Ñañapura is a collaborative documentary project developed as part of Chapter 5 of my dissertation, “Ñañapura: Embodied Resistance to Epistemic Erasure and Extractivist Development Among Kichwa Women in the Ecuadorian Amazon.”
Developed through ethnographic fieldwork conducted in the Ecuadorian Amazon between 2023 and 2025, the documentary explores Indigenous women’s experiences of territorial defense, environmental activism, cultural memory, and collective care in the context of extractivist development.
The project emerged through collaboration with Kichwa women from the Venecia Derecha community in Alto Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon and examines how storytelling, music, language, and community practices become forms of resistance and environmental advocacy.
Trailer Preview
The documentary is currently in post-production and collaborative editing. The preview below features an early trailer and demo version of the project presented at the University of Miami in April 2024 during the lecture:
“Ñañapura: Exploring Sisterhood and Collaboration Among Ecuadorian Kichwa Women of the Amazon and Their Struggle to Protect Their Environment.”
Documentary Themes
- Indigenous sovereignty and territorial defense
- Environmental justice and extractivism
- Indigenous feminisms and collective care
- Kichwa language and cultural preservation
- Collaborative and community-based storytelling
- Ethnographic and audiovisual methodologies
Fieldwork and Collaboration
The documentary was developed collaboratively with Kichwa women activists, artists, and community members in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The project combines ethnographic research, oral history, documentary filmmaking, and audiovisual storytelling to create accessible and community-engaged forms of scholarship.