An experimental documentary that questions why we trust documentary form as an authoritative messenger of truths about peoples far away, Proof of Life prods its audience to reckon with the stereotypes of indigenous people that our visual culture has trained us to expect in ethnographic media. While the film earnestly broadcasts messages from the Amazonian community of Santa Clara about climate change, economic hardship, and concerns for the future of their culture, it also undermines itself and its maker by repeatedly pulling back the curtain to expose the construction process of its own narrative.
Official Selection at Ethnografilm Paris, New Filmmakers New York, Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival, & Collected Voices Chicago
