The Territory provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon.
Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.
We are excited to announce, as the the next instalment of our online masterclass, that the film's director and cinematographer Alex Pritz will be providing an in-depth look into his powerful and thought-provoking debut feature. Directors UK member and mentor on the Inspire programme Jenny Ash will be moderating the session.
This masterclass will be taking place via Zoom on Tuesday 18 October from 18:30-20:00.
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With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, The Territory takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community and provides unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers illegally burning and clearing the protected Indigenous land.
The Territory is currently available to watch in cinemas and we strongly encourage you to support the filmmaker and see this on the big screen. However, if time and finances do not allow this, you can request a link to view the film by contacting [email protected]
We welcome attendees to send in a question they may have in advance of this session. Please send 1 question to [email protected] by Monday 10 October, and we will do our best to incorporate into the content of this masterclass.
Accessibility
BSL interpretation will be present for this session. If you have any questions or accessibility requirements, please contact [email protected].
About Alex Pritz
Alex Pritz is a documentary film director and cinematographer focused on human’s relationship with the natural world. Pritz’s directorial debut, The Territory, premiered in the World Cinema competition at Sundance 2022, winning both an Audience Award and Special Jury Award for Documentary Craft, making it the only film at that year’s festival to win awards from audience and jury alike. Prior to that, Pritz co-directed, shot and edited the documentary short My Dear Kyrgyzstan (Big Sky 2019). He is a co-founder of Documist and has received grants from the Sundance Institute, IDA Enterprise Fund, Catapult Fund and Doc Society.
Pritz holds a Bachelor of Science from McGill University, where he studied Environmental Science and Philosophy. In 2012, he received an inaugural Dalai Lama Fellowship for his work developing film curricula alongside low-income communities in the Philippines and taught participatory film workshops for lawyers and human rights advocates around the world.
About Jenny Ash
Jenny Ash won this year’s Women in Film and Television best Director Award - the only documentary director to ever have been awarded it. Critics acclaim her work as authored, ground-breaking and cinematic. She works across documentary and fiction and often where the two overlap – bringing a dramatic sensibility to her documentaries and the authenticity and fluidity of documentary to drama. As a director and thought leader, she is determined to empower latent talent and normalise diversity in the industry.
