The bond between the Amazon Indigenous and their rainforests is deep, reciprocal, and rooted in generations of stewardship. For these communities, the Amazon is not something to own, but something to live with, protect, and honor. Their lives are interwoven with the local flora and fauna and rainforest animals creating a rich tapestry where culture, nature and its nourishment flourish together.
But protecting the Amazon rainforest nor sustainability isn’t on everyone’s mind: from loggers and ranchers to corrupt politicians and profit-hungry global corporations, thousands of people violate the sanctity of these protected lands, devastating centuries-old rainforests. Thankfully, the Indigenous are fighting back. The documentary We Are Guardians tells their story. Keep reading to find out where you can watch it!
Indigenous Resistance in Brazil: Amazon Destruction Exposed
This 85-minute-long documentary, released in 2023, follows the story of “the guardians”, the Indigenous tribes led by Marçal Guajajara, the group’s Regional Coordinator, and Puyr Tembé, Secretary of Indigenous Peoples of the State of Pará. Both of these activists have dedicated their lives to campaigning and negotiating on behalf of their people, the Tembé, and other Indigenous communities through political and social action in Brazil’s federal government.
Five years in the making, the film was produced by none other than Leonardo DiCaprio and was directed by Chelsea Greene, Rob Grobman, and Edivan Guajajara. As an activist and filmmaker from the Zutiwa village (located in the Arariboia Indigenous Land in Maranhão, Brazil), Edivan uses his gift to expose an 521-year-long fight for biodiversity.
“Cinema has given us the opportunity to show our culture and our resistance. Today, we have our own way of communicating and disseminating our works so that people know our true history and strengthen our struggle. My greatest inspiration as an Indigenous person is to show our reality and say that we are also capable of being what we want to be, and to show the world how important we Indigenous peoples are for the survival of our planet”, said Guajajara in the film’s official website.
Amazon Deforestation vs. Indigenous Survival: A Dual Perspective
An interesting aspect of We Are Guardians is the complexity with which they portray the complex struggle involving the Indigenous, loggers, and ranchers. Of course, the main focus is on the Indigenous who risk everything (even their own lives) to protect their ancestral lands from local invasions and deforestation.
“Five per cent of the world’s population is Indigenous, and we protect 80% of the remaining biodiversity on the planet. At least 600 of us land defenders have been murdered since 2014”, Puyr Tembé says in the film.
It would be easy to label the trespassers as “the bad guys” (if there’s even such a thing as villains outside of fiction), but the reality isn’t that straightforward. For example, most of the time the illegal loggers and poachers are just impoverished workers looking for a way to provide for their families. Valdir, an illegal logger, is caught in a desperate struggle to make ends meet and sees no way out but to continue chopping down the forest.
It’s no news that first-world nations tend to blame developing countries for their lack of green practices, when the truth is they are now able to promote a sustainable lifestyle after having raided Latin America’s natural resources. This is something that has been taking place ever since the time of the Spanish conquest and, if the climate crisis continues, nations like the US might tighten their grip. So we need to see the bigger picture if we want to unveil the foreign interests behind certain local policies.
Reviews, Awards & Why Critics Are Buzzing About We Are Guardians
There has been a positive overall response regarding the documentary. For instance, Roger Ebert’s website gave it a review of three stars out of four, it got a 6.9 in the IMBd scale, and was praised by the critics from Rotten Tomatoes. The documentary has also been recognized with prestigious awards. Here are some of the most important examples both in the film industry an in the environmental world:
- Best Impact Campaign in the Jackson Wild Media Awards (2024)
- International Green Film Award from Cinema for Peace (2024)
- Audience Award for Best Documentary & Creative Activism at the Mostra São Paulo International Film Festival (2023)
- A nomination for the Impact Award from the Wildscreen Panda Awards (2024)
U.S. Screenings: Where can I stream or see “We Are Guardians” in theaters?
The theatrical distribution and marketing company Area23a has recently acquired this documentary and has released out to theatres starting in Los Angeles on June 6 and has set in motion nationwide screening tour across 50 cities.
Go to the We Are Guardians’ official website to buy tickets for upcoming screenings if you wish to know more about the Amazon rainforests and about the Indigenous keeping them from being destroyed. Support Indigenous communities and environmental protection. Find out where to watch We Are Guardians and join the movement!