“We are Nature defending itself”
Watchers of a world we once believed to be eternal, sentinels and guardians of the sacred places of the living world, Indigenous peoples stand with their bodies and souls between humanity and the abyss that looms.
Through them, the forests still breathe, the rivers still pulse through the veins of the Earth, and the spirits continue to animate all life.
Amazonia, the Heart of Mother Earth takes us alongside seven guardians of life, wisdom, and resistance — four generations united by the same flame:
Their intertwined destinies form a blazing tapestry of humanity, woven over more than seventy years — a tapestry of struggle and light, where every victory is an ember in the night.
These Guardians do not protect nature — they are nature defending itself.
Their songs are the voices of trees teeming with life; their tears, the springs that refuse to run dry. Their bodies are territories of resistance, their scars covered in genipapo and urucum shining like fire under the sun. Their voices begin as whispers, but with each warning from Mother Earth, they rise like thunder to remind us of what we have forgotten.
Without respect for the forest, there will be no more mornings.
Without justice for those who defend it, there will be no more world.
To them, the Amazon is not a backdrop or a resource — it is a vital organ of the world-body. It beats beneath their skin, pulses in their dreams. It is their home, their temple, their memory, and their future. A land inhabited by spirits, where every creature, every stone, every breath belongs to one vast and unified family.
They move forward with the will to act and to persuade — so that the laws of humanity, wherever they are made, may once again align with the laws of Mother Earth. So that, on the horizon of chaos, paths of hope may emerge.
Through the intimate stories of seven iconic Indigenous leaders, Amazonia, Heart of Mother Earth retraces seventy years of struggle and cooperation that have shaped a new paradigm for the protection of the forest and of life itself.
The film reveals how, against the current of History, Indigenous and non-Indigenous people formed extraordinary friendships — where everything once seemed to divide them — and allied for the first time to build new paths of preservation and justice. Enduring alliances capable of withstanding the test of time.
From the creation of the Xingu Park, envisioned by Chief Raoni and his people alongside the Villas-Bôas brothers in the 1950s, to the establishment of Brazil’s first Ministry of Indigenous Peoples in 2022 — passing through the shared struggles of Davi Yanomami, Ninawa Huni Kui, Sting, Sydney Possuelo, and President Lula — the film shows that, despite the destructive forces at play, pioneering alliances and acts of courage can lead to unexpected and transformative victories.
Amazonia, Heart of Mother Earth proves it: a pact of brotherhood can push back bulldozers, create reserves the size of nations, and enshrine Indigenous rights in a constitution.
But today, these achievements are under threat from a global extractivist and productivist system — a legacy of colonization — that is driving mass ecocide. Far from being a simple statement of loss, Amazonia, the Heart of Mother Earth is a visual manifesto. It proves that new forms of cooperation are not only possible, but urgently needed — and that they must begin now, at a much broader scale. This is not a memorial; it is a drumbeat, calling for the next wave of allies. A hopeful model already exists: local, horizontal, life-honoring partnerships.
The film invites everyone — citizens, companies, decision-makers, educators — to join the unbroken chain of “guardians,” to help reinvent the economy, education, and diplomacy through the lens of Indigenous knowledge.
Because protecting the Amazon means protecting the heart that beats for all of us. This is not just about saving a forest or millennia-old cultures — it is about co-creating a new world, where each viewer becomes, in turn, a participant and partner in the living Earth.
In May 2022, Gert-Peter Bruch and Princess Esmeralda of Belgium embarked on an extraordinary journey into Kayapo territory, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon. For Gert-Peter, it was a return to his roots — a reunion with his longtime friend Chief Raoni Metuktire, whom he has accompanied in his fight for over 35 years, beginning with their first international tour alongside Sting.
For Princess Esmeralda, with Gert-Peter as her guide, it was a first immersion — profoundly symbolic — as she walked in the footsteps of her father, King Leopold III, who had come to support the Indigenous peoples of the Xingu region sixty years earlier.
The moment was charged with exceptional intensity. Chief Raoni, recovering from a life-threatening case of COVID and still mourning the loss of his wife, was returning to public life after a long period of withdrawal. In a scene both intimate and solemn, he dons his feather headdress once again — a sign of his return to life, to resistance, and to hope. Soon after, he grants the filmmakers a powerful, moving interview marked by humor, emotion, and the strength of memory. He reflects on the major chapters of his life and struggle, but also speaks of the present — and of the future.
This historic resurgence coincides with another rebirth: that of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, then a candidate for the presidency of Brazil. In this context, Esmeralda of Belgium and Gert-Peter Bruch meet with him to deliver a letter from Chief Raoni, containing three fundamental demands: to restart the demarcation of Indigenous lands, to appoint an Indigenous representative as head of FUNAI, and to create a Ministry of Indigenous Peoples fully shaped and led by Indigenous people themselves.
This moment, featured in the film, marks the reunion of two historic figures in Brazil. In response to the letter, Lula officially invites Chief Raoni to stand beside him on the ramp of the Palácio do Planalto for his inauguration on January 1, 2023 — the moment he receives the presidential sash. A powerful image, destined to become part of history.
Yet Amazonia, Heart of Mother Earth is far more than a historical record. It is an act of memory and reconnection, a vibrant tribute to biodiversity, and a passionate call for action. From the outset, the filmmakers sought to shape this lived experience into a poetic, educational, and mobilizing work — one that celebrates not only the splendor of the Amazon, but also the richness of other, often-overlooked interdependent ecosystems: the Atlantic Forest, the Cerrado, the Pantanal, the Caatinga…
Driven by exceptional creative alliances, the film brings together spectacular imagery captured by masters of nature cinematography: Christian Dimitrius, Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Patrick Rouxel, and David Huting. These stunning scenes dialogue with rare visual treasures drawn from the archives of Greenpeace and WWF, along with exclusive footage gathered over fifteen years of filming and activism by Planète Amazone and Gert-Peter Bruch. Some archival materials are priceless and have never been shown before: images of King Leopold III in the Amazon from the private collections of Princess Esmeralda and the University of Goiás; unique video archives of Chief Raoni; private photographs from the families of Orlando Villas-Bôas and Sydney Possuelo. An audiovisual legacy of immense historical value.
This visual poetry is enriched by a striking graphic homage through the work of Elen Ture, a self-taught French painter of Anatolian origin and a loyal ally of Planète Amazone. She created several original drawings for the film, a compelling poster, and most notably a monumental mural entitled The Alliance. The result of nine months of dedicated work, this piece symbolically connects Indigenous peoples from around the world to their sacred animals. In the film’s final scene, a slow zoom-out reveals the full mural, set to a rare and powerful offering: an ethno-music piece by Paul McCartney.
The legendary musician supported the project by granting the use of his composition Kreen Akrore, written in 1970 just after the Beatles’ breakup. Inspired by a BBC documentary on the Xingu peoples, this tribal, percussive track underscores the unveiling of Elen Ture’s mural in a swirling visual and musical alchemy. This sequence visually captures the film’s message: our world is a living, interconnected tapestry, whose ancestral guardians still carry its memory — and its future.
Each frame of the film vibrates with intensity, elevated by the luminous and organic color grading of François Personnier. Under his touch, the forest, faces, animals, ritual gestures, and village scenes acquire an almost sensory dimension. He reveals the invisible: the spirits, the ties between sky and earth, the hidden presences of the living world. The soundtrack, too, breathes with the sacred. The original compositions by Clément Garcin, Béatrice Little Bear, and Ed Rig resonate with the chants that embody Mother Earth — a sensitive and spiritual voice that guides the viewer throughout the narrative.
Finally, it is important to note that this work is the result of an extraordinary outpouring of solidarity. All the artists, producers, composers, broadcasters, and partners generously donated their rights to bring this film to life. The same goes for the many volunteers involved in the post-production process. Amazonia, Heart of Mother Earth is a non-profit project, conceived as a tool for awakening and engagement. It speaks to young people, educators, activists, dreamers, and bridge-builders — as well as to economic actors. To all those who want to build a different future. If every contribution to the film is a gesture of tribute and resistance, each viewer is invited to carry the torch forward and become, in turn, a protector of Mother Earth.
Seven Indigenous leaders weave the narrative thread of the film. Alongside them, committed allies strengthen their call — a cry of alarm, but above all, a song of alliance.
