Jan Bijvoet - "Theo"

Jan was born in Antwerp in 1966. He has been one of the artistic directors and actors of the Antarctica Theater since 2005. He has also performed in film and television, and has guest-starred in a number of series. He has starred in the films AD FUNDUM, THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN (Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film), and BORGMAN (Official Selection – Competition, Cannes 2013). In 2007, he was nominated for the Flemish Culture Award of Scenic Arts. Referring to the German explorer who was the inspiration for his character, he reflects that even though Grünberg tried to integrate with the native people, he could not let go of his white spirit. “He has the western way of thinking, and he wants to carry hundreds of things to study. Love is possession, too. He is also afraid of death. He doesn’t understand why, but it’s because deep down, he is a materialist since his formation, even though he tries to drift away from it.”

Brionne Davis - "Evan"

Brionne was born in Texas and started acting at a very early age, playing Tom Sawyer. He has starred and taken leading roles in more than 30 independent films, including REST STOP, WITCHES OF OZ, PANDEMIA, NARCISSIST (2014), SAVAGED (2013), DON’T LOOK BACK (2008), and HOLIDAYS WITH HEATHER (2006). In New York, Brionne starred in the Theatre Row Adaptation of Sam Shepard’s True West. He has appeared in many theater productions all across the country, including Wallenburg at the Soho Play house, and A Noble Exile, in Los Angeles and Nueva York, a one-man show that he wrote and produced, inspired by the writings of Tennessee Williams. Brionne’s character was inspired by the great botanist and explorer Richard Evans Schultes, and he feels close to him in his love and search of plants and nature.

Antonio Bolívar Salvador - "Old Karamakate"

Antonio is one of the last survivors of the Ocaina people. He resides near Leticia and had some previous experiences in filmmaking, but he prefers not to speak about them because he feels that they were disrespectful to his culture. Besides playing one of the main characters, Antonio also served as interpreter for the Tikuna, Cubeo, Huitoto languages and even English, as he became the teacher of the international actors. Antonio represents the best of the Amazonian people, willing to trust the foreigners, to transmit their knowledge and thankful to be treated respectfully. That’s the most important aspect of the film to him: “It is a film that shows the Amason, the lungs of the world, the greater purifying filter and the most valuable of indigenous culture. That is its greatest achievement.”

Nilbio Torres - "Young Karamakate"

Nilbio has never set foot on a gym; his amazing physique has been sculpted by the hardships of the jungle and the hard work he’s done since he was little. The 30-year-old has only ever worked in agriculture and this is his first experience with the cinema. He has a hard time expressing himself in Spanish, as he speaks mostly Cubeo. But he manages to find words to tell what this experience has meant to him. He feels the film is faithful to the story of his ancestors. “What Ciro is doing with this film is an homage to the memory of our elders, in the time before; the way the white men treated the natives, the rubber exploitation. I’ve asked the elders how it was and it is as seen on the film, that’s why we decided to support it. For the elders and myself it is a memory of the ancestors and their knowledge.”

Miguel Dionisio Ramos - "Manduca"

Miguel was born and raised in Nazareth, a Tikuna community of the Amazon, 26 years ago. He is now a student of physical education in Bogotá and is about to achieve his greatest goal: to become a professional. He defines his participation in the film as a new experience in his life, this time from the field of art and corporal expression, which reinforced his thinking and showed him how to see life from different perspectives. He believes this film should be shared not only with the people of the locations, but all across the country, with all the indigenous peoples in Leticia and the Amazon, with the leaders, in schools and universities. Miguel is the voice of many Manducas, a voice that, far away from the so-called civilization, claims for a more civilized attitude towards Colombia’s indigenous communities.