Lucrecia Martel's Documentary 'Nuestra Tierra' Examines Land Dispossession and Legal Violence in Argentina

Lucrecia Martel's inaugural documentary, 'Nuestra Tierra' (2025), delves into the 2009 murder trial of Javier Chocobar in Tucumán, Argentina, highlighting the legal system's neglect of indigenous land rights. The film interweaves more than forty hours of trial recordings, historical photographs, and interviews with the Chuschagasta community, juxtaposing their lived environment against the courtroom setting. It debuted at Mexico's Cineteca Nacional Xoco on April 9, 2026. Martel deliberately omits the defense lawyers' perspectives to avoid the 'white words' associated with colonialism. The documentary resonates with wider indigenous movements across Latin America and draws parallels to cases in Chenalhó, Chalchihuitán, Pantelhó, and Aldama. After a decade-long trial, Darío Amín was found guilty of homicide, and the film aligns with other works of indigenous resistance, backed by the ECAMC initiative.