The red carpet for Wednesday’s premiere of Tran Anh Hung’s “The Pot au Feu” with Juliette Binoche and Benoît Magimel was the scene of a demonstration in support of land rights for indigenous peoples in Brazil.
The protest was led by the official delegation of “The Buriti Flower”, a film shown in the sidebar Un Certain Regard directed by the Portuguese João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora and sold by Films Boutique.
Dressed in traditional costume, directors and actors pose in front of the banks of photographers Francesco Hijno Craho, Deborah Sodre, Luzia Croacoegg Craho and Henrique Ijac Craho, with a large banner bearing the slogan “Não ao Marco Temporal: The Future of Indigenous Lands in Brazil Under Threat”.
Francisco Hijno Craho, one of the main actors, traveled from his remote village to attend the premiere in Cannes. explain to diverse The meaning of the maraca that he held in the demonstration: “The maraca represents the world. When we move it, we also make the world revolve around it. Inside the maraca there are seeds that make noise, and the seeds represent us humans.” Director Salveza said diverse: “Some photographers shouted their support and were very happy.”
The protest aims in particular at a proposed law that would limit the constitutional rights of indigenous peoples to the lands they owned by the deadline of October 5, 1988, the date of the promulgation of the Brazilian Constitution, ignoring the fact that under the military dictatorship indigenous peoples were not able to fight for their rights. Backed by conservative lawmakers from former president Jair Bolsanaro’s party, the law would severely restrict indigenous people’s ability to protect their lands from exploitation.
Filmed in the indigenous land of Krahôlandia for over a year, “The Buriti Flower” tells the story of the Krahô community and their attempt to resist exploitation as well as come to terms with their changing identity in the modern world.
In 2018, Salaveza and Misora’s “The Dead And The Others” won the Un Certain Regard Special Jury Prize. Portuguese Salavesa and Brazilian Misora.
Masura said diverse: “We have a very, very long relationship with the Krahu people. This is not just a film project: we already have a connection with the community. We spend long periods of time with them and we will continue to develop something.”
Although protests have been common in Cannes over the years, this version saw a ban on political demonstrations in the immediate surroundings of the palace in anticipation of potential disruption linked to France’s pension reforms. However, this hasn’t stopped filmmakers like Salaviza and Messora from exploiting the media spotlight to highlight their cause.
