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Our People - Instituto Socioambiental
Prodigo Films

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Our People - Instituto Socioambiental - Prodigo Films

Finalist

Title: Our People
Entrant Company: Instituto Socioambiental
Production Company: Prodigo Films
Advertising Agency: J. Walter Thompson Publicidade Ltda
Client: Instituto Socioambiental
Director: Daniel Klajmic
Director of Photography: -
Production Designer / Art Director: Azul Serra
Executive Producer: Francesco Civita, Chico Pedreira e Rita Costa
Executive Creative Director: -
VFX Company: -
Editing Company: Prodigo Films
Sound Company: Satelite
Music Company: -
Location: Amazônia
The Challenge: How do you portrait all the different cultures that live in the forest and make a living in a sustainable way, taking care of its biodiversity? These diverse “people” are spread across the Brazilian territory. How do you gather them all in one place in order to shoot a film? Would this chosen place represent all the nine special indigenous tribes, the Quilombola community and the riverside communities? A portrait must capture the individual spirit of those in front of the camera, as well as seize the alliance and relation between those people expressing their common ground.
The Solution: We know the Amazon and its forest, is the essence of all these communities and people, but it’s extensive range and size (5.5 million square kilometers) make it challenging to choose a specific meeting point. We knew that selecting a region near the city of Manaus would be ideal because of its central location and easier Access from air, land and sea. After scouting different possibilities, we found an amazing place where we could gather our cast (all the important leaders of their community, as well as their families). It had to be a place where they would feel at home with their surroundings and integrated throughout our shooting days.

We found a family that owned a piece of land in the middle of the Amazon forest. Their property contained a vast biodiversity including ancient trees that were seminal for the film narrative. A place that mirrored their own tribes and communities. We also discovered a local riverside community nearby, and used their houses as a backdrop for the cast of communities that were brought from different regions of the country.
The cast of the film consisted of approximately 30 people. Some of them flew in, while others arrived by bus . Due to the distance from major cities , the lack of infrastructure , lodging, and even electricity, we had to work with a small crew (five people ) and opted to shoot using only existing light.

At the end, all these issues helped the crew and cast to integrate and feel at home in order to convey truth to the message of the film. The results were formidable for the film. After all, it is a film about truth. And about home.
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