Uýra: The Rising Forest (Uýra: A Retomada da Floresta) 

In this film, bursting with all the colors of the rainbow, Uýra, a non-binary visual artist is travelling through the Amazon rainforests. Being simultaneously on a journey to the depth of their soul, they carry the message for indigenous youth to keep the secrets and knowledge about this ancient forest.

In Brasil, a country that kills the highest number of young transgender people, indigenous youth and enviromentalists, Uýra leads the movement which supports an idea of community through the art and education. Their art is a metaphor of processes going on in nature, while being an overview of challenges for local communities. What we see here is destruction of land and agression towards everything that is alive; on the other hand, we can watch the cycle of rebirth. The new species emerge, beginning stronger ecosystem.

Juliana Curi, who directed Uýra, points out that being a Latino woman living in the USA, in the same time she passes as a white woman in Brasil. That makes her understand her privledge in a system that supports inequalities that much.

We shouldn’t take and watch this film straight from European-concentrated, West-centered perspective. The lines between fiction and documentary here are blurred; music, traditional dance and rituals make the viewer feel the spectacular Amazonian forest right here, just around.

🏆 Frameline San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival 2022 – Best Documentary Feature, Audience Award
🏆 L.A. Outfest 2022 – Special Programming Award for Freedom
🏆 40th Chicago LGBTQ+ International Film Festival 2022 – Best Documentary Feature, Jury Award
🏆 32. Oslo/Fusion Int. Film Festival 2022 – Documentary Feature Award
🏆 NewFest’s 34th New York LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2022 – Grand Jury Award
🏆 OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival 2022 – Best Documentary, Jury Award
🏆 London Film Week 2022 – LFW Award, Jury Prize