UYRA: THE RISING FOREST

Following: AGGRESSIVE GLAMOUR

DIRECTOR: Juliana Curi
2022 | Brazil | 63 mins

Uýra is the alter-ego of Emerson, a non-binary performance artist and ecologist of indigenous origin living in Manaus, Brazil. Literally marginalized as an Indigenous, queer, and trans person living on the outskirts of town, Uýra demands to be heard and seen, using exquisite transformations—often created from materials found in the nearby forest—to spread their message of environmental protection and promote LGTBQ+ rights.

Traveling through the Amazon, Uýra visits Indigenous villages to share ancestral knowledge with the youth and bring awareness to the importance of identity and place, at a time when both are under attack from Brazil’s repressive political regime. Through dance, poetry, and visually stunning costumes and makeup, Uýra boldly confronts historical racism, transphobia, and environmental destruction. Their search for their own identity and their struggle to bring awareness to the interconnected relationship between humans and the environment—not to mention the direct link from structural racism to trans- and homophobia—lie at the heart of this poetic and eye-popping film.