The Ethnographer

Directed by Ulises Rosell

With BONANZA (FID 2002), his first film, Ulisses Rosell took us on a journey to meet a tribe of extremely colorful Argentinian poachers. This new dive into exotica takes us to the Wichi Indians in Chaco, Argentina, who have not long been sedentary, with an American ethnologist as our guide. To some degree a repentant ethnologist, John Palmer, rather than finishing his thesis, married a native and had a large family. Rather than observing it from a distance, he chose to become part of this discreet and beleaguered community. He strives to support their cause, getting involved in law suits and confronting companies which pillage land that belongs to the Indians with complete impunity.