The new episode introduces the world to Chief Uruma Kambeba, taking us inside his efforts to protect the Amazon.

Samsung has unveiled a new episode of ‘Voices of Galaxy’, that explores how village chief Uruma Kambeba and his 12-year-old daughter Taíssa are using mobile technology to protect their land, community and way of life deep in the Amazon rainforest. The film is the latest in Samsung’s Voices of Galaxy series, which spotlights real people on the edge of the modern world taking the world’s biggest issues into their own hands.

The lushly-told three-minute film addresses a threat facing an indigenous community living deep inside the most impenetrable rainforest in the world: deforestation. Featuring the front-line protectors striving to save ‘the lungs of the world’ from the violent activity, the film follows Chief Uruma Kambeba and daughter Taíssa as they confront its physical and existential impacts. The father-daughter duo speaks to the longstanding spirit of the forest and their right to protect the Amazon, a vital source of livelihood and culture for indigenous communities and a crucial component of the planet’s ecological health.

As village chief, Uruma tells us of the huge responsibility he feels to protect the entire Amazon nation, and the 30 million people that call it home – recounting a nightmarish moment he thought his village was lost. He demonstrates how his community is mobilizing to protect the forest by repurposing Galaxy smartphones to defend their land – safely - against what are often dangerously armed invaders. Armed with Galaxy technology, they can stand against deforestation more efficiently by clearly capturing signs of logging and trespassing from a safe distance, sending them to authorities straight from the scene without risking their lives, and connecting with other groups to scale the action. Showcasing the challenge in the most authentic way, the film is voiced over by Uruma and Taíssa and features moments of everyday life, including how Taíssa uses her phone as a tool to educate others in her region about the rainforest’s plight. The film shows us how Uruma is equipping the next generation – his children – to continue his efforts ending with a defiant promise: “I’ll never give up”.

Samsung’s illuminating storytelling series offers a powerful glimpse into a community that doesn’t need pity, but instead deserves attention on a global scale.

Says Carlos Perez, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy: “Our mission with Voices of Galaxy was fiercely bottom-up from the start: to elevate the stories of those groups who have repurposed Galaxy technology entirely independently in order to mobilize, organize and stand for their cause. In meeting Uruma and Taíssa, we wanted to help tell their story and do their mission justice. As the film shows, Uruma and Taíssa speak for themselves in their actions. We are extremely proud and privileged to share and amplify their voices as part of the on-going effort to protect the Amazon.”

Credits

Client: Samsung

Agency: Ogilvy New York

ECD: Carlos Perez

Creatives: Amanda Kim and Alice McCarthy

Agency Producer: Regan Wallace

Director: Adu Lalouschek

Director’s Rep: The Visionaries

Production Company: Scenester Films

Executive Producer: Tim Marshall

Service Production: Utopia Films

Service Producer: Daniel Araújo