This event will be held in English.
Co-sponsored by the Columbia Global Paris Center and Forbidden Stories.
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Film screening followed by a Q&A with directors Ana Aranha and Daniel Camargos. After the murder of journalist Dom Phillips, his partner covers the case while reflecting about their role as reporters in the Amazon. Is it worth taking the risk of ending up like Dom? The answer emerges from a new way to look at journalism inspired by the indigenous resistance.
Accounts of a War Correspondent in the Amazon (54min)
Film in Portuguese with English subtitles
Dir. Ana Aranha and Daniel Camargos
Watch the film’s trailer
This documentary is a tribute to British journalist Dom Phillips, who was killed in the Javari Valley along with indigenous expert Bruno Pereira. Reflecting on the complex nature of press coverage in the Amazon, the film follows the journey of experienced Brazilian reporter Daniel Camargos as he covers the search for his missing friend.
While we witness the backstage of this coverage, Camargo’s first-person narration leads to an intimate and provocative reflection on the role of journalism in the world’s largest rainforest. After hearing about the brutality of what happened to Dom and Bruno, who were murdered and dismembered, Camargos wonders if “it’s worth carrying on”.
The documentary follows Camargos’ steps as he moves deeper into the Amazon. Indigenous resistance, as they’re faced with the loss of so many of their own, takes on a whole new significance for the professional reporter.
His first stop after Vale do Javari is Araribóia Indigenous Land where more than 50 members of the Guajajara community were murdered over the last 20 years. They have taken the protection of the forest into their own hands and formed an army-like structure to fight loggers and miners who threaten their way of life. In the eyes of the Guajajara, this is a war against invaders, hence the term used in the title of the film. The journey continues on to Munduruku Indigenous Land, where sick children have been contaminated by mercury used in mining. We see strong images that expose the horrors of the undeclared war in the Brazilian Amazon.
Speakers
Ana Aranha is an investigative reporter and documentary filmmaker with 18 journalism awards. Ana is currently in charge of an investigation unit dedicated to covering agribusiness at Repórter Brasil, where she was editor-in-chief from 2015 to 2018. Always focused on human rights and environmental issues, she worked at Agência Pública and Época magazine. Internationally, she has collaborated with The Guardian and El Mundo, as well as co-directed “Slaves To Fashion”, documentary produced by Al Jazeera.
Investigative reporter at Repórter Brasil and currently Pulitzer Center fellow, Daniel Camargos
has 20 years of experience in newsrooms focusing on human rights, politics, rural conflicts and the environment. He has worked at the newspapers Folha de S. Paulo, Estado de Minas, and O Tempo. With six journalism awards, including the Vladimir Herzog, he was named by the Human Rights Commission of the Minas Gerais Legislative Assembly as one of six people who have distinguished themselves in the human rights area. He was director of the Brazilian Association of Investigative Journalism (Abraji) and vice-president of the Union of Professional Journalists of Minas Gerais.
Organizers
Forbidden Stories is a network of journalists whose mission is to protect, pursue, and publish the work of other journalists facing threats, prison, or murder. It is the only existing program with this mission, with the message that killing the journalist won’t kill the story.
Founded in 2001, Repórter Brasil investigates human rights violations as well as social and environmental issues. The organization's expertise is to track international supply chains linking on the ground violations with world wide supply chains. Its journalistic content is published in wide-ranging media in and outside Brazil.
The Columbia Global Paris Center addresses pressing global issues that are at the forefront of international education and research: agency and gender; climate and the environment; critical dialogues for just societies; encounters in the arts; and health and medical science.
Columbia Global brings together major global initiatives from across the university to advance knowledge and foster global engagement. Those initiatives include the Columbia Global Centers, Columbia World Projects, the Committee on Global Thought, and the Institute for Ideas and Imagination. Our mission is to address complex global challenges through groundbreaking scholarly pursuits, leadership development, cutting-edge research, and projects that aim for social impact. Our long-term goal is to reimagine the university’s role in society as not only a nexus for learning and intellectual exploration but also as a catalyst for creativity and impact locally, regionally, and globally.
Venue
Nestled in the Montparnasse district, Reid Hall hosts several Columbia University initiatives: the Columbia Global Paris Center, the Institute for Ideas and Imagination, Columbia Undergraduate Programs, M.A. in History and Literature, and the GSAPP Shape of Two Cities Program. This unique combination of resources is enhanced by our global network whose mission is to expand the University's engagement the world over through educational programs, research initiatives, regional partnerships, and public events.
This event will take place in Reid Hall’s Grande Salle Ginsberg-LeClerc, built in 1912 and extensively renovated in 2023 thanks to the generous support of Judith Ginsberg and Paul LeClerc.
The views and opinions expressed by speakers and guests do not necessarily reflect the official policies or positions of the Columbia Global Paris Center or its affiliates.
