EXCLUSIVE: Fisher Stevens’ Highly Flammable production company today announced Leonardo DiCaprio and his Appian Way Productions have joined the documentary We Are Guardians as executive producers.
The film, about Indigenous protectors of the imperiled Amazon rainforest in Brazil, premiered at Hot Docs in Toronto last week. Stevens, the Oscar-winning producer of The Cove, recently launched Highly Flammable, and We Are Guardians marks the first documentary under the new banner. Stevens has previously collaborated with DiCaprio and Appian Way on several documentaries, including And We Go Green and Sea of Shadows.
We Are Guardians “follows Indigenous forest guardians of the Tenetehara as they fend off incessant encroachment of illegal loggers and invaders,” according to a description of the documentary. “The film weaves together politics, history, economics and science, providing an in-depth exploration of the critical situation in the Amazon — the impact of which ripples around the globe.”
The documentary is directed by Edivan Guajajara, co-founder of Mídia Indígena, the leading Indigneous-led investigative journalism collective in Brazil, and environmental filmmakers Chelsea Greene and Rob Grobman. We have your first look at the film in the trailer above.
Fisher Stevens
Courtesy of Tim Cragg
“This is my third collaboration with Appian Way and it is obvious that they have an enduring commitment to elevating important, often underrepresented, stories that shed light on some of the most critical issues of our time,” Stevens noted in a statement. “I am so grateful to have their support in bringing the fight of the forest guardians to the foreground and helping to illuminate their stories.”
Leonardo DiCaprio
Priscilla Grant/Everett Collection
Stevens, Zak Kilberg and Maura Anderson of Highly Flammable produced the documentary along with filmmaker Chelsea Greene of One Forest. DiCaprio, the Oscar-winning actor and activist, serves as executive producer with Jennifer Davisson and Phillip Watson of Appian Way Productions, in addition to Christopher Gebhardt and Randy Gebhardt of Random Good, Bruce Cohen, Edivan Guajajara, Flay Guajajara and Erisvan Bone Guajajara of Mídia Indígena, Rob Grobman, Iz Web, Luiza Krapels, and Marco Krapels. Co-executive producers are Conscious Good, Michael Grimm, Brigit Grimm, Heather Conforto Beatty and Scott Beatty.”
“This film is very important. It not only tells the story of my people and my community,” Guajajara said in a director’s statement, “it reinforces the need to be attentive and unite more and more to take care of our Mother Earth and take care of those who give their lives for forests, for the preservation and maintenance of biodiversity in the world. This is our strength. We are all together in this fight.”
UTA is representing the documentary for sales. Highly Flammable is repped by Danny Passman at Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown and Passman. Appian Way is repped by LBI Entertainment.
Highly Flammable is promising “a robust impact campaign” for the film, in support of “the ongoing work of the Tenetehara forest guardians.”
Watch the trailer for We Are Guardians above.
