Yanuni
2025 | Coast Film & Music Festival
Duration: 112 min
Synopisis
YANUNI is a cinematic portrait of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon who rises from a remote village to the frontlines of climate justice. After surviving six assassination attempts, she is appointed Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights—while her husband, a federal IBAMA agent, leads dangerous operations against illegal gold miners. As Juma navigates political power, growing threats, and impending motherhood, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. At once intimate and epic, YANUNI is a powerful story of Indigenous sovereignty, love, and the urgent fight to protect the planet we call home.
Featured at Coast Film & Music Festival 2025
Production Team
Richard Ladkani
Richard Ladkani is an award-winning director and cinematographer with more than fifty documentaries to his credit, spanning urgent environmental, social, and political themes. His acclaimed films include Sea of Shadows (National Geographic/Disney+) and The Ivory Game (Netflix), both executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio. Sea of Shadows won the Sundance Audience Award, while The Ivory Game was shortlisted for the Academy Awards in 2017.
A member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Richard is known for directing and photographing his own films—creating a uniquely intimate and visually immersive style. Fluent in five languages, he is a storytelling activist who uses the camera to inspire global awareness and change.
His body of work also includes Jane’s Journey, an acclaimed portrait of Dr. Jane Goodall released theatrically in over 40 countries and shortlisted for the Academy Awards, and The Devil’s Miner, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2023, he served as Series Director on Arctic Ascent, a climate-focused expedition series for National Geographic/Disney+.
In 2015, Richard and his wife Anita founded Malaika Pictures, a production company dedicated to cinematic, impact-driven storytelling.