International
Indigenous film bringing cross-border Amazon tribes together
| By AFP | Lina Vanegas |
In Colombia’s Amazon jungle, indigenous people of different nations, ethnicities and languages have come together to find a single voice in cinema to tell their own stories, rather than let outsiders do it.
One recent week, in the community of San Martin de Amacayacu in southern Colombia the local Tikuna tribe was joined for the first time by the Matis people of Brazil for a crash course on film.
“We didn’t know how to operate a camera so what they are doing is showing their experience, offering knowledge and perseverance,” Lizeth Reina, a 24-year-old Tikuna, told AFP.
The Matis, a tribe only contacted in 1976, acquired two video cameras in 2015 and were taught how to film by the Brazilian Center for Indigenist Labor (CTI) and the National Indian Foundation.
Last month, they made a seven-day journey along fast-moving rivers and almost impenetrable jungle paths to share their knowledge with this Colombian community of some 700 people.
As the boot camp got under way, a Matis with a distinctive facial tattoo, gave instructions on how to focus a video camera.
Around 10 Matis, known as “cat men” for the feline tattoos on their faces, had arrived from their home region in the Yavari valley — an area larger than Austria and rife with drug trafficking and illegal mineral extraction, logging and fishing.
British journalist Dom Phillips and indigenist Bruno Pereira were murdered there in June.
The Yavari valley has the largest number of voluntarily isolated communities in the world.
“It’s not easy getting here, we suffered a bit, but it’s very emotional,” filmmaker Pixi Kata Matis, 29, said of the journey to San Martin.
‘Future memories’
Tikunas laughed as their guests grimaced while sipping masato, a fermented yucca-based drink passed around in a cup made from the hard rind calabash tree fruit.
Films were projected inside the maloca, a cultural, political, social and spiritual center.
Hundreds of dazzled spectators watched as images of hunts with blowguns, bows and arrows flashed before their eyes, as well as the tattoo festival that marks the coming of age of young Matis.
“We have to show other people and the whites that we have our own identity,” said Kata Matis.
The films “can help keep memories for the future … so we don’t forget our traditions,” added Yina Moran, 17.
Placed in mixed groups, the Tikunas proposed three short films on seeds, medicinal plants and masato, with the help of Matis, the CTI and the French association ForestEver.
“The cameras blended into the landscape and families were more willing to share and communicate,” said ForestEver coordinator Claire Davigo.
‘Exotic reports’
San Martin de Amacayacu, surrounded by a lush natural park, is made up of wooden houses, some with colorful painted walls, that are home to several generations of the same family.
Apprentices and their mentors spent the day conducting interviews and filming daily life.
“The communication was wonderful because although we hardly speak Portuguese, we understood each other through our cultures,” said Moran.
In the afternoon, locals made their way down to the river to wash clothes or bathe. At night, generators were fired up to provide four hours of electricity. After that, the noise stopped to make way for jungle sounds.
A decade after they were first contacted, the Matis were already the “stars of exotic reports” by US, Japanese, French and British journalists, according to the CTI.
Foreigners were captivated by their body art and accessories: ears pierced with huge ornaments, fine rods passing through noses and lips, face tattoos and bodies draped in jewelry.
But Kata Matis complained that “many people wanted to go to the village … filming without our authorization, without our understanding, and then they took the material” without sharing it.
To prevent a repeat, the Matis began writing their own history in 2017.
Living ‘with two worlds’
Since arriving in San Martin, Dame Betxun Matis, 27, has not put down his camera.
He took part in producing the “Matis tattoo festival” documentary that won the jury prize at the Kurumin indigenous cinema festival in 2021.
The film demonstrates the tradition of marking the face, a practice abandoned by young people who faced discrimination in cities.
Kata Matis convinced the community to resume the tradition and filmed as some 90 young people underwent the ritual.
On the Matis’ last night in San Martin, hundreds of locals crammed the maloca to watch the Tikunas’ short films.
After much laughter, applause and shared masato, Kata Matis reflected on the place of indigenous people in modern nation states.
“We don’t live between two worlds, we live with two worlds,” he said.
International
Iranian leader warns foreign powers have “no place” in Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, said Thursday that the Persian Gulf is entering a new era marked by a “bright” future without the presence of the United States in the region.
His remarks came during the commemoration of Persian Gulf Day, amid ongoing regional tensions following recent military confrontations involving Iran, the United States, and Israel.
“Today, two months after the largest military buildup and aggression by the bullies of the world in the region and the humiliating defeat of the United States, a new chapter is being written for the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” Khamenei stated.
The Iranian leader insisted that the future of the region would be free from American influence and focused instead on the internal development and prosperity of Gulf nations.
“By the power and strength of God, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without the United States and dedicated to the progress, welfare, and prosperity of its nations,” he said.
Khamenei also questioned the effectiveness of U.S. military bases in the region, arguing that they do not provide security even for Washington’s allies.
“Foreigners who come from thousands of miles away and commit evil and malicious acts have no place there except at the bottom of its waters,” he declared.
In addition, the Iranian leader defended new measures being prepared by Tehran to regulate maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, including fees for vessels passing through the strategic waterway. According to Khamenei, the policies would generate economic benefits and greater stability for the region.
Regional tensions remain high following the conflict that erupted on February 28 between the United States and Israel against Iran, leading to strategic blockades in the Strait of Hormuz, a route through which nearly 20% of the world’s oil supply previously passed. The situation has disrupted maritime trade and contributed to rising global oil prices.
Central America
U.S. and Regional Allies Back Panama Amid Dispute With China
The United States, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Guyana, Paraguay and Trinidad and Tobago issued a joint statement in support of Panama’s sovereignty, arguing that China’s recent actions represent an attempt to politicize maritime trade and undermine the sovereignty of nations in the hemisphere.
“We are closely monitoring China’s selective economic pressure and recent actions affecting vessels flying the Panamanian flag,” the statement released Tuesday said. “Panama is a pillar of our maritime trading system and, as such, must remain free from undue external pressure.”
The statement comes amid growing tensions surrounding the Panama Canal and the operation of key ports linked to global trade.
At the end of January, Panama’s Supreme Court invalidated the legal framework supporting the 1997 concession that granted Panama Ports Company, a subsidiary of CK Hutchison, the right to operate the Balboa and Cristóbal terminals located on the Pacific and Atlantic entrances of the Panama Canal.
The ruling followed mounting pressure from the United States to curb Chinese influence around the strategic waterway, through which roughly 5% of global maritime trade passes.
CK Hutchison, which managed the ports for nearly three decades, rejected the court’s decision and accused Panamanian authorities of illegally confiscating its assets. The company has launched international arbitration proceedings against Panama, seeking more than $2 billion in damages.
Following the court ruling, reports emerged of increased detentions and inspections of Panamanian-flagged vessels in China, actions widely viewed as retaliatory measures.
On Wednesday, China’s Foreign Ministry dismissed the joint statement as “completely unfounded and misleading,” accusing the United States of politicizing port operations and warning that Beijing would take steps to protect its interests in Panama.
International
King Charles III Says U.S.-UK Alliance Is “Irreplaceable and Unbreakable”
King Charles III of the United Kingdom reaffirmed the strength of the British-American relationship on Tuesday during a speech before the United States Congress, describing the alliance between the two nations as “irreplaceable and unbreakable.”
The address, delivered at the Capitol, marked the first speech by a British monarch before Congress since Queen Elizabeth II in 1991 and comes at a time of political tensions between Donald Trump’s administration and the Labour government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“As President Trump himself observed during his state visit to Britain last autumn, the bond of kinship and identity between the United States and the United Kingdom is invaluable and eternal. It is irreplaceable and unbreakable,” the king said.
While reflecting on the upcoming 250th anniversary of U.S. independence, which will be commemorated this year, Charles III stated that the partnership between the two countries “was born out of disagreement, but is no less strong because of it.”
The monarch emphasized the democratic values shared by both nations and noted that major global changes have occurred whenever the two allies found common ground.
“When we have found that way to agree, great changes have taken place not only for the benefit of our peoples, but for all peoples,” he said.
King Charles also quoted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who recently described the relationship as “an indispensable alliance.”
Concluding his speech, the monarch described the shared history of the United States and the United Kingdom as “a story of reconciliation, renewal, and an extraordinary partnership.”
He added that Washington and London have forged “one of the most consequential alliances in human history.”
“I pray with all my heart that our alliance continues to defend our shared values, together with our partners in Europe, the Commonwealth, and around the world, and that we ignore calls urging us to become increasingly isolationist,” Charles III stated.
The king ended by urging both nations to “recommit to one another in selfless service to our peoples and to all peoples of the world.”
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