that cuts to the chase.
Even better, the film incorporates scenes filmed by the Urus themselves, who have found in new filming technologies, and more particularly drones, a powerful weapon of resistance.
Without forgetting the part of the responsibility of the authorities, the documentary shoots at point-blank range on the Brazilian president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his anti-indigenous policy which has increased deforestation tenfold in recent years.
Winner of the Audience Award and the Special Jury Prize for a Documentary at Sundance, The Territory is a burning pamphlet with formidable effectiveness for the safeguard of an Amazon that is going up in smoke.