Brazilian indigenous leader features a film alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, who talks about COP 30

Indigenous leader Juma Xipaia, portrayed in the documentary “Yanuni”, posed alongside actor Leonardo DiCaprio in the world’s world premiere. The exhibition took place at the end of Tribeca Film Festival in New York on Saturday night (14). Both Xipaia and DiCaprio are producers of the movie.

Directed by Austrian filmmaker Richard Ladkani, the film shows the trajectory of the Brazilian, which is Cacica of the Xipaya Tukumã village, located in Pará, and her husband, federal agent Hugo Loss, from Ibama. Both fight for the defense of the Amazon rainforest and against mining in the region.

DiCaprio, who is an advocate of environmental causes and has publicly spoke out about the need to protect the Amazon on several occasions, spoke to the guests before the exhibition. “This movie shows that the destruction of the forest is not just an environmental issue – it is a human issue,” he said.

The Hollywood star has drew attention to deforestation in the region in recent decades. “In the heart of the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, thousands of people invade protected land in search of rapid profit, through illegal gold mining and aggressive industrial expansion, threatening the forests and communities that protect them,” he said.

He still drew attention to the importance of COP30, the UN conference on climate change that is scheduled for November in Belém. “The message to world leaders is simple: it’s time to deliver real resources, real power and lasting recognition to indigenous peoples, because they risk everything to defend the ecosystems we all depend on,” he said.

In turn, Juma Xipaia said the movie “is a witness to our resistance.” “Change begins with awareness,” he said. “Do not just hear. Join us against mining and threats to the rights of indigenous peoples and their lands. Does the world need to choose: to profit from our destruction or join us to defend the last sigh of the earth?”