Kunha Karai and The Earth Narratives
(Kunhã Karaí e as narrativas da Terra)
Paola Mallmann / Brazil / 2023 / 105 min
FAM Florianopolis Film Festival
Humberto Mauro Film Festival
Best Documentary, Best Script, Best Music ScoreCiranda de Filmes Film Festival
Pricing
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Guarani and Portuguese with English subtitles
A powerful documentary, Kunha Karai and The Earth Narratives weaves together the personal narratives and collective struggles of Brazilian Indigenous women, highlighting their role as leaders in both their communities and broader social movements. Through a tapestry of memories, dreams, oral traditions, and Amerindian cosmologies, director Paola Mallmann explores how processes of healing and resistance are deeply rooted in ancestral knowledge and territorial belonging.
Centered on Indigenous female protagonism, the film showcases how women are reshaping political discourse through collective action in defense of their rights and the environment. Their stories offer a vital perspective in global conversations on climate change, decolonial feminism, and the interconnection between land, identity, and justice in Brazil.
Related Subjects
About the Director
Paola Mallmann is a Brazilian documentary filmmaker whose work explores urgent social and environmental issues through a cinematic, research-driven lens. She is the director of Um tempo para mim (2022) and Kunhã Karaí e as Narrativas da Terra (2023), both of which highlight Indigenous narratives and personal stories rooted in territory and identity. In 2024, she served as production manager on Filhos do Mangue, a documentary examining coastal ecosystems and community resistance. Mallmann’s films reflect a strong commitment to decolonial storytelling and environmental justice, positioning her as an emerging voice in Latin American documentary cinema.
Press
“In times of climate crisis and threats to indigenous rights, Kunha Karaí and the Narratives of the Earth is an urgent work. More than informing, the film proposes a reunion with the Earth - as mother, as home, as part of us.” – Marcela Brandes, Brasil de Fato
Notes on the Film
“More than a documentary, Kunha Karai and The Earth Narratives is a spiritual and political journey. The film is conceived as a “chamado à escuta” (a call to listen), inviting audiences to connect with ancestral knowledge, healing practices tied to the land, and the spiritual strength of Indigenous women.
The film speaks deeply about healing processes linked to the awareness of the need to protect biomes and defend Indigenous rights to land, as a collective cause, a matter of social justice, and a path to the future.
[…] These kunhãs karaí-wise women-awakened in me the desire to create a film about living ancestry and spirituality as a force for social transformation.”
– Paola Mallman, Director