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The Enchanted Words of the Hupd’äh of the Amazon - Masters of knowledge ( short version 30')


A film written and directed by Mina Rad edited by Isabel Castro ,
World Cultural Diversity, 2021, 52 ‘ France , Brazil,

The Hupd’äh are one of 210 Amerindian groups in Brazil who live in the Uaupés river basin, in the heart of North-West Amazon. They believe that humanity is nature. This film provides an approach for debating the relationships between humans and non-humans. In the cosmology of Hupd’äh, there is no separation between the animal, plant and mineral orders. Music and words have transformative powers, which are often incomprehensible to Western societies. Bihit, Mehtiw and Casimiro – Hupd’äh clan chiefs and the Masters of Knowledge – are important figures in this film, which is based on ethnographic notes, sound and footage produced by anthropologist Renato Athias. “The Enchanted Words of the Hupd’äh of the Amazon” is a film that highlights what the Hupd’äh people have to say to Western societies.

This film was completed during this pandemic period and is about the traditional knowledge of the Hupdah people based on the narratives of three clan chiefs Bihit, Casimiro and Mehtiw through the ethnographic archives collected by the anthropologist Renato Athias. This knowledge presented in the film does help to think about human and non-human relationships in the current context of our societies.

  • Mina Rad
    Director
  • Mina Rad
    Writer
  • Mina Rad
    Producer
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    "As palavras Encantadas dos Hupd'äh da Amazøonia - Mestre de Saberes Narrados
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    30 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    November 15, 2021
  • Production Budget:
    30,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    France
  • Country of Filming:
    Brazil
  • Language:
    French
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Mina Rad

Mina Rad is a French Iranian documentary filmmaker, interested in archive, restitution, the transmission of knowledge and the methods of the realization of great anthropologist ethnologists and documentary filmmakers ( Jean Rouch, Pierre Perrault, Renato Athias , …)

Her first film, « For me the sun never sets, » was awarded the prize for best documentary film at the Verity Festival in Iran in 2012 and got the jury mention, « for the warmth and simplicity to tell a deep story ».

She studied history and communication at the University of Nouvelle Sorbonne and Paris 7, and she studied documentary filmmaking at the Ateliers Varan in Paris. She is the founder and president of APRÈS VARAN, an alumni association of Ateliers Varan created in 2013 and directing the APRÈS VARAN International Documentary Film Festival and the Women's Film Festival. She had worked as an international cultural reporter, radio and television presenter, in Europe, Central Asia, Central Ameri

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