The Lawa River snakes throughout South America as part of the borderline between Suriname and French Guyana. However, this picturesque region serves as the long-time home of the Wayana, whose story fuels the documentary Parasisi. POV has the first look at the trailer for Parasisi ahead of its premiere at Hot Docs as the Indigenous community brings its story to the global stage. The Wayana endure as a community of approximately 2000 survivors after their people were devastated by forces of colonialism, including the gold rush of 1885. That event brought many parasisi, or “outsiders,” into the region with tragic consequences for the Wayana.
Parasisi, which premieres in the International Spectrum at Hot Docs, tells a story of Wayana resilience and the enduring impact of colonialism. Filmmakers Zaïde Bil (She They Us) and Sébastien Segers (True Crime Belgium) observe how the surviving community faces ongoing contamination caused by mercury poisoning from gold mining in the region, infiltrating the water and the fish that provide sustenance to the residents. Shot in stark and lyrical black and white, Parasisi fuses past and present as the Wayana learn from traditional practices to adapt in the present while navigating what it means to remain in their homeland when it remains shaped by outside forces.
“With a tender, restrained camera, directors Zaïde Bil and Sébastien Segers observe how the subtle violences of these interventions ripple through the daily lives of families living along the river,” writes Hot Docs programmer Carmen Thompson in her notes for the film. “Beautifully shot in luminous black and white, the film is a searing reflection on how colonial legacies persist, etched into lands and bodies.”
