The Peruvian Canadian film Karuara, People of the River, which supported a victorious lawsuit in Peru declaring a river a legal person, will be screened in Williams Lake on Tuesday, Nov. 12.
The film documents the efforts of Mariluz Canaquiri Murayari and her community of Shapajilla as they confront government agencies in an effort to protect the river they live along. The Marañón River is put at risk due to oil spills, mining and modern development.
“The film allows us to send a message to people who don’t know our cosmovision, to allow them to see our reality, our culture and, in a way, us too, the Kukama people,” Canaquiri said in a press release. Canaquiri, who also co-produced the film, will be at the screening in Williams Lake along with directors Miguel Araoz of Peru and Canadian Stephanie Boyd.
Karuara, People of the River portrays the important ecological role played by Karuara spirits who live in a parallel universe beneath the Amazon region’s waterways. In the Kukama-Kukamiria Indigenous language, Karuara means “people of the river.” The Karuara spirits are depicted in the film with hand-painted animations, each scene taking about one year to make from start to finish.
“Every phase of production brought Indigenous artists, elders and journalists together with experienced filmmakers,” said the film’s Canadian co-director and producer Stephanie Boyd in a press release. “This is revolutionary in Latin America where most films are still made about Indigenous communities, and not with and by them.”
Clips from the film were submitted as evidence to the court in a lawsuit led by Canaquiri on behalf of the Kukama Indigenous Women’s Federation. The 2021 lawsuit kicked off a three-year legal battle which yielded a positive verdict in March and was officially put to bed on Oct. 25, when the Peruvian court of appeal upheld the verdict after being challenged by the Peruvian government.
The film’s production began 10 years ago with the intention of supporting the federation’s campaign to have the Marañón River recognized as a person by law. It was screened internationally and used to garner attention on social media as a way to raise awareness leading up to the lawsuit’s hearing. It helped catch the eye of some Canadian lawyers, whose insight on the case was submitted to the court.
In an interview with the Tribune, Boyd said these insights “helped sway the judge...because she knew the eyes of the world were upon her."
Marañón is the longest river flowing into the Amazon River. The Amazon River, along with all of its tributaries, holds 20 per cent of the world’s freshwater, according to UNESCO. According to WWF, the Amazon rainforest contains about one third of the earth’s rainforests, is rich in biodiversity and stores billions of tons of carbon.
The lawsuit declares the Marañón River is a legal person with the right to “exist, flow freely and be free of contamination.” It holds government agencies accountable by naming the Peruvian government, along with Indigenous organizations, as the “guardians, defenders and representatives of the Marañón River and its tributaries.”
The state-run oil company, Petroperú, is one of several defendants. Its most recent reported oil spill, as of Nov. 4, was on Oct. 3. The lawsuit orders Petroperú to update its environmental management plan and evaluate the impacts of oil operations in the region. It also requires the regional government set up an organization for watershed management.
“This achievement is not just for the Amazon region and our country, it’s for the entire world,” Canaquiri said after receiving news of the verdict. “Because defending the river is part of our life’s work, to leave a legacy for future generations."
The award-winning film will be shown in Williams Lake on Nov. 12 at the Cariboo Community Church. Xeni Gwet'in Chief Roger Williams will be present, and there will be crafts available to buy from Canaquiri’s community.
The free event opens doors at 6 p.m., and the film begins screening at 6:30 p.m.
