My name is Nicolas
and that's me with my bow and arrows,
I am about 11 years old.
We spend a happy childhood
in a beautiful countryside
a world away from the Amazon.
In my little head,
I already ask myself the usual questions
Who am I? Is there a destiny?
And if there is one, which is my mine?
That's my brother.
My father panics, gives me his camera.
This is how I start to film.
Later the camera becomes my life,
my weapon and also, my instrument.
To answer all these questions.
Don't worry, he's just kidding!
Is there another reality?
Another life at the end of the world?
Like I read in my Tintin albums
and my atlas.
Can my destiny be written in my dreams?
Where do dreams come from?
My name is Ayupu.
When this story takes place
life is still good.
We live in the forest,
with no worries, no money,
we don't need it.
I am already very concerned with
the loggers destroying our forest.
But the young were more interested
in the "meaning of life".
I like Tapi's ass, it's so firm!
I like his front as well.
Who do you like Luacema?
I don't know yet!
My son Tapi and his friend Tonoli
were busy studying the secrets
of the forest.
Tonoli's is bigger than Tapi's.
Tapi says size doesn't matter!
Tapi, I think Luacema likes you.
I knew our days were counted.
I was waiting for a sign...
I asked the spirit for a man, not a kid!
Move away, it is forbidden to land here
I don't speak Portuguese,
do you speak English?
I am the director
of this Toa-Toari reservation,
you are in a strictly forbidden area,
you are not allowed to come here,
you must leave right now,
I am sorry,
I am Nicolas Debre,
you can read my name on the paper,
and this is Ruben Machado,
my guide and interpreter.
We're going to have fun with these two.
Let's go to the post and I will brief you.
You can take all.
He's cute, no?
I think he likes you.
Here is your bungalow gentlemen.
This is Gromac,
he seems pretty wild,
and he hates white men.
Nicolas, it's a good thing.
We only walk into the jungle
in daylight,
imagine, if you like to do it by night.
Welcome my friends,
you are leaving tonight,
for the village of the dead, on foot.
Tonight?
Kurapu Ceremony starts tomorrow,
and if you don't leave tonight
you will miss it.
I can't miss it, that's why I am here,
I am supposed to film it!
First meet Tonoli,
he is your guide,
just follow him,
he will take you to the village
And this is Tapi,
he is learning to be the next chief,
so he can't speak much,
you must listen, you understand.
Hey Ruben, it will be perfect for you.
Kuarup, it's the most important ritual
among the tribes in this region,
It is through those who died in the past year.
During the ceremony,
the spirit of the dead
are sent to the other world.
Sort of a poltergeist!
How did you two meet?
At the airport.
When I arrived in Rio,
he offered to help me as a guide,
he told me about
his past experience with Indians.
Is that right?
Yes. Of course!
I have a lot of clients
from all over the world.
And tell me how far
is this Lululari village?
Toa-Toari
It depends,
it's about 6 hours if you are in shape.
Six hours??
Look.
We are here,
and this is where you are going.
It is all rainforest
It used to be, when I first came here,
an ocean of trees,
but today it is all gone
except on the reservation,
a green island
in the middle of the desert.
Just in case you lose me...
How can I lose you,
I can hear you a mile away.
Are you okay?
Yes, I'm fine.
So, let's go.
We are quite behind already.
This must be where
the dead are burying.
Oh my god!
Look Monkey!!
It's so dark.
This has not changed in thousands of years.
Amazing!
Hello! Come to the center.
Let's see what gifts they bring us.
Is that it?
Fishing stuff!
They must be kidding!
This is ridiculous!
Who do you think we are?
What did you want?
A television!
What did he say?
He said it's too much.
Tonoli said you mean it from heart.
Oh cool.
Now ask him
if we can film the Kuarup?
Thank god, I've bought this dictionary
from a guy in the street in Rio.
Okay.
Here we go!
What language was that?
No idea,
I've never heard anything like it!
Do you understand?
Something about filming the Kuarup,
I guess.
Oh! That's fine.
You see
they understand what I am saying!
Is he allowed to film?
Yes, Ayupu authorized them.
That's fine then.
What is he saying?
He asked if someone's
watching inside the camera. Yes?
Interesting, I will remember that.
The first day, of the kuarup ceremony,
the dead, buried in the center
of the village,
reincarnate in the sacred logs.
Aren't we all children of the tree,
of mother earth?
At last, my dream comes true.
Relatives decorate the logs
with the belongings of the dead.
His son, died off malaria,
his father, of old age.
I'm in communion
but I don't understand a thing.
Sadness and despair overwhelming,
I feel the spirits.
Who is she?
Her name is Luacema,
she is the mother of chief Ayupu
The mother of Ayupu!
Yeah
It's impossible,
she's only about eighteen years old,
to be the mother of Ayupu!!
If she is the mother of Ayupu,
I am mother Theresa!
They married very young.
Inside the belly of Mother Earth,
I sense a different notion of time,
other values,
animal instinct,
but I know nothing of their customs.
Can I even look at her?
And then, there is Tapi,
who never stops watching me.
My god, she is so beautiful!
The second day of the Kuarup,
other tribes arrive
for the wrestling competition,
but also for the final exorcism.
The spirits rise from the dead.
The earth is shaking.
The magical ritual must succeed.
It's now or never, time expands.
The spirits must fly to the sky,
the final destination!
The dream is awake,
I must follow it
without asking questions..
So you can drive a truck.
Maybe you can speak English as well.
Little.
What! Why don't you say so?
We walked ten hours in this jungle
when there is a road.
Roberto jokes with you.
Roberto jokes with me!
Oh man, he had a laugh on us so well.
Just be happy, we aren't walking back.
You want to walk?
No, no, no! Keep driving,
I am okay, keep driving!
What happened?
I was just on the radio...
is still closed,
bad weather.
They expect to come tomorrow, maybe.
It has been 3 days already, Roberto.
I know, you don't have to tell me.
Our only hope is that
Ayupu can save him.
He's really handsome.
Look, his is bigger than Tapi's.
That's all you think about?
What else,
we don't have the television yet!
My god! You wake up.
So what happened?
I remember a spider,
and then nothing.
You're almost gone my friend
Oh, no.
Don't worry, we've all seen it.
Hey man, don't laugh at me, ok.
What's Pira saying?
He says I should go with you to help us later.
Yes, of course.
Take off?
- What? - Man.
Stop it!
See you later, white man.
He thinks he is an Indian now!
Manioc juice!
Piranha pancake!
He says,
"you have come to meet
my daughter Luacema,
this is not good..."
"White people only bring us problems,
and destroy our forest,
I'm very tired to work all day
to feed my family,
and then at night
I have to make my 3 wives happy."
That hasn't happened in a long time
Where is Luacema?
Luacema...
Luacema stays in seclusion,
it's our way of learning,
like you have the schools.
She is learning to be
a good wife, cook.
She also learns to raise children,
sing and dance...
Take care of her husband
Men also go in seclusion,
to learn how to be
a good husband, and father.
You have a god named Jesus.
We have a god too.
Name is Mavutsinim.
Mavutsinim stays now behind my shoulder,
Mavutsinim says to your god,
respect our religion,
and we will respect yours.
Respect our land and water,
we will respect yours.
That's beautiful, I will remember that.
He says he is serious now,
and that you owe him your life.
He is asking you to help them
with the film you are making.
He wants the world to leave them alone
with their tradition.
I will do my best.
Was I good?
Very good!
Sorry, but they can't let you stay,
you did what you have to do.
Time to move on.
It's better to
leave this people alone anyway.
Finish your film will be more useful.
Segno Roberto,
now I understand why you stay,
wish I could.
Thank you for everything.
You're welcome.
Go away, gringo!
Nice to meet you too, Gromac.
Keep moving, don't stop!
Keep sawing!
Tear it all down!
Stop!
STOP!
I came back, of course.
Children of the tree,
Feel in your flesh the mutilated corpses
drifting to the logging plants.
What a waste!
The spectacular vanity of progress
Destroys the rainforest
without a trace.
Indian, last human shields
to protect it,
the Indians never asked for anything.
My destiny entwines with theirs,
ineluctably.
I knew you would come back!
Pira, oh, you kept my hat.
Give me back my hat.
Why do you come back?
Oh, I came back to show you something.
Is that a television?
And this is a present for Ayupu.
Where is Roberto?
Roberto is sick with malaria.
He's in Rio de Janeiro.
Gromac is the boss now.
Passport!
- Passport? - Yes.
Do you have a permit this time?
This is our land,
you're not even from here.
Juste take care of the post,
and don't tell us what to do.
Go to hell!
I'll keep the passport then!
You'll see what happens!
Luacema?
Luacema is still in seclusion.
We don't write,
that is why your work
is important to us,
future generations will remember
how we lived.
Thanks a lot Ayupu.
You can speak to the monkeys!
Nicolas, the monkeys
are worried like I am
about the destruction of our forest.
Go and see for yourself,
it's not far.
Senseless industrial society,
you cannot survive
without devouring your own entrails.
I choose my side, the side of life.
The loggers are inside our reservation!
We must attack now, and kill them!
I hear you, calm down.
We must go there, talk to them,
make them understand
that they are wrong.
If they don't listen,
then we'll go to war.
Gromac wants to see Nicolas
at the post.
Tell him I don't want it, it's a trap.
He wants to arrest me
and confiscate me the film.
Come with us then, bring your camera.
Rainforest, cradle of biodiversity,
marvel of ingenuity, new species,
magical nature
that we pollute and destroy
as fast as we can.
The river bends,
like those of my destiny,
Iead to unavoidable confrontation.
Dead trees,
Like sentinels overlooking,
guarding the killing fields
of the world's largest rainforest.
Let's go to the other side,
talk to their chief!
Now play!
Don't look at me, you stupid idiot.
You are destroying our forest,
this is our land.
You must leave.
What did he say?
Leave now.
It took him so long just to say that?
Stay right there!
What's your name, chief?
We're only doing our job.
I also have a family to feed.
I am not your enemy,
I want to be your friend.
You are not my friend!
Wait chief,
I can buy many things for you.
You want a new engine for your canoe?
Money, do you want money?
Who is this guy?
Come here!
Put your camera down!
Put it down!
No film here,
you are a foreigner, what is your name?
For Indians we are all foreigner
I say what is your name?
Nicolas.
This gringo is trouble.
Take it easy, mister Ferra!
What are you doing here, Nicolas?
Helping my friends,
against you I guess.
With this to show the world
what you're doing.
This is my last warning, leave,
and never come back.
Or we will kill you all!
Enough.
Yes, I have enough.
Don't go chief, let us be friends!
I'll get you!
Get off, assholes!
Don't look at them!
Or we'll have to fight.
Look, there is a white man with them!
Weird!
It looks so strong,
but just this can stop it! Look!
Look!
And if that doesn't work,
you can also do this.
Two arrows, in there
and this monster will sing like a bird.
Rain is coming to ruin the ceremony.
I must take care of it!
Yes, do it.
The Shaman floats in the deep waters
of our dreams,
in balance between this world
and the perfect world of the spirits.
Go away, rain cloud!
Of course, it's just
when I'm reloading my old camera
that the impossible happens,
right in front of me.
I can see but not film.
Why?
When I tell this story,
nobody will trust me.
Nobody,
- you saw it. - Yes
Better you missed it!
Why?
Magic.
You may be right...
There she is!
Beautiful Amazon women,
wearing feathers like men.
I like to believe the myth that,
sometimes you attack villages, at night,
to kidnap young men and seduce them
to force them to procreate.
Daughter, I'm proud,
you've learned well in seclusion.
Out of the sun,
your skin is milky white.
When I cut your hair,
you'll become a woman.
You can marry the man of your choice.
Nicolas, she likse you
No she likes Tapi more.
No she likes you.
No she likes Tapi more.
She likes me.
Gromac.
My friend.
Come back in a while!
It's to take out the bad blood,
and make me strong, right?
I understand but it hurts.
Your Indian name is Zaguma.
Which means?
White ass!
Police.
Oh! Shit. Man.
Chief, you're my friend
and I want to help.
This foreigner is not authorized
to stay here.
We're going to arrest him
My chief says Nicolas is our guest.
No one will arrest him.
Tell your chief he must respect the law,
like any Brazilian!
And I represent the law here!
So, we'll take him out, all right?
If you want to take him,
you'll have to take all of us.
Mister Ferra, let's leave.
Shut up!
It's better if you leave.
You shut up as well!
Nicolas, I know you are in there.
I give you ten seconds to came out.
After that you will be a fugitive
from the law,
That is done gringo,
I get you sooner!
Be careful, they are dangerous!
We will talk again later.
Son of a bitch!
How do you say I love you?
I love you.
I love you too, white ass.
Nicolas!
Zaguma, Ayupu wants to talk to you!
He said the loggers are back,
and now it's war, right?
Yes, it is war.
Look.
This is how they transform your forest
in charcoal for barbecue.
We'll stop this now!
Enough is enough!
Yes mister Ferra,
we finished one side,
we started the other.
No, no Indians here!
Let's eat!
Don't kill me, please!
Many white asses here!
No!!!
Don't kill him, it is useless.
You are too few they are so many!
They will come back to kill you all!
Piranha...
Piranha!
Come and see where Roberto lives.
This is giving me an idea!
What have you come up with now?
Nicolas is going to help us.
He wants me to come with him
to see Roberto, in Rio.
That's crazy, I will end up in jail.
I'm not Brazilian, I'm a tourist,
I don't have the right.
No, no!!
What about my passport?
I need it to travel, Gromac got it.
Forget passport.
Don't worry,
we'll travel with my documents.
Anybody has seen this gringo?
I need information about him
and I'll pay $4000 for it.
I'm counting on you.
I really need your help here.
These two are trying
to escape from here, right now.
This one is dangerous,
he's filming in the Amazon, illegally.
Be careful!
There is no one here.
Tapi will be the chief
when you will be in Rio?
Very good Zaguma.
I love you too.
Roberto and Ruben were right
about me and Luacema.
I was dreaming.
Forget about my daughter,
she wants to marry Tapi.
Let's go.
Go check over there!
They must come through here,
there is no other way.
Come directly to the market,
I'll wait.
Did you see this man?
Did you see this man?
Did you see this man?
Hey, it's ok.
In the jungle you are my father "Apa",
but here you are my son "Yahi".
Roberto! Roberto!
Nicolas, I find you again.
Roberto!
You've no idea
how much I think about you.
We miss you a lot as well.
Ayupu!
The Indians, they cry
when you meet again,
not when you leave.
Why are all these children
sleeping outside
with gunmen around them?
To protect the people.
Then you must have really bad chiefs.
Nicolas, I was thinking about
what you told me,
I can alert the minister of justice,
and hopefully remove Gromac
from his position.
I can also alert the federal police
and stop Ferra's illegal logging operations
on Indian land,
but how long will it be
until someone else starts it again.
We still let people starve
in our country.
Food, education, basic healthcare,
these are our national priorities.
Not the protection of the Indians
or the rainforest.
This is a luxury for rich countries.
I am too old to do much these days.
Maybe you can do something.
But I am a foreigner, what can I do?
For the Indians we are all foreigners,
whether we are Portuguese, Brazilian,
French, Italian, whatever,
you can spread the information
with your films.
That's not enough!
Maybe there is another way.
Look, there are more people
in this Favela,
than Indians in all Brazil.
Ayupu is asking for our help
to protect his forest,
once and for all.
I have a plan to create
a rainforest institute,
like a war sanctuary,
dedicated to the protection of the Indians
and the rainforest.
But how do you find it?
The world is concerned with
the protection of the rainforest.
So the world should pay for it.
Easier to say, than done.
I know,
I've already written to many institutions
here and abroad,
seems like, nobody cares.
How about a concert or something
to get the young people involved.
After all it is their environment
that is being destroyed,
their future.
Do you believe they care?
Yeah, sure they will.
They will and if they could
meet Ayupu directly.
If you could speak to them,
it happened to me, remember?
I didn't care until I met him.
I think I know someone to call.
Where is he?
Look mom, an Indian!
We, the Indians, look after each other
we have no poverty.
We don't need money,
so, I guess, we're all rich.
Here, the houses are on top one another,
like Wasp nests.
You work all year
to live like us for 3 weeks,
go fishing, play with the children,
rest in a hammock.
Maybe you have too many chiefs
and not enough Indians!
You want some liquor?
When the white men arrived,
their stench of garlic
and rotten fish was so bad,
my ancestors could smell them
from across the bay.
They brought diseases
and we started dying.
So we moved deeper into the forest,
far from the sea.
Long ago,
we lived here in Copacabana.
Today, I'm the only real Indian here!
Who are you?
You must be an important spirit here.
Maybe you can show me
how it was long ago.
Sir, sorry but you can't dress here like this.
It's not carnival yet.
I'm looking for Nicolas.
Please don't do that.
Sir, don't!
Wait.
Ayupu, where have you been?
Now maybe you can forget my daughter.
This is your friend Mr. Nicolas?
Yes, this is my friend.
Ok.
- Nicolas -Robert, Roberto
- Ayupu! - Roberto
Roberto, yes, how are you?
He is here with me.
I'm not sure I like to see myself
so clearly.
Ok thank you, Ciao.
Ayupu?
What kind of toilet is that?
Good evening,
friends of Grande Rio samba school.
I want to introduce Ayupu,
Chief of the Toa-toari tribe
from the Xingu.
Today there are no more Indians here,
now your people want to destroy
all our forest.
How will the Indians hunt
and fish to survive?
We will vanish there as well?
When the forest is gone,
the rain will stop.
There will be no more shade.
The sun will get very hot,
the winds will grow stronger,
many people will die.
I want to know if you can help me
to protect our forest,
which is also your forest?
Yes or no?
Yes!!!!
It was a good feeling
to hear the people's voice.
They understand us.
Still, every day, the forest
and our way of life are destroyed.
So What?
Each day we lose hundreds of plants,
before we can study them.
They could hold the cure
for cancer or AIDS.
Only few people came to your screening
but what can we do in Paris
for the Amazon?
I don't know!
But it's not a reason to do nothing!
The Amazon is the lung of the earth!
He's right.
You aren't even Brazilian.
The Amazon is not just in Brazil,
it's also in Equador, Peru,
Venezuela, Colombia.
Bolivia, the three Guyanas...
But two thirds are in Brazil.
Do you realize 20,000 square miles
of rainforest disappear each year?
An area the size of Belgium, get it?
At that rate,
the Amazon will be gone in 2030!
I mean it.
Amazon Forever
What's the film about?
The Indians and the Amazon.
They burn it all down, don't they?
- It's too bad.
- Tell me about it!
Good luck to you.
Thank you very much.
My film is not very successful.
Most people do not care
about the rainforest or the Indians.
Not all, fortunately.
I feel like I am swimming
against the tide.
The struggle seems pointless,
I often get depressed.
But I continue, what else?
I film other tribes...
live other stories.
The journey is long and difficult,
Filled with empty halls, mistakes,
betrayals, not only by "friends"
but also by some Indians,
But also by certain Indians
already corrupted
Hi.
I am here to tell you that
every day in the Amazon,
are destroyed.
I came here with a petition
that you can sign,
please we must alert the United Nations.
Think of your children.
What we'll do to leave for them?
But little by little,
the tide begins to turn
for me and others,
working in the same direction.
Little streams make big rivers,
they say.
The rainforest finds famous spokesmen,
many people show concern
and generosity,
politicians get involved,
new Indian reservations are created,
rainforest protection improves,
Hope comes back...
Until September 11, 2001
when the Age of Terror begins,
and the rainforest,
no longer in the media's focus,
goes up in flames again...
Soon, I'll visit you
in the other world,
where time doesn't exist
I'll ask you:
Why did you let it happen?
I'll never be an Indian, I know it.
But I can dream.
My dreams belong to me.
(To my mother)