Produced by Geoffrey O'Connor, Realis Pictures, Inc.
This
documentary, shot in one of the most remote corners of the Brazilian Amazon,
graphically depicts the devastating impact of contact with the outside world
on an isolated indigenous tribe, the Yanomami Indians. They are considered to
be the last major Stone Age people in the Amazon.
Since 1987, as the result of the incursion of Brazilian gold miners, an estimated fifteen percent of the Yanomami Indians have died from malaria and related diseases to which they have little resistance. Further, the mining operations have polluted rivers and scared away game animals thereby destroying the Yanomami's traditional ecosystem. Although the Brazilian government is ostensibly trying to protect the Indians, such efforts are undermined by the fact that their mineral-rich ancestral land is coveted by mining interests.
This frontier section of the Brazilian Amazon is labeled a national security zone and off limits to all unauthorized persons, including anthropologists. Producer Geoffrey O'Connor was smuggled into Yanomami territory so that he could record the plight of these endangered peoples.
A Study Guide is available at http://www.coacrews.com/amazon
CINE Golden Eagle, 1990
Second Prize, Athens International Film Festival, 1991
Earth/Peace International Festival, 1991
Native American Film & Video Festival, 1991
Latin American Studies Association, 1991
Gold Award, Houston International Film Festival, 1990
American Film & Video Festival, 1990
28 min. Video or DVD. Sale $295. Video rental: $55.
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