EXCLUSIVE: Former AMPAS President and The People vs. Larry Flynt producer Janet Yang is among the team behind new environmental doc Shinta, about a young Dayak girl and Indigenous activist Emanuela Shinta on a journey through Borneo’s rainforest.
The film is developed, written and produced by Michela Scolari (Paolo Rossi: The Heart Of A Champion) and directed by Paolo Sodi, who directed Andrea Bocelli’s Paramount documentary The Journey.
The documentary “follows a 10-year-old Dayak girl who dreams of saving her family and the Borneo that is disappearing around her, consumed by pollution, deforestation and loss. When she joins Indigenous activist Emanuela Shinta on a journey deep into the rainforest to find the Dream Wanderers, legendary ancestral shamans said to connect humans with Mother Nature, she believes they may hold the answers her world desperately needs. As myth and reality collide, the young girl discovers that the power to protect her homeland may already be within her: her voice, her courage and the strength of a generation ready to rise for nature.”
Currently in post, Scolari will be in Cannes to discuss the project with potential partners. The original idea was created by Scolari with Jaqueline Illy and Federico Gariboldi.
The film is a global co-production spanning the U.S., Romania, Switzerland and Italy. Producers include Scolari, Yang, Brenda Emmett and Vince Emmett for American Troubadours in the U.S.; Bradamante Entertainment in Romania; Angelo Boffa and Remo Muggli for Carm-One Productions in Switzerland; and Filmintuscany in Italy and RAI Cinema.
The project was developed with Yang’s guidance and support, with the producer championing the story from its earliest stages. It is being envisioned as the first feature documentary in a planned series exploring the power of female activism in countries facing severe ecological crises.
“At its heart, this is a story that brings forward the voices of two women, and through them, the powerful voice of nature itself,” said Scolari. “Shinta is a return to an ancestral, pure and direct love for our primordial mother, nature. It is a fairy tale, a love story between two young girls and the natural world, one that I believe can help us all see it again with new eyes.”
“Across documentaries, television series and narrative films, my purpose remains the same,” Scolari added. “To tell powerful stories that can awaken conscience and, hopefully, help shape a better society, one that listens to, and truly recognizes, the value of women.”