The Falling Sky

Based on the powerful testimony of Yanomami shaman and leader Davi Kopenawa, the film The Falling Sky follows the important ritual, Reahu, which mobilizes the community of Watorikɨ in a collective effort to hold up the sky. The film delivers a forceful shamanic critique of those whom Davi calls the “people of merchandise,” as well as of illegal mining and the deadly mix of epidemics brought by outsidersepidemics the Yanomami call “xawara.” It foregrounds the beauty of Yanomami cosmology, the xapiri spirits, and their geopolitical strength, inviting us to dream beyond.