Synopses:
- Matinta (Dir. Fernando Segtowick; 20’; 2010) - In a fishing village in the Amazon, a local woman falls ill for no apparent reason, arousing suspicion. Is it a curse? A haunting? Felício searches desperately for a cure for her illness. Only then can he save his wife’s life and find peace of mind. In his quest, he will uncover things that may haunt him forever.
- Amazônia Sem Garimpo (Tiago Carvalho e Julia Bernstein; 6’30''; 2022) - Amazônia Sem Garimpo is a Brazilian animated film that tells the story, from an indigenous perspective, of the contamination of rivers by mercury used in illegal gold mining. The film shows how the poison affects fish and human health, causing serious illnesses, and highlights the struggle of the indigenous peoples to stop gold mining.
- Amazônia, A Nova Minamata? (Dir. Jorge Bodanzky; Doc; 76’; 2022) - This documentary follows the Munduruku people’s struggle to curb the destructive impact of gold mining on their ancestral territory, whilst revealing how Minamata disease, caused by mercury contamination, now threatens the inhabitants of the entire Amazon region.
About the Festival:
- The Amazon Film Festival is an independent initiative by Mekaron Filmes and the Instituto Cultural Amazônia Brasil, dedicated to the dissemination, exchange, inclusion and cultural education of Amazonian cinema since 2005. Over the past 20 years, it has visited five countries and 26 cities, screened 400 films and reached over 50,000 people.
Over two decades, the Festival has grown and reached a global audience, travelling throughout the Brazilian Amazon, French Guiana, France, Germany and Portugal, and screening hundreds of films.
As well as promoting the region, its people and its culture, the Festival puts the Amazon on the agenda in a wide variety of settings, thereby fostering surprising encounters between various cultures and northern Brazil, connecting ideas and people through cinema.
The project, which was awarded the title of ‘best cultural exchange initiative between Brazil and Europe’ by MINC (Brazil’s Ministry of Culture) in its second edition in 2006, is now in its 11th edition and is coming to London for the first time.
With the support of local partners Cine Brazil and Brazil Matters, the London edition of the Festival will hold five sessions across five different venues, screening 11 titles – short and feature-length films – alongside discussions and the exhibition “And Now the People Know – Mercury contamination in the Amazon as seen through the eyes and hands of Brazil’s Munduruku indigenous people” by photographer Letícia Valverdes, in collaboration with Munduruku indigenous people from the Sawre Muybu territory.
The 11th Amazon Film Festival is a production of Mekaron Filmes and Instituto Cultural Amazônia Brasil, with the support of Instituto Guimarães Rosa, Secult-Pa, Cine Brazil, Brazil Matters, Associação de Amizade Italia-Brasile, Forum Culturel Brésil Suisse, Caraminhola Produções Artísticas, and other important local partners contributing to the success and scope of the project in four different countries.
This event is a part of the UK/Brazil Season of Culture 2025-26 - year-long cultural exchange between the two countries that showcases the diverse and vibrant arts sectors of both nations
