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The Z-oe: Nomads of the Amazon (Q&A with Matt Currington)

Tuesday, February 6, 2007 at 7:30 PM (GMT)

London, Greater London

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Student/Concession Ended £4.00 £0.00
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Event Details

Producer’s note The Amazon rainforest is home to some of the last hunter-gatherers left on the planet. These ´forest tribes´ still exist in the way they have done for hundreds – probably thousands of years. One of the most remote and mysterious of these ancient peoples … is the Zo-é. Only contacted in recent years, their language and way of life is little known to the outside world – and many of their secrets have yet to be revealed. Everything they eat, drink and skillfully create comes from the forest, and returns to it as they carry no more than their families with them as they move on. Our film captures the amazing life of one particular group of Zo-é, on their seasonal migration through their Amazon territory in search of food. This movement is governed not just bv their hunting seasons, but also through the planting and harvesting of manioc, which they set aside for the dry season when meat is scarce. We enter their intimate world through the eyes of one Zo-é family – Debu and her 5 husbands. Some of those husbands in their own turn have other wives or wives-to-be. Between them, Debu´s husbands sustain their family well, though it´s not always easy providing meat for themselves, their children, older folk along with their pet monkeys, tortoises and a canary whom they also consider to be part of their family. In another family, who share the same manioc gardens, we discover equally complex polygamous relationships. Here, one man Sinhu´s ´lends´ his beautiful young wife to a friend in exchange for assistance in the food gardens. Through our rich web of characters we discover an enchanting world where marriage bonds, love and sex are intricately bound with providing food for the family. From the newborn to the oldest folk, they all look to both each other – and the forest, for food. Sometimes that forest is bountiful – other times harsh. And in this film we see how Debu´s family, and also that of Sinhu´s, face important decisions as their continuing story of survival goes on, day by day (Producer’s notes). Director: Matt Currington Year of Production: 2006 Running Time: 60 mins