Via Zoom: Director Alex Pritz Sounds a Warning in ‘The Territory’

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – The Amazon Rainforest, in the country of Brazil in South America, is often called the heartbeat of the world … its ecosystem is a regulator for climate and nature. As this natural land – and the native people who have called it home – is threatened by development, the story is told by director Alex Pritz in “The Territory.”

Rating: 4.0/5.0

“The Territory” is a shorthand for what is at stake in that part of the world. Not only are farmers and other “property” structures infiltrating the Amazon, but the indigenous native people (the Uru-eu-wau-wau tribe) – who have occupied the rainforest for generations – are dwindling and being forced out. The country of Brazil are coercing their laws onto the law of nature and tribal survival, and this “heartbeat of the world” is being slowly co-opted for the commercialization of human greed. It’s also up to the Uru-eu-wau-wau to save their land, against a tide of genocide and destruction that mirrors the “manifest destiny” of the U.S. against their indigenous people.

‘The Territory’ Directed by Alex Pritz
Photo credit: National Geographic Documentary Films

The documentary is presented by National Geographic Documentary Films, directed with passion by Alex Pritz, and tells its story through the Uru-eu-wau-wau. It was during the COVID period that director Pritz taught the tribe to use camera equipment, and they are credited as co-cinematographers. The film is eye opening and frightening in the parallels between the authoritarian interlopers in government that both Brazil and the U.S. are currently experiencing. The big blue ball of dirt called THE EARTH is losing its heartbeat, and will we preside over its death?

Alex Pritz is a documentary filmmaker and cinematographer focused on the relationship of human beings with the natural world. He worked as a cinematographer on the feature documentary “The First Wave” (2021) with director Matt Heineman, and as a cinematographer and field producer on Jon Kasbe’s feature documentary “When Lambs Become Lions” (2018). “The Territory” is his feature documentary debut as director.

In an interview via Zoom with Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com, director Alex Pritz talks issues and answers for “The Territory” …

Trailer for “The Territory” …

For an additional HollywoodChicago.com interview with producer Gabriel Uchida and executive producer/indigenous activist Txai Surui of “The Territory,” click RAINFOREST.

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com