YANUNI
A compelling and visually stunning portrait of resilience, Indigenous sovereignty, and the fight to protect the world’s largest rainforest.
Masterfully directed by Richard Ladkani (Sea of Shadows, The Ivory Game) and produced by Leonardo Di Caprio, YANUNI follows the extraordinary journey of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon, as she rises from a remote village in Xipaya territory to the political frontlines of climate justice.
A fearless defender of her people and the rainforest, Juma has survived six assassination attempts while confronting illegal gold miners, land-grabbers, and multinational corporations threatening her ancestral land. Spanning years of activism and personal sacrifice, the film captures Juma’s historic appointment as Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights under President Lula. At her side is Hugo Loss, her husband and the head of Special Operations at IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental protection agency.
As Juma fights on the political front, Hugo leads dangerous operations to dismantle illegal mining camps deep in the Amazon, often under armed threat. When Juma discovers she is pregnant, her battle takes on new urgency. Navigating impending motherhood, rising political responsibility, and Hugo’s high-risk missions, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance.
Winner of the Best Feature Documentary - International Documentary Association"Thrilling. [...] Few environmental documentaries begin with quite the urgency that YANUNI does. Even fewer blend political thrills with meditative visual poetry, but Austrian director Richard Ladkani strikes this balance with an even hand." Variety







