Canal Brasil Airs Show in Honor of Indigenous Peoples from April 13 to 19

by Sophie Laurent April 14, 2026

written by Sophie Laurent April 14, 2026

Key Takeaways

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Canal Brasils Week of Indigenous Peoples highlighted seven films that delve into themes of memory, land, and resistance, focusing on the struggles and experiences of various indigenous communities in Brazil.
Notable documentaries included Corumbiara (2009) which uncovers a massacre of an isolated indigenous group and efforts to conceal the truth, and Raoni, An Unexpected Friendship (2025), chronicling a 50-year friendship between a Belgian filmmaker and Amazonian leader Raoni.
Fictional narratives like Paraí (2018) offer insights into the personal struggles of an indigenous girl grappling with identity, tradition, and community issues.
The week culminated with Amazonia, A New Minamata (2022), a documentary that exposes the devastating consequences of gold mining and mercury contamination on the Munduruku people in the Amazon.

Canal Brasil presented the Week of Indigenous Peoples from April 13 to 19, with nightly screenings at 8 PM to commemorate Indigenous Peoples Day in Brazil on April 19. The week-long event showcased seven films exploring themes of memory, land, and resistance. The lineup included: April 13: Corumbiara (2009), directed by Vincent Carelli, delves into the 1985 massacre of an isolated Indigenous group in Gleba Corumbiara, Rondonia, and the subsequent efforts to conceal the truth. April 14: Raoni, An Unexpected Friendship (2025), directed by Jean-Pierre Dutilleux, chronicles the 50-year friendship between a Belgian filmmaker and Chief Raoni, an Amazonian leader and advocate for Indigenous rights. Dutilleux began documenting Raoni in 1973, and the resulting documentary, narrated by Marlon Brando, received an Oscar nomination in 1978. April 15: The Last Forest (2021), directed by Luiz Bolognesi, follows shaman Davi Kopenawa Yanomami as he strives to preserve his people’s traditions and the forest’s spirits amid the encroachment of gold miners in Yanomami territory. The film, part of the “It’s All True” series, won an award at the Berlin International Film Festival and a Platinum Award for Best Documentary.

Indigenous Narratives on Canal Brasil: April 16-19 Spotlight

April 16: Krenak (2020), directed by Rogerio Correa, explores the history and ongoing struggle of the Krenak people to secure official recognition of their ancestral lands in Minas Gerais. April 17: Contact (2024), directed by Vicente Ferraz, explores the interactions between diverse ethnic groups in the Indigenous city of São Gabriel da Cachoeira, located where Brazil meets Colombia and Venezuela. April 18: Paraí (2018), directed by Vinicius Toro, tells the fictional story of Paraí, a Guarani girl in São Gabriel da Cachoeira. The film follows her fascination with traditional Guarani corn seeds as she grapples with questions about her identity, her lack of fluency in Guarani, her differences from her classmates, her father’s religious practices, and her community’s fight for land. April 19: Amazonia, A New Minamata (2022), directed by Jorge Bodanzky and Vinicius Toro, documents the Munduruku people’s experiences confronting the devastating consequences of gold mining and mercury contamination in the Amazon. The 76-minute documentary exposes the threats of mercury poisoning.