Birdwatchers (film)

Birdwatchers
Birdwatchers
	Film poster
Directed by	Marco Bechis
Written by	Marco Bechis; Luiz Bolognesi
Produced by	Amedeo Pagani; Marco Bechis; Fabiano Gullane; Caio Gullane
Starring	Claudio Santamaria; Alicélia Batista Cabreira; Chiara Caselli
Cinematography	Hélico Alemão Nagamine
Edited by	Jacopo Quadri
Music by	Andrea Guerra
Production; companies	Classic; Rai Cinema; Karta Film; Gullane Filmes
Distributed by	01 Distribution (Italy); Paris Filmes (Brazil)
Release dates	1 September 2008 (Venice); 28 November 2008;
Running time	104 minutes
Countries	Italy; Brazil
Languages	Portuguese; Guarani; English
Budget	€3 million
Box office	$7,263

Birdwatchers (Italian: La terra degli uomini rossi) is a 2008 Brazilian-Italian drama film directed by Marco Bechis and starring Claudio Santamaria, Alicélia Batista Cabreira, and Chiara Caselli. It depicts the breakdown of a community of Guarani-Kaiowa native Indians whilst attempting to reclaim their ancestral land from a local farmer.

Plot

A boat with tourists is sailing through the jungle. Suddenly they come face-to-face with Indians, naked apart from their paint, with self-made weapons at the ready. The tourists sail on excitedly. The Indians put on their jeans and collect their wages.

The Guarani, one of Brazil's oldest Indian communities, are forced to live in a reservation. A small group decide to leave and settle in a traditional territory that has belonged to white men for several generations.

Cast

Claudio Santamaria as Roberto
Alicélia Batista Cabreira as Lia
Chiara Caselli as Beatrice
Abrísio da Silva Pedro as Osvaldo
Ademilson Concianza Verga as Irineu
Ambrósio Vilhalva as Nádio
Matheus Nachtergaele as Dimas
Fabiane Pereira da Silva as Maria
Eliane Juca da Silva as Mami
Nelson Concianza as Nhanderu
Leonardo Medeiros as Moreira
Inéia Arce Gonçalves as maid
Poli Fernandez Souza as Tito
Urbano Palácio as Josimar

Production

The film was shot in Dourados, Mato Grosso do Sul^[2] over ten weeks in 2007 with a cast whose most members had never acted before and without use of a script.

The songs "Sacris solemnis" and "O gloriosa virginum" were composed by the Italian Jesuit Domenico Zipoli who went to South America to live at the Jesuit reductions.

Awards

2010 One World Media Award in the Drama category, by unanimous vote of the jury.^[4]

References

^ Miranda, Débora. "Crítica: 'Terra vermelha' expõe conflitos de valores indígenas". G1 (in Portuguese). Grupo Globo. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^ ^a ^b Boscov, Isabela (26 November 2008). "Razões e Desrazões". Veja (in Portuguese). Editora Abril. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
^ "2008 Brazil Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
^ "Film depicting Guarani plight wins prestigious award". Survival International. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

External links

Official Birdwatchers film website
Guarani Survival Fund – Guarani fund launched with an appeal at the end of the film
Birdwatchers at IMDb
Guardian review by Tom Phillips, retrieved 11/09/09

[1] Miranda, Débora. "Crítica: 'Terra vermelha' expõe conflitos de valores indígenas". G1 (in Portuguese). Grupo Globo. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

[veja-2] Boscov, Isabela (26 November 2008). "Razões e Desrazões". Veja (in Portuguese). Editora Abril. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 2 June 2014.

[3] "2008 Brazil Yearly Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

[4] "Film depicting Guarani plight wins prestigious award". Survival International. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 23 July 2021.

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