Join filmmaker Clément Guerra and Indigenous media makers in an online HD screening of “The Condor and the Eagle,” followed by a Be The Media! workshop: “Indigenous Voices: Media for Environmental Organizing.” During this time of COVID and a health crisis disproportionately impacting Indigenous communities, how can independent media work build solidarity in the pandemic and in the increasingly critical struggle against Climate Change?

In The Condor and The Eagle, four Indigenous environmental leaders embark on an extraordinary trans-continental adventure from the Canadian Boreal forests to deep into the heart of the Amazonian jungle to unite the peoples of North and South America and deepen the meaning of “Climate Justice”. The Condor and The Eagle documentary offers a glimpse into a developing spiritual renaissance as the film four protagonists learn from each other’s long legacy of resistance to colonialism and its extractive economy. Their path through the jungle takes them on an unexpectedly challenging and liberating journey, which will forever change their attachment to the Earth and one another.

Co-sponsored by iEAR Presents! and the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at Rensselaer, made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. [RESCHEDULED FROM APRIL COVID CANCELATION]

About “The Condor and the Eagle”

Energy companies are actively planning to triple Canadian tar sands (world’s largest industrial project) production in the coming years, which would mean “game over” for climate change. Such an increase in production is possible if the planned pipelines are actually built and permitted in the US and Canada. Our four protagonists live alongside the pipeline routes. The Condor & The Eagle brings to light the major role played by Indigenous women in the build-up of the Environmental Justice Movement.

Our film documents the stories of four well-known Native environmental spokespeople who are at the forefront of a perspective shift in the identity of their people, from forgotten voices to powerful and influential leaders. They have struggled with feelings of isolation their entire lives and are now discovering the power of their shared voices to bring change to the entire world. With the continuous expansion of pipeline projects throughout the Americas these Indigenous women and men represent the last remaining landholders who refuse to sacrifice their territories to transnational oil companies. Their unification in New York first and later in Paris are among many similar and burgeoning initiatives, mostly led by Indigenous women, that have inspired people around the world to rise for the protection of the earth and give life to the climate justice movement.

Melina Laboucan-Massimo and Bryan Parras’s lands were devastated by the oil industry and it has remained an acceptable secret, with no coverage from the media, and limited support from their governments. Even as her people were dying in the Alberta tar sands, Melina’s sister was recently murdered: violence against the Earth, begets violence against women. This tragic event set into motion her quest for justice, which will lead her half way across the globe. Bryan has always lived in the energy capital of the world, Houston. He grew up uprooted from his Indigenous origins until the day he met with other Indigenous people who vowed to bring back respect for the land and ancient cultures. So begins his journey to rediscover his true self, the meaning of being Indigenous.

Filmed in the verdant jungles of the Amazon (Ecuador and Peru), the brightly colored cultures of the Pan American First Nations communities (Vancouver, Alberta) and the United States Indian tribes (Oklahoma), viewers glimpse extraordinary beauty in the places, faces and regalia of traditional people. The Indigenous heartfelt pursuit for self- discovery, self- reclamation, and a way of life, is chronicled as they build alliances around the world (in Peru, Ecuador, Paris, Washington and New York) because to them a crime against Mother Earth is a crime against humanity.

We follow our protagonists as they develop a resistance strategy that matches the level of their opponents – taking their effort to South America, Europe and beyond. Their task is to make local battles an International concern and finally expose criminal corporations responsible for serious crimes. Our film promotes an intercultural dialogue by showing how non-Indigenous and Indigenous people come together.

Sophie and Clément Guerra Bios

We are Sophie and Clément Guerra. Most of our work focuses on America energy hotspots that are the tar sands in Alberta and Houston industries. Clément is currently the European Director of Survival Media Agency and have been producing high-quality visual media for climate and social justice movements. We have been working on The Condor and The Eagle for the past four years.

As Fossil Fuel developments get out of control (largest-ever open pit tar sands mine is quietly making its way through a government review – dramatic impacts of climate change on Houston and the Gulf), some of the most bio diverse places in South America are being sold to oil companies (Sarayaku, Sapara, Yasuni, Rio Tigre, etc.). The urgency is real and our film and campaign will make sure that these large-scale destructive projects are made public and lift up the voices of resistance from North and South America.

While the Amazon rainforest has been on fire for a month, UN climate scientists are predicting unprecedented global catastrophe. The Condor and The Eagle features Indigenous leaders, from the global North and the global South deploying an unparalleled joint and coordinated global response. Facing this overwhelming current political climate, a great many people are looking for answers that are adapted to today’s urgency. Our film and campaign show tangible actions “anybody” can take, inviting white and privileged people to follow the call from Indigenous communities. Our vision for this project is driven by the necessity to shift from witnessing environmental destruction to actively taking part in solution-based strategies. We hope to share clear and practical actions that people can take to support this shift after watching this film.

We are committed to lowering the barriers to access for events at The Sanctuary for Independent Media. For people who are hard of hearing or deaf, blind or low-vision, or whose physical limitations can interfere with a satisfying experience, let us know two weeks in advance so we can make appropriate arrangements.