The Last Forest

"Although there are always memories of the indigenous genocide during colonization, Native American populations continue to suffer from successive attacks on their lives. One of the most frequent threats is from gold miners who, since the "gold rush" of the 1980s, have invaded indigenous territories and threatened the lives of these populations, not to mention murders. This is exactly what "The Last Forest" is about, the new documentary by activist and filmmaker Luiz Bolognesi (from the great "Ex-Shaman"). Here, he follows the journey of the Yanomami Indians, carefully portraying the routine of these people, focusing on shaman and political leader Davi Kopenawa, as well as the history that permeates those lands, with all its strength and roots. Thus, in order to revere this people to the fullest, Bolognesi makes the best possible aesthetic decisions. There are few interferences from the filmmaker in the scenes, unlike the aforementioned "Ex-Shaman", leaving the natural lighting of that community to take over the aesthetics. There is no excess lighting, nor a photography work that hinders more than helps. Everything is natural. The script, meanwhile, follows two paths. On the one hand, it shows the roots, legends and entities of that people with performances performed by the people themselves. On the other hand, and it is here that we find the best moments, we see Davi Kopenawa fighting for his community, whether removing miners from the region, teaching the younger ones how to deal with non-Indians or even articulating with other communities. It is a strong portrait of resistance, which forms an interesting consonance with the short film "Yãkwá, image and memory". A necessary, strong and urgent film for such hard times."