Birdwatchers

In Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, the farming classes lead a wealthy and leisurely existence. Owning vast swaths of agricultural land they spend their nights entertaining tourists who have come to the area on bird watching holidays. Meanwhile, the indigenous Guarani- Kaiowá people live an uneasy existence on the fringes of the farmers' land. Treated as another curiosity by the bird watchers, they are forced to live on enclosed reserves and work as semi-slaves on sugar beet plantations. It is a situation that drives many young people to suicide. One such suicide begins to stir up a rebellion within the community. Led by Nadio and the local shaman, the group set up an encampment on the border of a farming estate in a bid to regain the land on which their forefathers are buried.

(Available from 25 January 2010)