Premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of the cannes festival in 2023where he received the Prix d’Ensemble for best performance (collective award to the indigenous actors of the film), ‘La flor del Burití’ is part of a type of cinema that usually has a presence in festivals but great difficulties in reaching commercial theaters. Its release in cinemas is, therefore, good news. Second feature film, after ‘The Song of the Jungle’ (2018), by the Brazilian filmmaker couple Renée Nader Messora and the Portuguese João Salaviza‘The flower of Burití’ delves into the heart of the Krahô, an indigenous people settled in the Brazilian jungle who, continually threatened, fight to preserve their continuity as a community and their identity.
In a stimulating exercise in anthropological cinema, with great visual and sound power (it is a very formally thought out and very beautiful film), the couple of filmmakers masterfully combine documentary, fiction resources, oral tradition stories and fantasy. (the way in which ‘La flor del Burití’ resorts to unreal images, even phantasmagoria, to address the spiritual dimension of the Krahô is really beautiful) to show everyday life, also the relationship with the past and the future, of that community. From there comes a forceful and at the same time beautiful reflection on the fight for freedomthe deep connection with the land and the ideas of tradition and legacy.
