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About
About RAI Film
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Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
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Film Festival 2025
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RAI FILM
Login
Facebook
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Twitter
About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
Prices
Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
Menu
About
About RAI Film
Meet the team
Prices
Film Distribution
Watch on demand
Ethnographic Film Catalogue
Teaching resources
RAI Film Festival
About RAI Film Festival
Film Festival 2025
Film Festival 2025 Group passes
Film Festival prizes and awards
Film Conference 2025
Archive of past editions
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Films
found one film
with a digital version available
x
Keywords
“Indigenous peoples First Nations peoples”
x
Directors
“Beckham, Michael”
x
Country of production
“United Kingdom”
x
Year of production
“1987”
x
Status
“A”
x
films with a digital version
1
x
Region
South America
1
Country
Brazil
1
Keywords
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
1
x
Land Rights
1
Political Activists
1
Resistance
1
Social Conflict
1
Directors
Beckham, Michael
1
x
Series
Disappearing World Series
1
Country of production
United Kingdom
1
x
Year of production
1987
1
x
Status
Film
The Kayapo
1987
52
‘
Directed by
Michael Beckham
.
This film focuses on the conflicts and determination of a group of people trying to survive and maintain their ethnic identity in the face of almost overpowering odds. The film contrasts the reactions of two groups of Kayapo to outside influence. The Kapot have opposed contact and resisted both non-indigenous Brazilian settlers and gold miners. The Gorotire, by contrast, were invaded by gold miners who strip-mined their land and polluted their rivers. The miners paid the Gorotire very little for the destruction until 1985 when the Gorotire forced the miners to raise the commission by 5% when 200 warriors seized the airstrip. This commission amounts to two million dollars per year for the tribe and the tribe is learning to cope with the money, both with the problems it brings and the power it gives. They have trained several of their number to deal effectively with the outside world on behalf of the rest of the tribe and they now run a plane (and hire a pilot) to patrol their land against intruders. The Kapot, in their own way, are also trying to assert their identity and independence. This portion of the film shows the Kapot in the traditional activities of building and dismantling a hunting camp. The hunters returning with the tortoises they have caught are a particularly impressive sight. The now famous Chief Rop-ni is featured as a leader of the Kapot and he states eloquently his opposition to the Gorotire’s acceptance of the gold miners. Despite their adherence to tradition, however, the Kapot use modern technology – video, radios, etc. – to protect their interests and record their rituals. This is a political film and would be excellent for courses in anthropology, Latin American studies, ecology, development, and international politics. S. Nugent, 1989. Review of the film in Anthropology Today Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 18–19. T. Turner, 1990. `Visual Media, Cultural Politics, and Anthropological Practice. Some Implications of Recent Uses of Film and Video among the Kayapo of Brazil’. C.V.A. Review, Spring 1990, pp. 8–13. [In this article Turner discusses the context in which The Kayapo and The Kayapo – Out of the Forest were made.] T.Turner, 1992. Defiant Images. The Kayapo appropriation of Video. In: Anthropology Today, Vol.8.6, pp.5-16.
South America
Land Rights
Indigenous peoples / First Nations peoples
Political Activists
Resistance
Social Conflict