ClientEarth at the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2023
Indigenous peoples around the world are at the forefront of efforts to protect nature, biodiversity and combatting the climate crisis. They are often working as agents of change in the struggle for a more sustainable future and justice for their people.
However, while indigenous peoples often act as guardians of our planet and nature, they are amongst the most affected by the destruction and human rights violations. This is why we at ClientEarth believe that the rights of indigenous peoples must be at the heart of the struggle to protect nature. And also why, as part of this year’s Human Rights Film Festival in Berlin, we are proudly sponsoring the documentary film “Holding Up the Sky”. The documentary tells the story of Davi Kopenawa, Yanomami shaman and spokesman, who has been defending his people and ancestral land in Brazil for more than forty years.
If the shamans stop dancing and life in the rainforest loses its balance, the sky will collapse and crush everything beneath it. This story has been passed down in the Brazilian Amazon by every generation of Yanomami. But greed for gold is polluting rivers and poses a threat to the Yanomami. Their shamans are dying as the earth warms. When Brazilian President Bolsonaro announced that industry will be allowed to set up in the Amazon – on Yanomami territory – Davi set out on a journey around the world to defend his people against endless colonisation. Can he convince white people that the Yanomami aren’t the only ones who will be destroyed if the sky collapses?
Production: Belgium, Brazil, Netherlands, length: 80min, language: Portuguese & Yanomami with English subtitles
Screening times:
16 October | 19:00 | City Kino Wedding | Tickets
18 October | 18:30 | SPUTNIK Kino am Südstern | Tickets
22 October | 21:00 | ACUDkino | Tickets
Following the screenings on 16 and 18 October, ClientEarth will host a panel discussion with the film's director Pieter van Eecke and ClientEarth´s legal expert Kaja Blumtritt, who has just returned from Brazil.
ClientEarth´s work with indigenous peoples
Climate change and the biodiversity crisis have fundamental human rights implications. A rise in average global temperatures above 1.5°C risks sea level rise, extreme weather events and loss of species and habitats, as well as food shortages and increased poverty for millions of people worldwide. It is crucial that we respect their human rights and their land rights, and push for laws that support them to manage their land sustainably. We believe this is the best long-term approach to protecting the world's fragile ecosystems.
ClientEarth works with indigenous peoples around the world to help them defend their rights and protect their land.
In 2022, we successfully supported the Torres Strait Islander claimants in their landmark legal battle with the Australian government, whose inaction on climate change violated the human rights of the islanders.
In West and Central Africa, we are working with local lawyers and communities to draft, strengthen and enforce laws on the use of forests and land in Ghana, Gabon, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia and the Republic of Congo. We support forest communities to have a say in the laws that affect their land. In the long term, we believe this is the best approach to protecting forests.
In Brazil, we received the support of local groups in taking legal action against the agricultural giant Cargill over deforestation and human rights violations.
The Human Rights Film Festival Berlin
Under the motto "The Good Fight", the 2023 edition of the Human Rights Film Festival Berlin presents over 40 outstanding international documentaries and an impressive accompanying programme over 10 days. The films tell touching, evocative stories of people who have dedicated themselves to fighting for a better world. The festival is organised by Aktion gegen den Hunger.
