A 63-year-old shaman in the Amazon has healed 2,500 souls. His secret? Plants that talk back.
Don Emilio is a humble, 63-year-old man who lives in the Amazon rainforest, seven miles from the city of Iquitos, Peru. For all of his adult life he has worked as a curandero and vegetalista, a traditional healer. He estimates that in his career he has treated more than 2,500 clients. Through the camera lens of anthropologist Luis Eduardo Luna, Don Emilio tells us about his practice, his beliefs, his community, and his life. He shows us how he prepares ayahuasca and other herbal medicines. Finally, we see Don Emilio treat a man who has come to him for help, and hear from a poor woman who has brought her infant son for medical care.
Cinematography
Lush 16mm rainforest footage that breathes humidity.
Direction
Luna's patient observation never exploits his subject.
Production
Rare 1982 document of pre-tourism ayahuasca practice.
Director
Luis Luna
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
US
