About the 26th FICA and the premiere of Mãos à Terra
“This film is a remarkable chronicle that tells the story of how the resistance of a few can grow into significant movements that defy the times and bring about innovation, whilst paving the way for a prosperous and shared future. If future generations look back, we want them to see films like this and know that others ran so that they might fly.”
With these words, the official jury of the Washington Novaes Showcase at the 26th FICA, the International Environmental Film and Video Festival, awarded an honourable mention to Mãos à Terra. It was incredible to take part in this showcase alongside five other feature-length films and eight short films, at what is considered the largest environmental film festival in Latin America. The official jury was chaired by Ailton Krenak and also comprised filmmakers and journalists such as Vincent Carelli and AnuOluwapo Adelakun.
Furthermore, the film was awarded the prize for Best Film by the Fiocruz Jury. The award citation highlighted:
“For addressing a topic of particular relevance at the intersection of health and the environment in recent decades – agroecology – for fostering dialogue with rural social movements, for making intelligent use of archive material of the utmost importance and, above all, for pointing the way towards the creation of sustainable and healthy communities that foster a new relationship between health, society and nature, whilst also offering us all hope, the jury awards the FICA 2025 Fiocruz Health and Environment Prize to the film Mãos à Terra.”
After seven years of production, it was moving to see the film and the story it tells reach the eyes and ears of people from different regions and walks of life, and to see how it touched them. As well as the premiere and the awards ceremony, these were days filled with exchanges and encounters in various venues across the city of Goiás. It was a transformative and inspiring experience.
Photo credits:
- Still Mãos à Terra
- FICA / Lucas Diener
- FICA / Vinícius Schmidt
- FICA / Andre Saddi
- FICA / Vinícius Schmidt