Yanuni

Synopsis

A cinematic portrait of Indigenous leader Juma Xipaia, who rose from a remote village in the Brazilian Amazon to the forefront of the fight for climate justice. After surviving six assassination attempts, she is appointed Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights. Her husband, a federal IBAMA agent, meanwhile carries out dangerous operations against illegal gold miners. With political pressure mounting, threats growing, and motherhood approaching, Juma faces the personal cost of years of resistance. Both intimate and epic, Yanuni is a powerful story of Indigenous sovereignty, love, and the urgent struggle to protect the planet we call home.

Director Biography

Richard Ladkani

Internationally acclaimed filmmaker whose documentaries focus on environmental destruction, wildlife trafficking, Indigenous rights, and political corruption. He has worked as a director or cinematographer on around fifty films, combining strong visual storytelling with a focus on social and environmental issues. His breakthrough film, The Devil’s Miner (2005), premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and won more than 20 international awards. A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, he co-founded Malaika Pictures with his wife Anita in 2015.

Credits

Camera / Kamera

Richard Ladkani

Editing / Kurgu

Georg M. Fischer, Bfs

Music / Müzik

H. Scott Salinas

Production / Yapım

Juma Xipaia, Leonardo DiCaprio, Anita Ladkani, Richard Ladkani, Jennifer

Davisson, Phillip Watson