The Falling Sky

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The Falling Sky

Mar 2025

1h 50m

Documentary

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9 Reviews

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Based on the powerful words of shaman and Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa, 'The Falling Sky' portrays the Indigenous community of Watorikɨ as it engages in a vital funeral rite known as a Reahu -- a collective effort to hold up the sky. The film stands as a trenchant shamanic critique of illegal gold mining, the deadly mix of epidemics brought by outsiders the Yanomami call "xawara", and those Davi calls the "merchandise people." Showcasing the beauty of Yanomami cosmology and its xapiri spirits while also highlighting this people's geopolitical importance, 'The Falling Sky' invites us to dream far.

Sheri Linden

The Hollywood Reporter

The Falling Sky presents something more immediate than an argument... And, perhaps most wrenchingly, it offers the memories of an elderly Yanomami man whose life was upended by the belligerent missionaries who ravaged his community and put him to work.

May 24, 2024

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Carlos Aguilar

Variety

One of the most necessary and scorching pieces of nonfiction storytelling in recent memory.

May 20, 2024

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Guilherme Jacobs

IndieWire

Rocha and Carneiro might not equal their subjects when it comes to image-making, but their movie does provide a way for these fantasies to, hopefully, outlive those who seek to wipe them out.

Rated: B-

May 20, 2024

Full Review

Amyana Bartley

QBP Reviews

Will we ever awaken before it’s too late?

Rated: 6.5/10

Mar 27, 2025

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Avi Offer

NYC Movie Guru

A mesmerizing and lyrical documentary.

Mar 5, 2025

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Ankit Jhunjhunwala

The Playlist

“The Falling Sky” bucks the charge that it might easily have been a Doc Short through its enveloping, lustrous cinematography.

Rated: B-

Sep 21, 2024

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Eryk Rocha

Director

Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

Director

Davi Kopenawa

Self

Justino Yanomami

Self

Eryk Rocha

Screenwriter

Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

Screenwriter

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Synopsis

Based on the powerful words of shaman and Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa, 'The Falling Sky' portrays the Indigenous community of Watorikɨ as it engages in a vital funeral rite known as a Reahu -- a collective effort to hold up the sky. The film stands as a trenchant shamanic critique of illegal gold mining, the deadly mix of epidemics brought by outsiders the Yanomami call "xawara", and those Davi calls the "merchandise people." Showcasing the beauty of Yanomami cosmology and its xapiri spirits while also highlighting this people's geopolitical importance, 'The Falling Sky' invites us to dream far.

Director: Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
Producer: Donatella Palermo, Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
Screenwriter: Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, Bruce Albert
Distributor: KimStim
Production Co: Aruac Filmes, Hutukara Associação Yanomami, Stemal Entertainment, Rai Cinema, Les Films d'Ici
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 7, 2025, Limited
Runtime: 1h 50m

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