Birdwatchers - the Film

Another fine film in the Edinburgh International Film Festival is Birdwatchers, Marco Bechis' drama about the Gurani people of Brazil. The story centres on a family who live in a reservation and make money by posing for tourists but are rocked by a series of suicides and decide to reclaim their ancestral home. This home was once rich rainforest but is now farmland with a very unsympathetic owner, who wants the Indians off 'his' land. The film is beautiful, disturbing and depressing, though there are moments of humour, but overall it is not an optimistic film..... Birdwatchers was released in France and Brazil last year and is being released in a number of European countries over the next few months. Not sure about the USA.....

In some senses the film reminded me of The Emerald Forest, the 1985 film which was one of my early influences in developing my environmental awareness.

Survival International is campaigning for the rights of the Guarani people, you can find out more here.

For those of you who asked, Crimson Wing, which I reviewed a few days ago should be getting worldwide release, including a Swahili version to be released in Tanzania.