Friday, March 4 • 12:45 PM
In this timely documentary, Brazilian filmmaker Aurélio Michiles explores the legacy of Irish humanitarian Roger Casement (1864–1916) and his work exposing the abuse of indigenous communities in Brazil while stationed in Rio de Janeiro as British Consul General in 1910. Based on Casement's own journals and narrated by Oscar®-nominated Northern Irish actor Stephen Rea (THE CRYING GAME), SECRETS FROM PUTUMAYO traces the diplomat's pioneering investigation into allegations of crimes committed by the British-registered Peruvian Amazon Company and the subsequent exposure of an economic model based on human rights abuses, slave labor and the systematic exploitation of the Amazon's indigenous peoples. More than a century later, as indigenous Amazonian communities continue their struggle for self-determination and justice in the face of new waves of market-led development, Casement's groundbreaking work documenting crimes against humanity in Brazil, Africa and his native Ireland proves to be more relevant than ever.
Credits: DIR/SCR Aurélio Michiles; SCR André Finotti, Danilo Gullane; PROD Patrick Leblanc. Brazil, 2020, color, 83 min. In English, Spanish and Portuguese with English subtitles. NOT RATED
