Give as a gift
In this cinematic journey, an Indigenous leader's fight to save the Amazon becomes a deeply personal battle—for her people, her family, and the future of a planet on the brink.
Yanuni follows the extraordinary journey of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon, as she rises from a remote village in Xipaya territory to the political frontlines of climate justice. A fearless defender of her people and the rainforest, Juma has survived six assassination attempts while confronting illegal gold miners, land-grabbers, and multinational corporations threatening her ancestral land.
Spanning years of activism and personal sacrifice, the film captures Juma’s historic appointment as Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights under President Lula. At her side is Hugo Loss, her husband and the head of Special Operations at IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental-protection agency. As Juma fights on the political front, Hugo leads dangerous operations to dismantle illegal mining camps deep in the Amazon—often under armed threat.
When Juma discovers she is pregnant, her battle takes on new urgency. Navigating impending motherhood, rising political responsibility, and Hugo’s high-risk missions, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. Told with intimate access and cinematic urgency, Yanuni is both a love story and a call to action. It illuminates one of the world’s most critical environmental and human rights struggles through a deeply personal lens. At once epic and intimate, Yanuni is a powerful portrait of resilience, Indigenous sovereignty, and the fight to protect the world’s largest rainforest—for future generations and the planet we call home.
Richard Ladkani, Director / Producer / Cinematographer. Ladkani is an award-winning director and cinematographer with over fifty documentaries to his credit, spanning urgent environmental, social, and political themes. His 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 both directing and photographing his films—allowing for 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 that was theatrically released 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.
Anita Ladkani, Producer / Head of Production. Anita holds a master’s degree in Communications and has worked as a freelance producer and production manager on numerous documentaries and commercials based out of New York, Munich and Vienna. Born and raised in Lebanon and Kenya, she has a special understanding of conflict zones, which allows her to keep a level head when Richard and his team operate in hostile environments around the world. Besides being a mother of two daughters, she successfully runs Malaika Pictures, and has been deeply involved in producing both The Ivory Game (Netflix) and Sea of Shadows (NatGeo/Disney+), as well as Arctic Ascent — with Alex Honnold (NatGeo/Disney+). Her personal biography and the international experience gathered on all these films make her the heart and soul of Malaika Pictures and an authority everyone can rely on.
In this cinematic journey, an Indigenous leader's fight to save the Amazon becomes a deeply personal battle—for her people, her family, and the future of a planet on the brink.
Yanuni follows the extraordinary journey of Juma Xipaia, an Indigenous chief from the Brazilian Amazon, as she rises from a remote village in Xipaya territory to the political frontlines of climate justice. A fearless defender of her people and the rainforest, Juma has survived six assassination attempts while confronting illegal gold miners, land-grabbers, and multinational corporations threatening her ancestral land.
Spanning years of activism and personal sacrifice, the film captures Juma’s historic appointment as Brazil’s first Secretary of Indigenous Rights under President Lula. At her side is Hugo Loss, her husband and the head of Special Operations at IBAMA, Brazil’s environmental-protection agency. As Juma fights on the political front, Hugo leads dangerous operations to dismantle illegal mining camps deep in the Amazon—often under armed threat.
When Juma discovers she is pregnant, her battle takes on new urgency. Navigating impending motherhood, rising political responsibility, and Hugo’s high-risk missions, she is forced to confront the personal cost of resistance. Told with intimate access and cinematic urgency, Yanuni is both a love story and a call to action. It illuminates one of the world’s most critical environmental and human rights struggles through a deeply personal lens. At once epic and intimate, Yanuni is a powerful portrait of resilience, Indigenous sovereignty, and the fight to protect the world’s largest rainforest—for future generations and the planet we call home.
Richard Ladkani, Director / Producer / Cinematographer. Ladkani is an award-winning director and cinematographer with over fifty documentaries to his credit, spanning urgent environmental, social, and political themes. His 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 both directing and photographing his films—allowing for 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 that was theatrically released 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.
Anita Ladkani, Producer / Head of Production. Anita holds a master’s degree in Communications and has worked as a freelance producer and production manager on numerous documentaries and commercials based out of New York, Munich and Vienna. Born and raised in Lebanon and Kenya, she has a special understanding of conflict zones, which allows her to keep a level head when Richard and his team operate in hostile environments around the world. Besides being a mother of two daughters, she successfully runs Malaika Pictures, and has been deeply involved in producing both The Ivory Game (Netflix) and Sea of Shadows (NatGeo/Disney+), as well as Arctic Ascent — with Alex Honnold (NatGeo/Disney+). Her personal biography and the international experience gathered on all these films make her the heart and soul of Malaika Pictures and an authority everyone can rely on.
