UK premiere of Paraguay film El Impenetrable grabs new audiences24 July 2013
Paraguay's ambassador makes surprise appearance amid engaged movie-goers.
More than 80 people turned up on a warm summer's day in support of our film night.
A cool cinema provided the right conditions for people to come to grips with land grabbing issues faced in Paraguay.
The audience was a mixture of local group supporters, general movie-goers and film officers - even Paraguay's ambassador made a surprise appearance.
Panel discussion following the film
The movie follows one man's quest to create a nature reserve to protect the land given him by his father in the Paraguayan forested Chaco region.
Applause swept through the audience when a nature reserve sign was placed in the ground.
Land
Through his journey we get an insight into the devastating issues around land in Paraguay:
- Indigenous people forced off their homeland by oil companies searching for resources.
- Deforestation to make way for GM soy farming.
In the Q&A session Elias Diaz Pena (Friends of the Earth Paraguay) praised the success of the nature reserve but highlighted the tension between people and resources.
Vicki Hird of Friends of the Earth England, Wales and Northern Ireland, mentioned the timely retreat - that day - of Monsanto from trying to introduce GM crops to the EU.
Thank you to everyone who made it a fantastic night.
Act now
Please support the Paraguayan community of Luz Bella resisting illegal land grabbing.
If you would like to keep up to date with our Paraguay work please email [email protected]
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