Produced by Nia Tero and Sungai Utik Community as a member of the Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara

Throughout the island of Borneo, an explosion of palm oil plantations has led to mass deforestation and forced many Indigenous Peoples to allow logging of their sacred forests in exchange for immediate profits. However, in the Indonesian village of Sungai Utik, elders of the Dayak Iban people have been able to repel these extractive companies and protect the surrounding forests. This short documentary, written and directed by 18-year-old Sungai Utik filmmaker Kynan Tegar, follows a young girl who makes a magical discovery while out in the woods, and learns of the brave deeds of her elders. Indai Apai Darah is a love letter to the trees, rivers and birds that surround Kynan’s village, as well as to the aging leaders who were able to safeguard their livelihoods. As Sungai Utik elder Apai Janggut says in the film “The Earth is our mother, the forest is our father, and the river is our blood.