Río Verde. El tiempo de los Yakurunas

The lush green of the foliage forms a quivering reflection on the surface of the Amazon. According to the legends of the indigenous people of the region, the Yacurunas live beneath the water, in submerged cities that are the mirror image of human ones. Yet the film deals neither with mythical creatures nor with legends, catapulting viewers instead right into the midst of this incredibly green world. The residents of this region fish, hunt, cook, weave and live under circumstances that are anything but simple or romantic; their existence is dependent on the river, with which they live in an extreme symbiosis. As they move away from the camera, they sometimes appear to become one with the forest on the banks of the river. Their hunting calls and chants merge with the loud sounds of the jungle. Eschewing any classical anthropological pointers, Río Verde invites viewers to rely solely on their eyes and ears to get their bearings in this Amazonian catchment area. Or to allow its cinematographic prowess to carry them away to a place where the river itself becomes a surface for projections of all kinds, much like a cinema screen.