Wewito Piyãko

History

Born in 1978, Valdete is an Ashaninka Indian from the Amônia river, a branch of the Juruá river in the municipality of Marechal Taumaturgo in the state of Acre. He is a professor at his village and continues his studies at the Acre Pro-Indian Commission in Rio Branco. In addition to being a teacher and a videomaker, Valdete is also a talented cartoonist. His second movie “Shomotsi” was a success thanks to his sensibility and poetical sense.

Movies

Awotsi Yorenkatsi Tasori
Awotsi Yorenkatsi Tasori
Director
A Gente Luta Mas Come Fruta
A Gente Luta Mas Come Fruta
Director
Asháninka videomakers create a loving portrait of their own community, located in Acre, Brazil, near the border with Peru. The people organized to preserve a sustainable way of life on their forest lands, threatened by logging. Their efforts were recognized in 2007 with the Chico Mendes Prize for the Environment.
Shomõtsi
Shomõtsi
Director
Shomõtsi is a witty and engaging Ashaninka Indian, a father who has raised his children alone. A neighbor and friend of the filmmaker, he discusses the Ashaninka uses of anatto dye, cassava and of Coca. Unlike whites, he says, Indians respect coca's medicinal power. Shomõtsi and two other elders go to a neighboring city to collect their pensions. They have to set up camp overnight waiting for their money and grumble about the materialism of the Brazilian shopkeepers. After making a few modest purchases, Shomõtsi gladly heads back to the village.