Cine eco-territorial, memoria y extractivismo en la Amazonía ecuatoriana. Análisis sobre Allpamanda (2023) del colectivo Tawna

In response to the State-driven extractivist policy, audiovisual initiatives emerged in Ecuador’s Amazon region to defend memory, territory, and life. This text conceptualizes the notion of eco-territorial cinema as a collaborative practice among various actors, bringing together Indigenous rights and the rights of nature through a unique aesthetic and language. This work adopts an interdisciplinary approach, drawing on Indigenous audiovisual practices, memory studies, and Latin American critiques of extractivism. The text is based on an audiovisual analysis of the documentary Allpamanda (2023) —a film directed by the Tawna film collective in collaboration with Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE)— and includes testimonies from its creators and producers. This feature-length film was selected as an emblematic case study, as it represents the most comprehensive production by Amazonian Indigenous communities to date. The documentary involves several Indigenous nationalities, as well as Indigenous filmmakers and leaders, in an ambitious project of self-representation, aiming to build an audiovisual legacy for future generations.