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YANUNI

27.11.2025

Feature Film Selection/ Austria, Brazil, U.S.A, Canada, Germany, 2025, Color, 112'
 
Details
  • Director: Richard Ladkani
  • Screenplay: Richard Ladkani
  • Editing: Georg M. Fischer
  • Cinematography: Richard Ladkani
  • Music: H. Scott Salinas
  • Producer: Anita Ladkani, Richard Ladkani, Juma Xipaia, Leonardo Dicaprio, Jennifer Davisson, Phillip Watson
  • Production: Malaika Pictures
  • Cast: Juma Xipaia, Hugo Loss, Tuppak Tawary Xipaia, Yanuni Xipaia Loss
  • 2025 Savannah Film Festival Best Director, Best Documentary
Recap

Juma Xipaia carries forward the struggle she began at a young age, becoming a key leader fighting for the survival and rights of her Indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon. As the first female chief of the Middle Xingu region, she survives assassination attempts, witnesses state violence against protesters, and works to expose illegal mining operations that are destroying the forests. With the establishment of Brazil's Ministry of Indigenous Peoples in 2023, a new chapter begins, bringing renewed hope to both her activism and her community. The film follows the daily lives of Juma and her husband Hugo, an environmental enforcement officer, blending the Amazon's stunning landscapes with an intimate and political narrative.
Director

Richard Ladkani

Richard Ladkani is an award-winning filmmaker and cinematographer who has worked on over fifty documentaries focusing on environmental, social, and political themes. He directed Sea of Shadows, executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, which won the Sundance Audience Award, and The Ivory Game, also executive produced by DiCaprio, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Academy Awards. He served as cinematographer on Jane's Journey, a documentary about Jane Goodall that was screened worldwide. Known for his intimate and visually striking style, he often combines directing and cinematography in his projects. In 2015, he co-founded Malaika Pictures with his wife Anita.
Trailer
Stills
YANUNI_Juma_Xipaia_River_Sunset_[by RICHARD LADKANI]_3

EUROPEAN UNION, 2025

YANUNI_Hugo_Loss_Ibama_mining_camp_destruction

EUROPEAN UNION, 2025

YANUNI_Juma_Xipaia_Amazon[by RICHARD LADKANI]_1

EUROPEAN UNION, 2025

YANUNI_Juma_Xipaia_NYC_[by RICHARD LADKANI]_2

EUROPEAN UNION, 2025

The Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye organises the annual EU Human Rights Film Days on the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Click here for the list of films.