The Territory (12A)
Directed by Alex Pritz
 

THE FILM follows Bitate, a young indigenous leader who rallies his people to fight against the land grabbing farmers and illegal settlers who, encouraged by the right-wing administration of Jair Bolsonaro, enter their “legally” protected territory in the Brazilian Amazon and seize land.  

The documentary feature is both enraging and stunning as a debut by Alex Pritz.

Shot over three years with the help of the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, who filmed their own footage, The Territory shows farmers and settlers chopping down trees, burning and clearing the land in the rainforest unimpeded by the authorities.

On camera a number of farmers speak candidly about their “right” to this indigenous land. “The Brazilian dream is to own some land and make your living from it,” says one of them. “I've never seen Indians there,” he adds cynically.

Produced by film-maker Darren Aronofsky, the film follows Bitate as he is elected the new leader of Uru-eu-wau-wau people at just 18 and environmental activist Neidinha Bandeira as she battles on their behalf with the authorities to stop this destruction. “The Uru-eu-wau-wau territory is like a barrier against deforestation,” she states.

However, both the police and the Indigenous Affairs Agency refuse to help them. The latter claiming that the invasions are fiction.

The Territory provides an immersive look into a tireless environmental struggle and takes you deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community as well as providing unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers who insist they are not the ones damaging the environment.

It is visually spectacular and totally engrossing and you cannot help but feel angry and incensed by Bitate as he reveals that there are now more invaders now in their territory than there are Uru-eu-wau-wau.

Some of the most harrowing moments come when Neidinha, who continuously receives death threats, gets a call from her daughter claiming to have been kidnapped. The call turns out to be bogus.

Then there is the murder of 33-year old Ari, a member of the Uru-eu-wau-wau security team, whose dead body is found by the roadside.

This is a thought-provoking film which — given the dramatic weather instability brought about this summer climate change around the world — will hopefully inspire greater urgency in actions to save not just the Uru-eu-wau-wau and the rainforest but the entire planet before it is too late.

Out in cinemas from today