Ancient Meets Modern: Waponi Amazon Film Fest
Imagine a movie screening, but deep in the jungle.
In the midst of a career transition from architecture to photojournalism, I sent myself on a quest to the wildest and most remote places in South America to seek out stories worth sharing. This led me to Moi Guiquita and his Waponi Amazon Project, an initiative to advocate for the livelihood of indigenous Waorani people - his family and heritage - deep in the jungles of Ecuador. I volunteered to help out with his nonprofit in his home village and was quickly swept into a local documentary project where we would venture into the depths of rural life and film a day with the Waorani. And to add even more weight to our expedition, we would be showing that film with a projector in the village so the community could watch themselves on screen for the first time.
The Waorani are the most recently contacted tribe in the Ecuadorian Amazon and are known for their strained relations with outsiders. They were first reached by missionaries in the 1950’s and since have then have been subject to exploitation and land-grabbing by international oil mining companies. Living intertwined with the natural world, the Waorani have developed a lifestyle that reflects the beauty and volatility of their rainforest home. Their delicate woven textiles and distinctive body paint are crafted directly from local flora, and every cultural symbol relates to the dynamic flow of the Amazonian rivers. Daily routines are rigorous and time-consuming, and life is not easy. But the Waorani insist that life is good.
Moi and I were able to film the actions, spaces, and sounds of the village that were later shared with the people themselves on a projector screen in the middle of the jungle. I will never forget the smiles that broke out on their faces when his family members recognized themselves in a real life movie. It was their language, their home, and their world, displayed in a positive and dignifying light. The power of film is greater than we think. Visual storytelling can give a sense of pride and bond humans together in ways otherwise hard to achieve. It can also do the opposite. What Moi and his initiative are achieving is building human connection.
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