Deep in the Amazon rainforest, along the Lawa River on the border between Suriname and French Guiana, the Wayana have lived in close connection with their land for generations. Since the discovery of gold in the late nineteenth century, however, their world has repeatedly been intruded upon. Illegal gold miners pollute the river with mercury, while missionaries redefine spiritual practices. Parasisi shows how these interventions—sometimes overtly violent, sometimes disguised as progress—leave deep marks on both community and landscape.

In poetic black-and-white imagery accompanied by immersive sound design, the film observes how (post)colonial mechanisms continue to shape the lives of the Wayana, a once numerous community of which only around 2,500 people remain.

In cooperation with...