DIRECTOR: PAZ ENCINA
STARRING: ANEL PICANERAI, CURIA CHIQUEJNO ETACORO, DUCUBAIDE CHIQUENOI
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 23 MINUTES
Eami's homeland is invaded by settlers. Embodying Asoja, the bird-god woman, she falls into a trance in which she walks slowly and stunned through her beloved forest as she prepares to leave it forever.
STARRING: ANEL PICANERAI, CURIA CHIQUEJNO ETACORO, DUCUBAIDE CHIQUENOI
RUNNING TIME: 1 HR 23 MINUTES
Eami's homeland is invaded by settlers. Embodying Asoja, the bird-god woman, she falls into a trance in which she walks slowly and stunned through her beloved forest as she prepares to leave it forever.
FILM REVIEW:
(This review contains spoilers.)
"Are we the same when we lose those we love?"
Director Paz Encina has created a contemplative, thoughtful, meditative film about the Ayoreo Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco in Paraguay. The film follows Eami after her village is destroyed and her community has disappeared. Eami wanders the rainforest, looking for whoever might be left.
The film is like listening to poetry. Every phrase has a purpose and meaning. The film is deliberately slow, so that every word is felt and appreciated. The scenery and images of the forest linger on the screen as Eami talks slowly about her feelings. The sounds we hear in the distance are alluring, like wind rustling the leaves, the growling of the tigers, and soon the sound of the machines.
At first the Ayoreo were afraid of small planes flying over their homes. Now they are faced with two choices: to be imprisoned or killed by the invaders or to flee the only homes they’ve known. Eami now has to walk on ashes to leave her village. “Remember everything” says the man who’s accompanying the young girl on her journey. “Once we leave, we can never come back.”
Eami means the forest and the world. Eami is an inhabitant of nature. And she is a bird. She’s the spirit of those who left the forest and those who used to live there. Whenever we see a bird flying above us, think of Eami and think of those people who’re losing our homes due to greed and money. “Today I fly over a world that runs, as my people once ran.”
(This review contains spoilers.)
"Are we the same when we lose those we love?"
Director Paz Encina has created a contemplative, thoughtful, meditative film about the Ayoreo Indigenous people of the Gran Chaco in Paraguay. The film follows Eami after her village is destroyed and her community has disappeared. Eami wanders the rainforest, looking for whoever might be left.
The film is like listening to poetry. Every phrase has a purpose and meaning. The film is deliberately slow, so that every word is felt and appreciated. The scenery and images of the forest linger on the screen as Eami talks slowly about her feelings. The sounds we hear in the distance are alluring, like wind rustling the leaves, the growling of the tigers, and soon the sound of the machines.
At first the Ayoreo were afraid of small planes flying over their homes. Now they are faced with two choices: to be imprisoned or killed by the invaders or to flee the only homes they’ve known. Eami now has to walk on ashes to leave her village. “Remember everything” says the man who’s accompanying the young girl on her journey. “Once we leave, we can never come back.”
Eami means the forest and the world. Eami is an inhabitant of nature. And she is a bird. She’s the spirit of those who left the forest and those who used to live there. Whenever we see a bird flying above us, think of Eami and think of those people who’re losing our homes due to greed and money. “Today I fly over a world that runs, as my people once ran.”
