st•rylab
EN
Self Fiction
Dir. Ricardo Targino | Prod. Vania Catani | 100 min | Oct/2025
Climate Crises Through Decolonial Lenses
A documentary that examines the intersections of history, identity, and environment in the Jequitinhonha Valley, which faces becoming a "climate cemetery" with extreme temperature increases. 18 of Brazil's 20 fastest-warming cities are located in this vulnerable region. Directed by Ricardo Targino and produced by Vania Catani, this 100-minute film will be completed in October 2025, using fiction within documentary as political action to imagine possible futures.
The Epicenter of the Climate Crisis
Temperature Increase
The Jequitinhonha Valley faces temperature increases exceeding 2.5°C above historical averages in some areas.
Water Scarcity
Prolonged droughts, accelerated desertification, and severe water shortages exacerbate existing social problems.
Environmental Racism
80% of the country's mining is concentrated in predominantly Black territories, perpetuating colonial cycles of exploitation.
Three Biomes, Three Centuries of Envirovmental Racism
Caatinga
Resilient vegetation that thrives despite drought. Like the Valley's inhabitants, it regenerates with each rainfall. Its adapted plants—mandacarus, xique-xiques, and juremas—embody resistance.
Cerrado
Biodiverse savanna threatened by agribusiness. Its twisted trees harbor ancestral wisdom while its watersheds nourish the Valley. Native fruits have sustained generations and inspired local craftsmanship.
Atlantic Forest
Remnants of coastal forest persisting against the odds. Reduced to less than 10% of their original extent, these green fragments shelter unique endemic species.
Environmental Racism
1
18th Century
Gold and diamond extraction. Wealth flowed to Portugal. Enslaved people died in the mines. The gold cycle enriched the Portuguese Crown while devastating rivers and claiming thousands of Black lives.
2
19th Century
Deforestation for plantations. Traditional communities were expelled from their lands. The Land Law of 1850 formalized exclusion, preventing formerly enslaved people from owning land.
3
20th Century
Dams and "developmental" projects. Rivers were diverted. Territories were flooded. The Itaperica Hydroelectric Plant submerged historical communities.
4
21st Century
Lithium extraction for "clean energy." The green of energy transition is blood-red. Operations contaminate water, cause respiratory diseases, and continue cycles of exploitation.
The Demographic Shift
45.3%
Mixed-Race Population
For the first time, the mixed-race population forms the majority in Brazil, surpassing the 43.5% white population.
43.5%
White Population
Percentage that now represents the second largest demographic segment of the country.
70%
Jequitinhonha Valley
Percentage of the population that is Black and mixed-race in the region, an epicenter of the climate crisis.
This demographic shift challenges established social structures and leads Brazil to reflect on its identity and citizenship in a country marked by racial inequalities.
The Ancestral Journey
Departure from Brazil
The director leaves the Jequitinhonha Valley, a region rich in African traditions, carrying questions about identity and belonging.
Arrival at the Slave Coast
The African soil awakens deep sensations beyond reason—a simultaneous return and discovery.
Dialogue with Ancestors
Encounters reveal connections that transcend time and space: shared rituals, identical gestures, and resilient words.
Transformed Return
Returning to Brazil brings a new perspective—the foreign now recognized as familiar, the familiar revealing overseas origins.
The Lithium Valley
What is Promised
  • Sustainable development
  • Jobs and prosperity
  • Transition to clean energy
  • Progress for everyone
What is Delivered
  • Predatory exploitation of natural resources
  • Precarious work and forced migration
  • Contamination of water, soil, and air
  • Profits for few, permanent collective losses
Impact on Communities
  • Forced displacement
  • Loss of ancestral territories
  • Undervaluation of lands
  • Insufficient payments
Building Alternatives
2
Climate Justice
Social technologies blending ancestral knowledge with innovation
2
Local Culture
Preservation of traditional knowledge where art serves as resistance
Agroecology
Sustainable food systems respecting the earth
These alternatives are both technical solutions and political proposals that challenge dominant development models. They exist in communities today and can be expanded as seeds of a more equitable future.