DCEFF 2026 Shared Earth Award (Black)

Shared Earth Foundation Award

For Advocacy

Established for the 2014 Environmental Film Festival as the Documentary Award for Environmental Advocacy, the Shared Earth Foundation Award for Advocacy recognizes the film that best inspires advocacy in response to a compelling environmental challenge. The award includes a $10,000 cash prize.

2026 Winner

Yanuni

Director: Richard Ladkani (AT, 2025, 112mins)

A cinematic portrait of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon who rises from a remote village to the frontlines of climate justice. After surviving six assassination attempts, she is appointed Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights—while her husband, a federal IBAMA agent, leads dangerous operations against illegal gold miners. As Juma navigates political power, growing threats, and impending motherhood, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. At once intimate and epic, YANUNI is a powerful story of Indigenous sovereignty, love, and the urgent fight to protect the planet we call home.

 

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