Amazon Journal (1995)

Geoffrey O'Connor's candid, first-person account of his experiences filming the turbulent political events in the Brazilian Amazon. This includes filming sequences on the assassination of the labor activist Chico Mendes; the devastating gold mining invasion of Yanomami Indian Territory; the downfall of the indigenous leader Payakan and the rock star Sting's complicated foray into save-the-rain forest politics. The documentary uses a unique narrative structure to illustrate how the white man's preconceptions of Indians as "primitives" and "noble savages" has contributed to the undermining of the indigenous rights movement in Brazil during the 1990s.