The funding will enable writers Milson, Jocy and Poly Guajajara to develop their treatment for Once Upon a Time in the Forest — a scripted reconstruction of the formation of the Guardians of the Forest and their struggle to protect ancestral territory in the Brazilian Amazon against illegal loggers and farmers.
The film will be co-directed by Daniel Florêncio and Takumã Kuikuro, an acclaimed Indigenous Brazilian filmmaker whose documentary Ipy Katurapé was selected for the Berlin International Film Festival. The project is produced by Gabriel Uchida, Cacique Antônio Wilson Guajajara, Nefeli Zygopoulou and Daniel Florêncio.
Hivos is an international organisation that seeks new solutions to persistent global issues. Their People Unlimited programme supports storytellers and filmmakers working with marginalised communities worldwide.