About the movie
“Symphony of Survival" is a necessary and urgent documentary. The Pantanal and its ecosystem are the main characters in a film that highlights the fight to preserve the Brazilian and global environment. Although environmental issues are a crucial agenda today, forests, rivers, and wildlife are suffering daily from human exploitation, particularly in Brazil.
This film aims to shed light on these problems through an investigative lens.
At the heart of Brazil lies the Pantanal, the largest flooded plain on the planet, which serves as the documentary's main protagonist. The film portrays the struggles of both volunteers and animals, including jaguars named "Amanaci" and "Ousado," who suffered severe burns on their paws.
Based on real events, the film reveals the destruction of part of the Pantanal biome caused by unchecked exploitation of the region, leading to a lack of rain and devastating fires.
Michel Coeli is a filmmaker and photographer who graduated from the Escola de Cinema Darcy Ribeiro, in Brazil. He created and directed the series "Que Mundo É Esse?" for Globo TV and has collaborated with renowned organizations such as National Geographic, VICE, HBO, and The Times, filming in over 50 countries.
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He has documented significant global events, including the wars in Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine, the refugee crisis in Europe, and environmental issues like ivory poaching in Kenya, whale hunting in the Faroe Islands, and the GreenWall project in Africa. His work captures the complex and often distressing essence of the contemporary world.
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His short film "No Olho Do Furacão," which explores the protests in Brazil in 2013, gained international recognition and was screened at the International Film Festival and Forum on Human Rights in Geneva.
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"Symphony of Survival," his first feature film, examines the devastating consequences of the fires in the Pantanal.