Segredos de Putumayo
Aurélio Michiles, Brazil 2020
In 1910, the British Consul General in Rio de Janeiro, Roger Casement, undertook an investigation into allegations of crimes against indigenous communities committed by the British-registered Peruvian Amazon Company, having already exposed human rights abuses of King Leopold in the Congo. Secrets from Putumayo recounts the horrific treatment of Indigenous peoples in an industrial-extractive system based on killings and slave labor in the midst of the Amazon rainforest, “a real green hell.”
Secrets from Putumayo is analogous to Heart of Darkness. Casement’s pursuit of justice continued when he returned to his native Ireland where he became an active Irish nationalist, executed for treason during World War I by the British government. This is a documentary about the man widely considered to be the pioneer of international human rights inquiries, Roger Casement (1864-1916). His work in Africa, Brazil, and his native Ireland still has repercussions today.
Post-screening Q and A with film director, Romance Languages Professor, Marcio Bahia and Africana Studies Professor, Scott Alves Barton. Trailer, April 9th 7:45 p.m. Tickets available at Browning Cinema