Birdwatchers (15)

An unusual, compassionate exploration of a culture driven to near extinction by capitalism and colonialism

Director: Marco Bechis
Starring: Abrisio da Silva Pedro, Alicelia Batista Cabreira, Ambrosio Vilhava
Italy/Brazil, 2008, 1 hour 44 minutes, subtitles

Sat 13 March 7.00pm Ross St Mary's Church Hall

Forced off their land, a group of Guarani Indians are paid to pose as savages for passing tourists. Although they reclaim their territory and one boy, a trainee shaman, starts a relationship with the rancher's daughter, prejudice abounds. Through the story of two young boys caught between their father's desire to continue to live the traditional way and their own desire for Nike trainers this sensitively explores the devastation that results from displacement. Shot with a luminous, dreamy clarity and underscored by a wit that cuts through solemnity and pretentiousness this is a gripping account of the fall-out that occurs when two cultures collide.