Tired of Superheroes? Here Are Some Movies With Real Heroes Fighting for Our Future | Amazon Watch
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Tired of Superheroes? Here Are Some Movies With Real Heroes Fighting for Our Future

December 9, 2016 | Eye on the Amazon

Winter is upon us (at least in the northern hemisphere). The weather is getting chillier, the days are getting shorter, and curling up with a movie or a book often seems more enjoyable than a night out on the town.

So this weekend is the perfect time to make a hot drink and check out one of the stunning new films recently released about the Amazon and the heroic environmental defenders protecting it and defending us from climate change. Amazon Watch has contributed to all of these films in one way or another.

You could start with When Two Worlds Collide, a powerful documentary about the conflicts between indigenous communities and the Peruvian government over oil exploitation in the Amazon, a situation that strongly evokes the current struggle of the Standing Rock Sioux in North Dakota.

When Two Worlds Collide

Then you could move on to How to Let Go of the World and Love all the Things that Climate Can’t Change by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox, who travels to 12 countries investigating climate change and what can be done to save humanity from the greatest danger it has ever known. (Available on iTunes and HBO)

How to Let Go of the World and Love all the Things that Climate Can't Change

Continuing on the climate change theme, Leonardo DiCaprio’s new film Before the Flood travels to all five continents to document the present-day impacts of climate change and interview activists and leaders who want to address it – and those who want to ignore it or even cover it up. (Available on Hulu, iTunes, Amazon and Google Play)

Before the Flood

And just launched last week is Where do you draw the line?, a documentary about an Ecuadorian indigenous community fighting enforced oil extraction in their Amazon home. The film features Amazon Watch’s Kevin Koenig and provides key insights into the influence of Chinese financing of oil extraction in the Amazon. (Watch free on Vimeo)

Where do you draw the line?

Though you will have to get off the couch to see them, these last two films are well worth it:

Belo Monte: After the Flood is a beautiful documentary exploring the massive impacts of construction of the Belo Monte dam in the Brazilian Amazon and the lessons learned for the current fight against proposed dams on the Tapajós River. Check the website for screenings.

Belo Monte: After the Flood

A very moving film, Yasuni Man leads viewers on a 1,500-mile journey along seven rivers through the Yasuni region in the Ecuadorian Amazon, exploring the impact of oil development on the biodiversity of the forest and its people. (This film is still screening in film festivals across the country, so keep an eye on its website for screenings.)

Yasuni Man

We hope these films engage and inspire you as they have us!

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