The

SU POBLACIÓN FLOTANTE Y LA AUSENCIA DEL
ESTADO LES HAN HECHO GENERAR UNA FORMA DE
VIDA MUY PARTICULAR, EN UN BARRIO MUY
RESILIENTE Y DIVERSO.

Muyuna Fest is a jungle-based
and floating festival that
connects the rainforests of
the world through cinema,
promoting the defense of
territory, living culture, and
community communication.

Our approach is deeply rooted
in the values of reciprocity,
resistance, and cultural
regeneration.

The festival promotes a
decentralized and decolonial
perspective on audiovisual
media, embracing cinema as a
tool for memory, intercultural
dialogue, territorial defense,
and social transformation.

THEY ARE ITS INHABITANTS—GUARDIANS OF STORIES,
BEARERS OF ANCESTRAL KNOWLEDGE, AND BRAVE
FIGHTERS. PEOPLE WHOSE SPIRIT BEATS TO THE RHYTHM
OF THE JUNGLE, WHOSE LIVES AND TEACHINGS ARE
INTERTWINED WITH THE NATURE THAT SURROUNDS THEM.

IT IS FROM THAT VERY SAME HEARTBEAT THAT MUYUNA FEST
EMERGES AND TAKES ROOT IN THIS PART OF THE WORLD,
RECOGNIZING IN ITS PEOPLE THE PERFECT PLACE WHERE
CINEMA CAN FLOAT, BE SOWN, AND BECOME A RIVER.

about

From this perspective, the festival pays tribute to the tireless struggle of the Kukama people in defense of their
rivers, their territory, and their culture—threatened by pollution, extractive projects, and state neglect. Muyuna—the
name of a whirlpool that gives rise to life in Kukama mythology—is also a space where waters intertwine with stories,
cinema, and living memory.

This year, Muyuna Fest is dedicated to water
and the Kukama people, ancestral guardians
of the Amazonian rivers. Inspired by their
worldview, in which water is a living being
that feels, speaks, and transforms, we
recognize it not merely as a resource, but
as a sacred spirit connecting communities to
life itself.

In this edition, the guest country is Colombia—another Amazonian nation
with deep connections between culture, territory, and resistance. Through
its cinema, its art, and its voices, Colombia joins the dialogue proposed
by the festival: to unite jungles, peoples, and causes through an
audiovisual tide that flows across borders. From the heart of the Amazon,
Muyuna Fest reaffirms its commitment to being a space for encounter,
celebration, and the defense of life.

Their participation in the festival will not
only enrich our dialogues and strengthen our
methodologies and capacities, but also open new
ways of understanding cinema as a tool for
social transformation.

TO SPEAK ABOUT THE INDUSTRY, THE TRUTH
COMMISSION, THE FESTIVALS.

REFERENCE IN JUNGLE CINEMA

ECUADOR

Panamá

BRASIL

PERU

VENEZUELA

Guest Country

IN OUR FIRST YEAR, WE BROUGHT
TOGETHER VOLUNTEERS, ORGANIZED
CIVIL SOCIETY, INDIGENOUS PEOPLES,
COMPANIES, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES,
AND—ABOVE ALL—FILMMAKERS FROM MANY
PARTS OF THE WORLD, WHO HAVE
SHARED THEIR STORIES AND HELPED
MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR THEM TO BE
TOLD FROM HERE.

WE HAVE BECOME EVEN MORE CONVINCED
THAT THIS IS A NECESSARY SPACE IN
A CITY THAT WELCOMES IT WITH OPEN
ARMS.

MEDIA IMPACT:
FROM THE
JUNGLES TO
THE WORLD

MUYUNA WAS BORN AS A FORM OF
RESISTANCE AND CREATION, OUT OF THE
NEED TO COME TOGETHER AND CHANNEL OUR
CONCERNS THROUGH CINEMA, WHILE
STRENGTHENING DIVERSITY AND STRUGGLES.

WE DID IT BECAUSE NO ONE TOLD US IT
WAS IMPOSSIBLE, BECAUSE IN A VERY
SHORT TIME WE MANAGED TO GATHER THE
STRENGTH AND SUPPORT NEEDED TO BRING
THIS PROJECT TO LIFE.

• ASSOCIATED PRESS - ARTICLE IN AP NEWS
• EL PAÍS - learn to make films in the Amazon
• EL SALTO – MUYUNA FEST, JUNGLE CINEMA TO LEARN HOW
  TO FLOAT IN A SINKING WORLD
• DEUTSCHE WELLE (DW) - YOUTUBE VIDEO

Iquitos is the largest city in the world with no road access—a place
surrounded by water and jungle on all sides. That isolation, which
can sometimes feel heavy, also inspires us to imagine new ways of
coming together. From here, from this island in the heart of the
Amazon, we want to open paths not made of asphalt, but of art,
memory, and community.

Iquitos grew during the rubber boom—a painful history marked by
extractivism and violence, but also by the resistance of the peoples
who have always inhabited this land. Today, we seek to reclaim that
memory, to reinterpret it, and to transform it into a space of
connection—where the voices of the jungle are heard, celebrated, and
protected.

From the Peruvian Amazon, we call on the jungles of
the world to come together through cinema. Our
short film showcase seeks to gather stories born
from deep within the territories—stories that
resist, that protect, that celebrate life.

We want to be a meeting point to connect diverse
realities, to build bridges between communities
that, although separated by geography, share
similar struggles, proposals, and dreams.

We believe in the power of cinema as a seed, as a
river that carries and returns perspectives, and as
a tool to inspire, to question, and to transform.

Muyuna is a call to collectively create a network
of living images that embrace us—from the jungle to
the world.

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From Pucallpa, a group of national and international filmmakers will set out aboard a
cargo boat named Henry, accompanied by members of the Muyuna Fest team.

During the 4- to 5-day journey along the Ucayali and Amazon rivers, collaborative
audiovisual works will be created, inspired by the unique context of the boat and the
stops in various communities. The short films will be edited upon arrival in Iquitos
and presented during the festival.

Participants will be selected through an open call, ensuring that at least half of
them are Indigenous filmmakers.

At Muyuna Fest, we believe that cinema has the power to transform realities and
strengthen identities. That’s why a fundamental part of the festival is dedicated to
story creation through community filmmaking workshops. These spaces are not only
about teaching filmmaking techniques but also about empowering communities to become
narrators of their own lives and realities.

Guiado por el cineasta y director de fotografía Mariano Cócolo, este taller explora
el uso creativo de la luz natural, la puesta en escena efectiva y la construcción de
un lenguaje visual que trascienda las limitaciones técnicas. Desde su experiencia con
películas premiadas en festivales como Mar del Plata, Busan y Toulouse, Mariano
compartirá herramientas y estrategias para que cada participante descubra su propia
manera de hacer cine, sin esperar permisos ni grandes producciones.

Guided by filmmaker and cinematographer Mariano Cócolo, this workshop explores the
creative use of natural light, effective staging, and the construction of a visual
language that transcends technical limitations. Drawing from his experience on award-
winning films featured at festivals such as Mar del Plata, Busan, and Toulouse,
Mariano will share tools and strategies to help each participant discover their own
way of making films—without waiting for permission or needing big productions.

This acting workshop, facilitated by the Colombian group Boroló Impro, is designed
for young people from Belén interested in exploring and developing theatrical skills.
Through improvisation dynamics and acting exercises, participants will strengthen
their body expression, creativity, and stage confidence. The workshop will conclude
with a public performance showcasing the collective creations developed during the
process

This intensive four-day workshop is designed to train young people in podcast
creation as a narrative tool. Participants will learn the basics of scripting,
recording, editing, and podcast production, interviewing featured guest voices. The
workshop will culminate in the collective creation of a podcast that will serve as a
platform to share meaningful stories from the festival.

Led by award-winning photojournalist Rodrigo Abd, this workshop will focus on
documentary and journalistic photo editing. It is a specialized space for reviewing
participants’ editing work—from the local to the global—using international media
outlets to tell visual stories that shed light on the human experiences of the
region.

This workshop aims to create spaces for intercultural dialogue, promote reflection on Indigenous
representation in cinema, and provide tools to build authentic narratives from within the
communities.

This three-day intensive workshop offers an exchange and learning environment focused on
strengthening technical and narrative skills for film creation from Indigenous communities. Through
participatory and horizontal dynamics, creative processes will be explored to develop original
audiovisual proposals, highlighting Indigenous worldviews and territorial defense.

This training workshop, aimed at young Indigenous people from the Amazon, focuses on
designing creative and effective communication campaigns against illegal mining.
During three intensive days as part of Muyuna Fest in Iquitos, participants will
learn to produce content for radio, video, social media, and other platforms—
strengthening their ability to defend their territories and promote their rights
through their own narratives.

Through experience-sharing, collaborative creation, and guidance from Indigenous
communicators and defenders, this workshop seeks to strengthen networks of young
people committed to the future of the Amazon.