World, otherwise
A Film By Akimi Ota
Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology, University of Manchester
Sebastian and Pastora live in a Shuar village in the Upper Amazonia of Ecuador. Sebastian is not only a respected healer, but also a medicinal botanist who experiments with unknown plants he encounters in the forest. His unique practice seeks to cultivate new knowledge, reconnecting him with his ancestors. Pastora is one of the rare female leaders in Amazonia, who struggles to negotiate with local authorities for her community. With powerful plants such as ayahuasca, they revive and energise their perceptions of the future. These plants allow them to acquire power and a faith to cope with the obstacles they now face, given that their lives have been irreversibly affected by the modern state system. The alert eyes of the filmmaker, embodied in the drifting camera, creates a distinctive field of personal story-telling, inviting the viewers into the unique sensory experience of the life in Amazonia, where truths, meanings and images flow and take unpredictable shapes.
KANARTA: ALIVE IN DREAMS is a hybrid documentary film that draws inspirations from cinéma-vérité, direct cinema, road movie and video art, while solidly based on long-term ethnographic research.
TRAILER
WATCH
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PRESS
Kanarta: Alive in Dreams has been covered by various international press.
“An excellent and in many ways ground-breaking piece of documentary cinema”
STAFF
- Producer, director, editor, cinematographer, sound recordist
Akimi Ota Born and grew up in Tokyo, Japan. He lived in different countries throughout his life, including the Netherlands, France, United Kingdom, Ecuador and Peru, which made him polyglot, granting him an ability to move between radically different cultures and merge into local lives. After studying cross-cultural studies, an interdisciplinary programme in Kobe University which allowed him to study contemporary philosophy, art theories and cultural studies, he moved to Paris and acquired his master’s degree in social anthropology from the EHESS. His filmmaking career started with his PhD project in visual anthropology at the University of Manchester. He stayed in the Amazonian rainforest for 13 months with indigenous people called Shuar, and enquire about their knowledge of medicinal plants, everyday life and struggles. In 2020, he made his debut feature documentary film Kanarta: Alive in Dreams based on this experience.
- Sound designer
Martin Salomonsen Born and raised in Central Denmark, in Northern Europe. After travelling through Western Europe as a musician, he moved to the UK. He studied primarily audio engineering at the University of Central Lancashire. Since then, following extended stays in Dortmund (Germany), Paris (France) and Málaga (Spain), he has made his home in Manchester, UK. Whilst teaching sound design at Futureworks School of Media, a specialist college in the city, he has collaborated on the sound design for numerous films. His notable works include One Long Journey (2016), directed by Andy Lawrence. He has also served as a lecturer for sound design workshops at the Academy, organised by the British Film Institute (BFI), the UK’s leading film organisation.
- Colour Grader
Aline Biz Born in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. After studying cinematography at film school, she began working as a colourist in São Paulo. He subsequently moved to Dublin, Ireland, and currently resides in Barcelona, Spain. She was responsible for the colour grading of Gabriel Brady’s film Island of the Hungry Ghosts (2018). The film has received worldwide acclaim, winning the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, one of the premier stages for independent cinema. In addition to working on numerous documentaries, short films and music videos, she has collaborated extensively with fashion brands such as Armani, Givenchy, Dior and Louis Vuitton. The unique, immersive colour palette of her work is imbued with an indescribable, delicate charm. Whilst working as a colourist, she has also held solo exhibitions as a collage artist and heads the feminist artist collective ‘Rua Nua’, demonstrating her versatility as an artist who defies conventional boundaries.
Director: Akimi Ota
Cinematography, Sound & Editing: Akimi Ota
Sound Design: Martin Salomonsen
Colour Grading: Aline Biz
Featuring: Sebastian Tsamarain & Pastora Tanchima
In Collaboration With: Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology
Travel Partner: Suritiak Naichap
Language Assistant: Georgina Hinojosa, Suritiak Naichap & Atilio Nuningo
Subtitles: Akimi Ota, Ana Edwards, Gracia Imberton, Anthony Mui, Tom Boyd, Alex Pegge & Diego Angelo Silveira
Supported By: Wenner-Gren Foundation, JASSO, HISF & University of Manchester World Distribution: Toqué Studio
Year & Production: 2020, United Kingdom & Japan
Running Time: 121 mins
Screening Format: DCP
Dialogue Languages: Shuar & Spanish
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French, Portuguese & Japanese
Location: Ecuador