We Are Guardians is a rich, intimate journey meeting the many people who are living an intricate daily balance in the Amazon basin, one of the world’s most disrupted and threatened regions. We follow Indigenous leader and activist Puyr Tembé and forest guardian Marçal Guajajara as they fight to protect their territories from deforestation, as well as an illegal logger who has no choice but to cut the forest down to feed his family, and a large landowner at the mercy of thousands of invaders and extractive industry. Through intimate, character focused storytelling, the film reveals the many intertwined social and economic issues driving this complicated landscape.

 

But We Are Guardians take us further, beyond the beautiful rainforest of the Amazon basin, to understand how it is inextricably connected to the entire planet. We explore the science of this incredible world treasure and its critical role in stabilizing our global climate. We see the economic connections to Western free markets that link goods derived in the Amazon region to Western consumers. Most importantly, we experience our own role in this delicate balance that plays out daily before our eyes, and learn from the wisdom of Indigenous cultures who remind us that we are -- all of us -- guardians.

 

The film is directed by Indigenous activist and filmmaker Edivan Guajajara and environmental filmmakers Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman, and produced by Academy Award winner Fisher Stevens.