Martyrdom

The documentary is set in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Its subject is the land struggle of the Guarani Kaiowá people. They are asking for the boundaries of their land to be marked out. The claim is recognised in law but not carried out. The dispute goes back more than a hundred years. Its roots lie after the war with Paraguay. Over time the land was turned into farms. People were pushed into roadsides and narrow plots. Attempts to return meet with a hard response. There are evictions, armed attacks and deaths. Vincent Carelli has been filming in the region for over forty years. The documentary brings that archive together. Colour and black and white images sit side by side. The account stands openly with these communities. The hundred and sixty two minute film also follows the debates in congress, a Brazilian production Vincent Carelli, Ernesto de Carvalho and Tatiana Almeida finished in 2017.