This video forms part of the project which proposes “The Knowledge of the Jaguars of the Yuruparí”, of the River Pirá Paraná in Colombia, as a UNESCO intangible heritage of mankind. It is an audio-visual co-production by 4direcciones, in collaboration with the Gaia Amazonas Foundation and ACAIPI indigenous organization. It is narrated by Maximiliano García (of the Macuna indigenous group) and Roberto Marín (of the Barasano indigenous group), both leaders of the ACAIPI indigenous organization. Images courtesy of National Geographic TV, from the documentary “Light at the Edge of the World: Amazon” ( 2008), presented by Wade Davis, and from “The Sand and The Rain” (2009) and “Guardianes de la Libertad” (Guardians of Freedom, 2007), by 4direcciones audio-visual. Researchers: Silvia Gómez and Nelson Ortíz.

The Sand and the Rain is an adventure which takes place at the crossroads of two worlds. What happens when three Qataris, accustomed to a life of creature comforts, find themselves in an indigenous community deep in the world’s largest rainforest? And how will three indigenous shamans fare when the tables are turned, and they find themselves in the concrete jungle of Qatar?
The film explores how two such contrasting worlds are in fact bound by invisible links. It shows us why, now more than ever, ancient cultures are humanity’s greatest resource.

The title sequence of the series we are producing and directing for the Qatar public TV.

En este momento estamos desarrollando el cortometraje ooommm mmmooo yoga para niños, basado en el libro del mismo nombre de Villegas Editores. Para la muestra un botón.

The indigenous cultures of the Colombian Amazon have hundreds of sacred sites. They are places where special events have happened, where the gods have been born or sown crops or left important teachings. At the same time, they are places which are very important for the ecological web of the region, critical nodes for maintaining the environmental balance of the territory. One of the most sacred places for the cultures of the Colombian Amazon is called La Libertad (Liberty) and it is endangered: a Canadian mining company wants to explore for gold there. To prevent this happening, the local communities have mobilized themselves to turn this part of their territory into a natural park. It is a complicated struggle, where some things may be won and others lost but what is ultimately at stake is the world itself or the possibility of living in harmony with it. And the guardians of la Libertad are doing what they can to win.

Treatment

The documentary mixes shots taken in the zone of landscapes, river journeys and the payés (spiritual leaders of the tribes) with animations which illustrate and explain their cosmology and view of the world. Beyond being an account of these sacred places or a denunciation of the indiscriminate exploitation of the Amazon, the documentary seeks to show that the notion of the sacred among the peoples of the Amazon is closely linked to their way of life and their equilibrium with the nature of which they are part. All this is being threatened, partly because other human groups do not share this strong identification with their natural surroundings. The contrast between two visions of the world is clearly seen in La Libertad, one of these sacred places, a key to the history of these nations and the environmental well-being of their region, which is in danger of being razed by a mining company. Here we may see, in a particular dramatic form, what happens when two radically different ways of looking at the world clash.

Project developed by 4direcciones, and The GAIA Amazonas Foundation