‘Memory from the Forest’ seeks to preserve the elusive before it disappears – the memory of the indigenous Ayoreos and their native forests on the verge of destruction. The film is set in the Paraguayan Chaco area, on the border with Bolivia. A small part of this territory has not been deforested yet and some Ayoreos still live here in complete voluntary isolation.

Paz Encina is a crucial voice in Paraguayan and Latin American Cinema. Her debut feature ‘Paraguayan Hammock (2006)’, a hypnotic tour de force of “slow cinema,” was the first Paraguayan film made in 35mm since the 1970s. The film went on to win the FIPRESCI Award of the Cannes Film Festival. Its international success similarly marked a historic moment for Paraguayan cinema. Encina‘s films are haunting mementos of a nation’s past often told through the perspective of voices often marginalised or oppressed.

‘Memories from the Forest’ received support from the Ford Foundation, Cartier Foundation, World Cinema Fund, INCAA (Argentina), Arte France and most recently the Hubert Bals Fund. The film will be produced by Silence Cine (PY) in co-production with Revolver Amsterdam (NL), Black Forest Films (DE), MPM (FR), Louverture Films (US), Eaux Vives (FR) ,Gaman (AR) and Fortuna Films (AR).