A young girl growing up in the Indigenous-held forests of
central Borneo follows ancient
connections to earn the gift of a story – her People's 1973 fight
to preserve their lands amid rampant deforestation.
SEATTLE, May 21, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- We are thrilled to announce that "Indai, Apai,
Darah" (Mother, Father, Blood) is an official selection for the
Mountainfilm Festival, which will be held between May 23 and 27 in Telluride, Colorado.
Directed by Kynan Tegar (Dayak Iban), the film
takes place in the Indonesian village of Sungai Utik, where elders
of the Dayak Iban people have been able to repel extractive
companies and protect the surrounding forests.
The production is part of a series of films
created by the Wayfinders Circle– a global network of
Indigenous guardians who protect their lands, waters, and
territories and are dedicated to sharing the transformative
potential of Indigenous lifeways.
"'Indai, Apai, Darah' serves as my love letter to
the village that raised not only me but also my father, his father,
and countless generations before. The title itself derives from a
cherished quote by my grandfather: 'The land is our mother, the
forest our father, and the river our blood.' This quote perfectly
encapsulates the philosophy that guides our way of life in Sungai
Utik," says the director, Kynan Tegar, who is a 19-year-old
photographer and filmmaker from the Dayak Iban tribe of the island
of Borneo, Kalimantan, Indonesia.
Tegar grew up in and around the traditional
longhouse of his village of Sungai Utik, where he learned directly
from the elders, their wisdom and values, their stories of
resistance in the face of encroaching deforestation, and the
threats to their way of life. Picking up his first camera as an
inquisitive twelve-year-old, he discovered the power of visual
storytelling to communicate and change lives.
"Mass deforestation persists despite all efforts,
and the future of the Indigenous Peoples who call these places home
remains uncertain. With this film, I hope to have captured the
beauty of their resilience and to provide the rest of the world
with a glimpse into my perspective – that of a child from this
community," he concludes.
The film is a co-production between the
Wayfinders Circle conveners (Nia
Tero, Pawanka Fund, the World Union of Indigenous Spiritual
Practitioners) and the Dayak Iban Sungai Utik.
The film is part of the Indigenous Storytellers
Shorts program at Mountainfilm. You can attend the world premiere
in person on May 25th at 9:15
AM. A second screening will take place on Sunday, May 26th, at 2:45 PM. Tickets can be purchased online.
Learn more about the film.
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SOURCE Nia Tero