Amazomania

Three decades ago, a Swedish traveller made contact with an isolated tribe deep in the Amazon jungle. A fresh look at the video footage turns everything upside down.

In the autumn of 1996, a Brazilian official and a Swedish filmmaker set out on one of the most sensitive expeditions into the Amazon jungle, seeking to document the isolated Korubo people caught in escalating land conflicts. Initially, the footage brought back from the expedition was hailed as unique images from a hidden world, but today, the newly digitised tapes, complete with translated conversations, paint a very different picture. At the time, the Korubo people believed that the camera pointed at them was a gun. When the camera turns to the filmmaker who made contact with them, new questions arise that challenge the established rules of the colonial gaze. Why was a Swedish filmmaker present in this tense moment, and what consequences did it have for the Korubo people to be filmed and photographed on the first day of their contact?

„I highly recommend this film to anyone with a curious mind – its incredibly intimate archival footage offers a glimpse into a world that can no longer be seen today. At the same time, it is a film that will likely change the way you watch other Inconvenient Films titles. A great choice for anyone wondering where to begin their festival experience this year.“ – Judita Ragauskaitė, curator of the Impact Competition programme.

DocsBarcelona 2026 — Best Film Award
CPH:DOX 2026 — FIPRESCI International Film Critics Award
Millennium Docs Against Gravity 2026
New Zealand International Film Festival 2026