In The Laughing Alligator, Cuban artist Juan Downey, creates a highly personal and playful portrayal of the Yanomami. Shot whilst Downey and his family were living alongside the tribe in Venezuela, the film highlights the presence of the filmmaker, whist challenging conventional approaches of the ethnographic documentary.
Filmed deep within the Amazon rainforest The Last Forest, sees director Luiz Bolognesi alongside community leader and Shaman Davi Kopenawa, develop a film which mixes traditional observational approaches with staged re-enactments and performances, resulting in a work guided and shaped by the Yanomami community itself.
Barbican Cinema has been supported by the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England which is administered by the BFI, as part of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s £1.57bn Culture Recovery Fund supporting arts and cultural organisations in England affected by the impact of Covid-19. #HereForCulture.