The short film, directed by Piratá Waurá and Heloisa Passos, which had its world premiere at the National Competitive, invites the audience to contemplate a spiritual and meditative journey about the collective struggle for the ancestral memory contained in the sacred Kamukuwaká cave.

By Yula Rocha. Photos: Jaqueline Lisboa

Brasília, September 2025 – The audience and jury of the Brasília Film Festival recognised the strength of ancestry and the wisdom of the Xingu portrayed in Replika with two Candangos: Best Direction and Best Sound Design.

Piratá Waurá travelled to Brasília with two Indigenous filmmakers who took part in the shoot — Kunapo Waurá and Washamani Waurá — and dedicated the awards to his people, to Chief Elewoká, and to Ulupuwene village, where the film was shot.

“I am very happy to see our film selected. I want to thank the jury, the festival and the people who voted for this film, who believed in the struggle of Indigenous peoples and in the Indigenous cause.”

Piratá’s audio message was played from a mobile phone on stage by his co-director, filmmaker Heloisa Passos. Piratá could not attend the awards ceremony as he was already on his way to New York to join the COIAB delegation at New York Climate Week.

For the directors, screening the film at Cine Brasília on the festival’s closing day was a symbolic moment.

“It is thrilling to be here. This cinema is historic, a sacred temple for anyone who loves film. Bringing the Xingu and its ancestry to this screen is a gift,” celebrated Heloisa.

Replika is produced by People’s Palace Projects, Studio 1504 and Maquina Filmes, in collaboration with a collective of Indigenous communicators from Ulupuwene village (Upper Xingu), who participated in the filming through hands-on training workshops in October 2024.

The film arises from the struggle of the Wauja people, of the Upper Xingu, to preserve and protect their most important cultural heritage: the sacred Kamukuwaká cave, listed by IPHAN but vandalised in 2018. Known as the “book of knowledge” for the Upper Xingu peoples, the cave walls were engraved with ancestral inscriptions that for centuries transmitted essential teachings to new generations — rituals, body paintings, chants and Xinguano cosmology.

In response to this act of violence, Replika follows the inauguration ritual of a full-scale replica of the cave, held in October 2024. The replica is the result of nearly a decade of collaboration to restore the heritage and collective memory of the Xingu between the Wauja people, People’s Palace Projects (UK), the Factum Foundation (Spain) and local Indigenous leaders.

In addition to the film screening, the directors and part of the Replika team — Oswaldo Santana, Fernanda Ligabue, Andrea Lanzone, Kunapu and Washamani Waurá — took part in a debate on Saturday (20 October), where they spoke about the process and challenges of building Replika collectively, the power of cinema as a tool of struggle, and the recognition of ancestral technologies.

“For us, the replica itself is already a technology. It is a way to carry forward our ancestry, so that this knowledge continues to live,” said Piratá.

Heloisa recalled the vandalism of the cave and highlighted the power of imagery as a tool for transformation.

“Cinema allows people who have never set foot in the village to experience this culture. It is not about destroying to build, but reflecting to build,” she concluded.

(Read the full article published by Jornal de Brasilia– Portuguese only) 

Before arriving in Brasília, Ulupuwene village held a special screening of Replika which, in the words of Chief Elewoká, succeeded in conveying to non-Indigenous audiences the meaning of the Kamukuwaká cave for the peoples of the Xingu.

The short film now heads to the Rio Film Festival, where it will be screened at the gala night for invited guests (09/10) and on 10/10 (Friday) at 1:30 pm at Cine Odeon with a public screening followed by a debate, and on 11/10 (Saturday) at 4:15 pm at Cinesystem Belas Artes 5.
Tickets available via ingresso.com from 30/9.

Sinopse

In the Upper Xingu territory, Brazil, a sacred cave is vandalised, threatening the collective memory of a community.

Replika is a reflection on memory, identity, loss and rebirth, following the ritual inauguration of a full-scale replica of the cave, created and installed in the village as a way of passing knowledge on to future generations.

The film invites us to reflect on the ancestral truths of the Wauja people, and on how technology and Indigenous wisdom can unite as an act of resistance. Directed by Piratá Waurá (Xingu territory) and Heloisa Passos, the short is itself a meditation on collective struggle through ritual, presented entirely in an Indigenous language and made with the support of young communicators from the Xingu.

 

Film: Replika (15’)
Language: Aruaki (with Portuguese subtitles)
Directors: Piratá Waurá and Heloisa Passos
Produced by: Associação Indígena Ulupuwene, People’s Palace Projects, 1504 and Maquina Filmes
Screenplay: Heloisa Passos, Oswaldo Santana and Piratá Waurá
Producers: Heloisa Passos (Maquina Filmes), Mark Slagle (1504) and Yula Rocha (PPP)
Executive Production: Andrea Lanzoni and Mark Slagle
Associate Production: Maria Carlota Bruno
Cinematography: Fernanda Ligabue, Heloisa Passos and Piratá Waurá
Editing: Oswaldo Santana
Production Management: Andrea Lanzoni
Sound Recording: Lucas Caminha
Sound Design: O Grivo
Cast: Akari Waurá, Elewoká Waurá, Kamo Waurá, Piratá Waurá, Peré Yalaki Waurá and Yaponuma