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The Falling Sky

Play trailer Poster for The Falling Sky 2025 1h 50m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 10 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Based on the powerful words of shaman and Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa, 'The Falling Sky' portrays the Indigenous community of Watorikɨ as it engages in a vital funeral rite known as a Reahu -- a collective effort to hold up the sky. The film stands as a trenchant shamanic critique of illegal gold mining, the deadly mix of epidemics brought by outsiders the Yanomami call "xawara", and those Davi calls the "merchandise people." Showcasing the beauty of Yanomami cosmology and its xapiri spirits while also highlighting this people's geopolitical importance, 'The Falling Sky' invites us to dream far.

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The Falling Sky

Critics Reviews

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Sheri Linden The Hollywood Reporter 05/24/2024
The Falling Sky presents something more immediate than an argument... And, perhaps most wrenchingly, it offers the memories of an elderly Yanomami man whose life was upended by the belligerent missionaries who ravaged his community and put him to work. Go to Full Review Carlos Aguilar Variety 05/20/2024
One of the most necessary and scorching pieces of nonfiction storytelling in recent memory. Go to Full Review Guilherme Jacobs IndieWire 05/20/2024
B-
Rocha and Carneiro might not equal their subjects when it comes to image-making, but their movie does provide a way for these fantasies to, hopefully, outlive those who seek to wipe them out. Go to Full Review Marya E. Gates Cool People Have Feelings, Too. (Substack) Oct 29
The film encourages us as viewers to reassess our own materialistic worldview and the unsuitability of a lifestyle so entrenched in capitalism that it is threatened the wellbeing of whole world. Go to Full Review Amyana Bartley QBP Reviews 03/27/2025
6.5/10
Will we ever awaken before it’s too late? Go to Full Review Avi Offer NYC Movie Guru 03/05/2025
A mesmerizing and lyrical documentary. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Jorge S @RT34154138 Jul 28 An intense and hard-hitting documentary about the Yanomami people's struggle to preserve their territories against various capitalist practices—including illegal mining, resource extraction, encroachment, and contamination. It features exquisite cinematography, flawless sound, and a sensitive script that maintains a rare level of coherence given the importance of the subject matter. It is not an easy watch—which makes it all the better. Shamanism confronts the resulting hardships with faith and struggle, through rituals involving the *xapiri* spirits that address both death and life. Two paraphrased quotes stand out among the few words spoken in Portuguese: "the road tore through the forest just as a knife tears through flesh," and "gold, diamonds, oil, timber... all extracted by the 'people of the commodity'"—referring to white men, the *napè*. Rating: 8. See more Read all reviews
The Falling Sky

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Cast & Crew

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Eryk Rocha

Director

Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

Director

Davi Kopenawa

Self

Justino Yanomami

Self

Eryk Rocha

Screenwriter

Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha

Screenwriter

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The Falling Sky

The Falling Sky (2024) The Falling Sky (2024) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Based on the powerful words of shaman and Yanomami leader Davi Kopenawa, 'The Falling Sky' portrays the Indigenous community of Watorikɨ as it engages in a vital funeral rite known as a Reahu -- a collective effort to hold up the sky. The film stands as a trenchant shamanic critique of illegal gold mining, the deadly mix of epidemics brought by outsiders the Yanomami call "xawara", and those Davi calls the "merchandise people." Showcasing the beauty of Yanomami cosmology and its xapiri spirits while also highlighting this people's geopolitical importance, 'The Falling Sky' invites us to dream far.
Director
Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
Producer
Donatella Palermo, Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha
Screenwriter
Eryk Rocha, Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha, Davi Kopenawa Yanomami, Bruce Albert
Distributor
KimStim
Production Co
Aruac Filmes, Hutukara Associação Yanomami, Stemal Entertainment, Rai Cinema, Les Films d'Ici
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Brazilian Portuguese
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 7, 2025, Limited
Runtime
1h 50m
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