Ten Documentaries to Watch This Summer
This curated list highlights powerful documentaries that center Indigenous voices and frontline communities in the fight to protect land, water, and ways of life. From the Amazon to the Arctic, these films go beyond headlines, shedding light on stories of resistance, ancestral knowledge, and the devastating impacts of extractivism. Each film offers not only a call to action but a testament to the enduring strength of Indigenous peoples in safeguarding our planet’s most vital ecosystems.
Whether you're an educator, activist, or simply a curious viewer, these films will deepen your understanding of the interconnected struggles for Indigenous rights and environmental survival. In no particular order here they are as follows:
THE TERRITORY (2022)
A still from The Territory directed by Alex Pritz
This film explores the struggles of the indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau peoples of the Brazilian Amazon against deforestation caused by the encroachment of logging and export agriculture. It is a film that is partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people and grants viewers an inside look into the challenges of environmental degradation facing indigenous communities in the Amazon.
A MÃE DE TODAS AS LUTAS (2020)
Directed by Susana Lira
This film portrays the lives of two women, Shirley Krenak and Maria Zelzuita, engaged in a struggle over land rights in Brazil. Shirley, from the Krenak community in Minas Gerais, and Maria, a survivor of the Eldorado dos Carajás Massacre in Pará, demonstrate the intimate connections between feminism, land protection, and cultural identity.
ARICA (2020)
Directed by Lars Edman, William Johansson Kalén
In the mid-1980s, A Swedish mining company called Boliden dumped 20,000 tonnes of waste in the northernmost Chilean city of Arica. As a result, around 18,000 people were affected by cancer, congenital malformations and neurological diseases. This film documents the struggle of the people of Arica for justice and accountability in response to this catastrophe.
WATER FOR LIFE (2023)
Directed by Will Parinello
Following the stories of three people from different indigenous communities across Latin America, this film explores how the struggle for water rights is central to a variety of indigenous communities across Latin America. The subjects of the film are “Berta Cáceres, a leader of the Lenca people in Honduras; Francisco Pineda, a subsistence farmer in El Salvador; and Alberto Curamil, an Indigenous Mapuche leader in Chile”
HIJA DE LA LAGUNA (2015)
Directed by Ernesto Cabellos
Amid the Peruvian gold rush, an Andean woman uses her spiritual connections to the water to prevent a mining corporation from destroying a sacred lake. This film depicts the Andean struggle against extractivism in a way that highlights the deep connection between water and life itself.
THE CONDOR AND THE EAGLE (2019)
Directed by Clement Guerra and Sophie Guerra
This film depicts a journey undertaken by four Indigenous leaders from the Canadian Boreal forests to the center of the Amazon rainforest. The purpose of their adventure demonstrates deep solidarity between the indigenous peoples of North and South America: deepening the meaning of “Climate Justice”.
LISTENING TO THE EARTH: INDIGENOUS WISDOM AND CLIMATE FUTURES
Directed by Joe Berlinger
This PBS production displays a panel of Native environmental justice activists, including Eriel Deranger and Kyle Whyte, on the climate knowledge that has been passed down through indigenous communities for generations. Hosted by NPR Science Friday's Diana Montano, this film explores possible avenues for modes of environmentalism that may better protect the planet.
SONS QUE CURAM (2024)
Directed by Shirley Krenak
Sons Que Curam takes viewers on a spiritual journey guided by Shirley Krenak. It explores the fallout of the 2015 Doce River environmental catastrophe in Minas Gerais. It depicts the emotional and spiritual effects of the river’s poisoning on Krenak culture and local ecosystems.
LOS ULTIMOS GUARDIANES (2017)
Directed by Joe Tucker and Adam Punrano
The Last Guardians, an award-winning documentary made with the indigenous Sàpara and Kichwa communities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, shares a story of indigenous environmental knowledge and how it can change the way we approach life itself. In the midst of global ecological breakdown, lessons from indigenous knowledge and wisdom are more important than ever for the struggle to heal the planet.
TIME IS WATER (2025)
Directed by Francesca Badia Dalmases, Juan Manuel Crespo, Pablo Albarenga
This documentary film focuses on the work of The Sacred Headwaters Alliance: an organization of 30 indigenous peoples of the upper Amazon in Ecuador and Peru. This story explores how cross boundary solidarity between indigenous communities is utilized in defense of a forest under grave threats from extractive industries.
