Indigenous women filmmakers launch research to address production barriers

A research project titled Ler o vento, filmar o mundo will launch at the São Paulo International Film Festival to document the work of indigenous women in cinema.

The study gathered information from 60 indigenous women filmmakers to map their creative methods, personal trajectories, and relationships with their ancestral territories. Larissa Duarte Tukano, a multiartist, explains that the project seeks to bring the reality of indigenous filmmaking to the public and policymakers.

She notes that indigenous cinema is rooted in a respect for ancestry, where creators prioritize the daily lives and perspectives of their communities over simple aesthetics. The research aims to show that these filmmakers exist and produce work despite facing specific cultural and logistical hurdles. Tukano also identifies systemic barriers in public funding and grant applications. She notes that many grant programs use technical language that is difficult for people whose first language is a native tongue, such as Tukano.

Furthermore, many programs fail to account for the lack of internet in certain territories or the different costs of production in remote regions like Amazonas compared to the Sudeste region of Brazil.