Nimuendajú

Baptized by the Amazonian Guarani as “one who has found his place,” a German self-taught ethnologist dedicates his life to researching and protecting Indigenous cultures – but can his achievements ever be disentangled from colonial traces?

Rendered through rotoscoped animation, this biopic traces the life of Curt “Nimuendajú” Unckel, a German ethnologist who, in the early 20th century, lived among Indigenous communities in Brazil for over four decades. Witnessing land theft, persecution, and cultural erasure, he became one of the first Western voices to denounce colonial injustice. While the film foregrounds the depth of his commitment, it also opens space for a critical re-examination of his contradictions. Navigating between white and Indigenous worlds and collecting artefacts for European museums, his legacy emerges as complex – deeply entangled in the very history he sought to document.

– Saulė Savanevičiūtė

TALK

After the screening PhD Candidate in the Environmental Governance and Politics chair group Juliana Lins will shine her scientific light on the documentary’s themes: the important language research; the vulnerability of the Indigenous peoples; the social, cultural and ecological damage the colonisers did and still do. What is the best way of protecting someone or something, and what role does knowledge play?

Juliana Lins is a biologist by training whose work is driven by commitment to social justice and diversity. Among the many things she does for love is working alongside Indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon. She lived for nine years in the Amazon region and has worked with Indigenous peoples since 2016, first through a Brazilian civil society organization that has been a long-term ally of a major Indigenous organization on the Brazil–Venezuela–Colombia border – where she lived for three years. Lins is currently a PhD candidate at Radboud University, where she studies alliances between Indigenous and non-Indigenous actors in the Brazilian Amazon and Europe. 

Can’t make it to this screening?

InScience 2026 continues from 11–15 March at Visum Mundi, Wageningen. Discover the full InScience Satellite programme here to find out when this film screens in Wageningen.