ANIMAC CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION DAY WITH A SCREENING OF NIMUENDAJÚ

Animac, the International Animation Film Festival of Catalonia, will celebrate International Animation Day with a screening of Nimuendajú, directed by Tania Anaya. Based on the life of German ethnologist Curt Nimuendajú and his relationship with the Indigenous peoples of Brazil, the film will be screened on Friday, 23 October, at 7 p.m. at CaixaForum Lleida.

Nimuendajú tells the story of Curt Unckel, who arrived in Brazil in the early 20th century and devoted much of his life to studying and learning about the country’s Indigenous cultures. Adopted by several communities, he was given the name Nimuendajú by the Guaraní people and fought to preserve their cultures in the face of hostility from landowners and governments.

His life was shaped by his close ties with different Indigenous peoples and by his defence of their rights and territories. He died in the Amazon in 1945 under circumstances that remain a mystery to this day.

Directed by Tania Anaya, the film brings this true story to the screen through animation, focusing on the persecution and displacement of Indigenous peoples from their lands.

The film had its international premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in June 2025, where it was selected for the Contrechamp feature film competition.

With this screening, Animac once again joins the celebrations for International Animation Day, an occasion to highlight animation’s potential to tell stories, open up new perspectives and explore social, cultural and historical issues through diverse viewpoints.

Artistic and technical details:

Original title: Nimuendajú
Language: Portuguese (original version with Spanish subtitles)
Running time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Recommended age: 12+
Director: Tania Anaya
Screenplay: Anna Flávia Dias Salles, Jane Cristina Malaquias, Leandro Rocha Saraiva and Tania Anaya
Art direction: Angelo Abu
Animation director: Bruno Sommerfeld
Editing: Fabian Remy
Original score: André Baptista
Production: Anaya Produções Culturais
Co-production: Apus Estudio (Peru)
Countries: Brazil and Peru
Year: 2025
Genre: Historical drama
Technique: 2D animation and rotoscoping