Buiúnas and Altamira: an encounter between art, women and rivers A project by Aruac Films ‘Buiúnas and Altamira: an encounter between art, women and rivers’ is the project proposed by Brazilian production company Aruac Films. The project consist of the circulation of artwork by Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha “Altamira 2042” - a performative installation created from the testimony of the Xingu river about the Belo Monte Dam. In the three Brazilian cities (_Marabá, Tucuruí and Altamira)_ affected by dams, Aruac Films will show an installation-performance in which images and sounds captured in the Amazon region interconnect, providing to the public an immersive experience, while calling attention to the issue of dams. Project also aims at creating a network of solidarity and awareness between female leaders, by promoting the first encounter of the “Buiúnas Network”. Brazil has the largest river basin in the world. Rivers and forests whose preservation are fundamental to fight climate issues that have already started irrevocably. Indigenous and riverine populations are recognized as the most effective guardians of this entire ecosystem. The Xingu River is a 1,200-mile tributary of the Amazon River and is at the heart of the lives and homes of thousands of indigenous and various forest-dwelling communities. Thousands from these communities, who once lived near the Xingu River have been relocated due to the Belo Monte Dam reservoir. Belo Monte is the third largest hydroelectric project in the world. Hydroelectric dams represent major investments and major sources of environmental and social impacts. Powerful forces surround the decision-making process on public investments in the various options for the generation and conservation of electricity. The government considers the dam essential for Brazil to meet the power needs of an expanding economy and for limiting the need for fossil fuels such as oil, natural gas and coal. Several protests against a series of huge hydroelectric dams has taken place, for example: in Altamira in 2008 or in the construction sites of the Belo Monte dam on the Xingu River in 2013. In 2016, the reoccupation action started when hundreds of locals assembled in the northern Amazonian city of Altamira. These protests didn’t upset the work plans and on May 5, 2016, Norte Energia SA, inaugurated the Belo Monte Hydroelectric Plant. Currently, the plant has 18 of its 24 generating units in activity, and its completion is scheduled for December 2019, when the last of the 24 turbines will be finished. _++Outputs++_

3 presentations of the performance “Altamira 2042” – one in each of the 3 dam-affected cities of the Brazilian Amazon region. 

Reach: 70-100 people 

3 public meetings, involving the Project team and residents of each of the 3 cities selected. 

Reach: 30 people

One public meeting with women of the Buiúnas Network and interested participants from the civil society.

Reach: minimum of 14 woman

One private, digital conference, with a foreign representative who also actively takes part in the movement of the removal of dams. 

Reach: 14 people

_++Outcomes++_

Amplify the debate over the topic in the cities that received "Altamira 2042" and gradually expand it regionally and nationally. 

Stimulate the dialogue and exchange of methods of action between populations affected by the dams, its representatives from the public power and representatives from private institutions.

Strengthen leadership skills for women (Buiúnas Network) - reinforcing their individual capacities, bringing visibility to each of them.

Increase protection of local leaders and activists engaged in the cause.

Development of methods of judicial and political approach, and means of engaging the civil society in the cause.

Increase the sociopolitical and cultural exchanges between North-South of

Brazil, contributing to minimize existing gaps of communication.

_++Impact++_

Increase self-esteem of traditional populations by making possible for them to see their traumas and testimonies reflected in a work of art and other cultural goods.

Strengthen art as an instrument of transformation of reality, promoting greater diffusion of techniques, production practices and forms of commercialization.

Elaboration of a new code of political-socioenvironmental interpretation, based on an ethic of feminist inspiration, different from the historically preponderant one. To deal with the connection with nature and rivers, the development and application of public policies focused on the environment and climate.

Dismiss dams, especially those that most represent a risk to local populations. local people, woman leaders, young people, academics, researchers, artists