Emmy season is knocking at the door, with the ceremony just around the corner next week. One award has particularly caught my attention—the Exceptional Merit Emmy Award. A Brazilian production, "The Territory" (Alex Pritz, 2022), is making waves in this prestigious event. The award, as outlined by the TV Academy, seeks to honour and encourage social impact, significant innovation in form, and remarkable mastery in filmmaking technique. This recognition is a monumental achievement for Brazil.
Filmmaking holds a pivotal role in the audiovisual industry, where Anglophones dominate the box office and streaming platforms, creating ignorance and barriers among countries. This is especially true for the Brazilian sector, which has long been neglected and undervalued. Ironically, people often fail to appreciate the richness of their own country's culture, ranking it second after foreign countries.
In terms of subject matter, "The Territory" is a documentary set in the Amazon rainforest, illustrating contemporary conflicts between indigenous communities and farmers, both of whom call it home. The indigenous have recently gained visibility in the Brazilian scene. Not long ago, during my school days, they were nearly invisible, overshadowed by the age of exploration being framed as the age of discovery. However, they played a pivotal role in the history of my hometown, with one of them being a local hero and many contributing to classics of Brazilian literature. In the present time, these "ghosts" are haunting for their rights, protesting against environmental negligence in the planet's lungs, where the workers are the breadwinners.
This weekend, the Golden Globe Awards witnessed another trailblazer. Lily Gladstone became the first female actor identifying as indigenous to win the award for Killers of the Moon (Martin Scorcese, 2023). Her father is Blackfeet and Nimiipuu, and he taught her Blackfeet culture. She is the first Native American performer to be nominated for the Best Actress in Oscars 2024.
Fifty years after Marlon Brando won "Best Actor" for his performance in 'The Godfather' at the 45th annual Academy Awards, Sacheen Littlefeather, on his behalf, refused the award in protest of American treatment of Native Americans, who were often portrayed in films with red-faced stereotypes.
Despite this time lapse, indigenous people still have a long path ahead in the entertainment industry, striving for their stories to be told and shared with proper representation. It's worth mentioning that their voices are being heard, even if on a smaller scale, with emerging artists like Kaê Guajajara, MC Araraudá, Clara Lima, Brisa Flow, Katu Mirim, and Souto MC.
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