CHILDREN OF THE AMAZON
Children of the Amazon follows Brazilian filmmaker Denise Zmekhol as she travels a modern highway deep into the Amazon in search of the Indigenous Surui and Negarote children she photographed fifteen years ago. Part road movie, part time travel, her journey tells the story of what happened to life in the largest forest on Earth when a road was built straight through its heart.
2009, Brazil, 72 min.
Prod. / Dir.: Denise Zmekhol
Script: Michael J. Moore, Ellen Bruno, Denise Bostrom
Dir. of Phot.: Antonio Luiz Mendes
Music: Badi Assad, Nana Vasconcelos
Sound: Nicollas Hallet
Edit.: Jennifer Chinlund
Denise Zmekhol
A Sao Paulo native, Zmekhol studied social communication and journalism in Brazil, and completed her studies in photography, film and broadcasting at San Francisco State University. Throughout her career Denise has been working as a sound recordist (1987-1988), production coordinator and translator for Voice of the Amazon 60-minutes documentary produced and directed by Miranda Smith (Brazil / USA, 1988-1989), still photographer, director for commercials and marketing projects (Kellogg, Max Factor, Fiat, General Motors, IBM and others, 1990-1998), producer and director for various film projects.
Filmography
Landscape of Memories (1989), 1999 (1992), Digital Journey: Series from a Networked Planet (39 episodes, 1998-2001), Teaching Machines (2003), Teaching Skills for Assistive Technology Specialists for the American Foundation for the Blind (2004), Children of the Amazon (2002-2009), Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops (2008), Trading Bows and Arrows for Laptops, One Year Later (2009), Google Earth Engine: Surui Carbon Project (2010), Green21 Multiplatform Media Initiative: Water Episode (2010-2011).