Destruction in the Amazon: UM grad

University of Montana wildlife biology graduate spent seven years and made enormous personal sacrifices while traveling to a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest in order to make a powerful documentary.

Foto: Montana Standard

A University of Montana wildlife biology graduate spent seven years and made enormous personal sacrifices while traveling to a remote corner of the Amazon rainforest in order to make a powerful documentary about a group of indigenous people whose lives, habitat and culture are being threatened by rapid petroleum development.

Ryan Killackey put his life on hold and braved torrential downpours, parasitic maggots that burrowed into his flesh, terrifying airplane rides into the jungle and threats from oil company officials as he and his team created “Yasuni Man,” an award-winning film about a conflict flaring up deep within the Yasuni National Park and Biosphere Reserve in Ecuador, one of the most biodiverse places on the planet.

The film tracks Killackey’s Native friend Otobo and his people, the Waorani, as they fight to survive in the face of an industry that is aligned with the government in an attempt to develop the rich oil reserves beneath the pristine jungle. Described as a real-life “Avatar” story, the documentary takes viewers into one of the last bastions of “uncontacted” tribes on Earth, a place where all kinds of bizarre and beautiful plant and animal species have evolved to coexist.