In the northwest part of the Territory, a massive woodland of equally massive trees sits alongside the coast, cold and wet - yet, it is still considered one of the most beautiful parts of the Territory, teeming with greenery and prey. Mist often slithers through this forest of red giants in the evening and early morning, fading away as it (relatively) warms during the day. It would be a popular tourist spot, if not for the recent conflicts with its inhabitants.
Notable locations are as follows.
WATERFALL: A broad, if short waterfall is the marking point of the recent split in the forest, as the native Burl family has begun infighting. There is a cave behind the fall that is easy to enter and surprisingly quiet the further one goes in, but it is rarely used as shelter. Most cats aren't even aware of its existence, if they aren't directly told by locals. Adventurous apprentices often find their way into it regardless.
CENTRAL RIVER: A ravine cuts through the middle of the forest, containing a wide but shallow river. Crossing by swimming is not difficult, if one doesn't mind being wet on top of being cold while trekking through the woods. The river finds its way to a cliffside and drops directly into the ocean. It is advised to avoid this place to prevent slipping and falling down into the waves, where deadly stones await.
NORTHERN RIDGE: The upper half of the Redwoods becomes a lot rockier and sharply-sloped, though well-worn paths are still required to make it through all the foliage. This is where the Mountain begins, but does not yet force the forest to a stop. On the west is a cliffside with jutting crags that tempt fools with lies that climbing alongside and down the cliff is easy. Apprentices and kits are strictly forbidden from going up to this area - an easy halting point is where the trees abruptly stop growing, just as moss does on the rocky ledge.
SOUTHERN WOODS: Here, the ground is soft and gentle, and the rising of the earth much more gradual. Subtle paths cobweb all over the south, well-hidden by giant ferns and shadows from the trees. The Scrub meets the Redwoods here; like with the shrubline proper, this area is largely ignored in favor of the forest. Prey is thickest here, and fiercely protected by the lower half of the current civil conflict.
STONEMOUNDS: Two strange formations of stone - appropriately, one in each half of the area - sit deep within the woods, covered in moss and carved patterns that surely meant something long ago, if only one could remember what that was. Studies by the Scholars were conducted years ago, but with the fighting going on, there has been little chance to refresh their knowledge without getting into the middle of a family tussle. Perhaps sometime in the future then.
How an Indigenous Community in Brazil Rallied to Provide Doc Footage for NatGeo’s ‘The Territory’
Thanks to the pandemic, “The Territory” has become the documentary poster child for how to make a truly collaborative nonfiction film.
When Alex Pritz began filming his Sundance hit in 2018, he wanted to provide an immersive look at the tireless fight of the Amazon’s Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by Brazilian farmers and illegal settlers. He had no idea that some of the most memorable moments of his film would be documented by a member of the Uru-eu-wau-wau community.
In the first two years of production Pritz witnessed young members of the Uru-eu-wau-wau community acquire their own equipment, including drones and photography cameras to document illegal happenings on their land. While the director was pleasantly surprised by their interest in camera equipment, he did not invite them to help create the visual aesthetic of “The Territory.”
But when territorial incursions brought the added threat of a lethal virus due to COVID, the Indigenous community closed the entrance to everyone — Pritz included. That’s when the director asked members of the community if they wanted to document the final act of the docu by themselves. The answer was a resounding yes.
This documentary is a thrilling look at an Indigenous group’s fight to keep illegal settlers from destroying their land in the Amazon rainforest.
Seems like this movie is released in theaters today (August 19), but will eventually be released on Netflix and Amazon. Because it’s a National Geographic production, I see Disney + in the lineup too. Description of this documentary, “The Territory,” from the New York Times:
“Save the rainforest” has been a constant refrain among environmentalist groups for the past half-century, but no recent film captures the immediacy of the threat better than “The Territory,” Alex Pritz’s documentary feature debut, which had its premiere earlier this year at Sundance.
National Geographic Documentary Films acquired the rights to the movie after it screened, and given the distributor’s current interest in gripping thrillers (“Free Solo,” “Fire of Love”), it’s no surprise that this feature, covering the embittered conflict between Brazilian cattle ranchers and an Indigenous group in the Amazon rainforest, fits right into its lineup. But “The Territory” is more than meets the eye, revealing its most profound observations in stages across its running time. The film’s luscious cinematography captures the sun-dappled island of jungle where the Uru Eu Wau Wau reside, a land slowly being consumed by flames as farmers and other settlers illegally raze the forest for pastures, with few repercussions.
While the two opposing groups are given near-equal amounts of screen time, Pritz does not draw a false equivalency between the two; in fact, the longer time is spent with the farmers, the more alarming their gap of understanding toward the Uru Eu Wau Wau becomes. A particularly zealous cattle rancher, whom Pritz repeatedly returns to, describes his settlement as a divine right and bemoans the Indigenous group’s defense of their territory: “Why should they be allowed to stay? They do not work the land, they just live in it.”
Pritz heightens the stakes with the story of Neidinha Bandeira, a Brazilian environmental activist who has received death threats because of her work. But it’s only after the Uru Eu Wau Wau choose to trek deeper into their land — a decision brought on by both a violent tragedy and the looming threat of the Covid-19 pandemic — that the film takes on a life of its own. Bitaté, a young leader for his people, works with other Uru Eu Wau Wau members to set up drones and additional cameras to document illegal settlers in their home. (When a journalist requests to send cameramen into the jungle to follow their guerrilla activism, Bitaté responds, “Send us the shot list — we’ve got it covered from here.”) Cinematography credit is shared between Pritz and Tangãi Uru Eu Wau Wau.
To see the villagers take matters into their own hands, capturing proof of the encroachment on their land that the government chooses to ignore, is a special kind of thrill.
