Sometimes ethnological filmmakers try and capture an authentic view of a culture by putting cameras directly into the hands of the subjects and letting them film each other, sans preconceptions or the "foreigner" gaze (finished results, of course, are still very much in the hands of the film editor). This total-immersion technique has been done with everyone from American high-school students to Amazon tribes.
The technique pays off with Ujirei. Producer Lucas Bessire (a University of Oklahoma anthropologist) distributed HD video cameras to the Ayoreo people of northern Paraguay, who were only coaxed out of their forest existence by a combination of missionaries and industrial-imperialist timber exploitation in 1961. It seems one lensman in particular—Mateo Sobode Chiqueno, who receives directing credit—is a veritable ambassador/grassroots journalist for the viewer.
He introduces himself, gives background on the folklore of the Ayoreo, and interviews neglected elders who have little food or medicine or worthwhile contact at all in their peasant huts. Cameras, sometimes shakily, also capture the absurdity of well-intended (maybe) government programs to hear native grievances or introduce new farming technology; these turn into repetitive and patronizing speeches, seemingly achieving nothing.
By the end of the short feature (whose length is just right), Mateo affirms his pride as an Ayoreo and declares that disease, high blood pressure, and social malaise were unknown to his people until they were forced to join Western "civilization."
Viewers should be warned of an armadillo hunt that does not end well for the little animal, even though this tribe regards the armadillo as a wily character who outwitted the mythic jaguar. That does not keep the armadillo from being a favorite delicacy of the humans. Still, one cannot help but conclude modernization has made just as much of a feast of the Ayoreo, and the film is a damning indictment of post-colonialism.
In the end, Ujirei serves as both a powerful tribute to Ayoreo resilience and a condemnation of the destructive forces of modernization. Through Mateo Sobode Chiqueno’s lens, viewers are given an intimate, unfiltered look at a culture caught between tradition and Western intrusion, making this short but potent documentary a thought-provoking critique of post-colonialism and its ongoing impact. Recommended.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
Geography, Third-World culture, anthropological science, and South American interest are natural habitats. Travel/adventure would be a slight stretch, though the human-oriented section of National Geographic video releases could share space with this nicely.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
Ethnography and Anthropology, plus indigenous-peoples studies and courses centered on South America, are strong fits. Developing-world public policy/politics and "sustainability" courses could also use the film, if only as it seems to demonstrate what not to do and why natives have good reason to be wary of outsiders.
What type of classroom would this documentary resource be suitable for?
College-level audiences and above would best appreciate the material (which is necessarily English subtitles throughout). The just-under-an-hour run time is very convenient for classroom slots.