After their lands were flooded by the Itaparica Dam, the Pankará people saw part of their history disappear beneath the waters. Years later, moved by the memory and strength of their ancestors, the Pankará return to the caatinga of the Pernambuco hinterland to reclaim the land that has always belonged to them.
Through stories, rituals, and life in the reconquered territory, the film follows this retaking as a gesture of resistance and reconstruction. In their own voices and songs, the Pankará people of Serrote dos Campos speak about identity, belonging, and the urgency of the indigenous struggle to defend a living Opará River and the right to land—showing that protecting the territory is also preserving the memory, culture, and future of a people.

Filmmakers’s details: José Carbonel & Rui Mendonça

Both are members of the Ficcionalizar Collective, which explores strategies for blurring the boundaries between documentary and fiction.
Carbonel’s work focuses primarily on art-house cinema and peripheral identities, while Rui’s films centre on oral traditions and folk wisdom.

Rui’s feature debut, “Estação Janga-Lua” won the Best Sound Award and received an Honourable Mention at the 2025 Tela Cariri Festival, in addition to receiving further festival awards and being broadcast on television.