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Behind the Smokescreen 2024

Highly Recommended

Distributed by epf media, 324 S. Beverly Drive, PMB 437, Beverly Hills, CA 90212; 310-839-1500
Produced by Anneleen Ophoff
Directed by Anneleen Ophoff
Streaming, 29 mins



College - General Adult
Agriculture; Environmentalism

Date Entered: 01/23/2025

Reviewed by Lauren Stieglitz, Science Liaison Librarian, University of Alberta

Behind the Smokescreen is a fascinating short documentary about the deforestation and wildfire crisis in Bolivia. Behind the Smokescreen introduces the many factors of this issue, exploring the volunteer firefighters who risk their lives to preserve the vanishing rainforest, the farmers whose slash-and-burn practices lead to devastating fires, and the economic and political factors that contribute to widespread deforestation in Bolivia. Behind the Smokescreen briefly touches on how these issues affect Indigenous populations and highlights the sustainable farming practices used by some Indigenous farmers.

The documentary is very informative and highlights an important issue that is not often on the radar of North Americans. The documentary has an informational narration and features the perspectives of multiple firefighters, environmentalists and park rangers. It only features one farmer, and the film stresses that many farmers are reluctant to talk to journalists. Contextual information about the political and economic factors are provided in voice over. Additionally, Behind the Smokescreen features gorgeous cinematography that captures affecting imagery of forest fires and makes for a moving and interesting documentary.

With a run time of 29 minutes, Behind the Smokescreen is not able to delve particularly deeply into this multifaceted issue, but it does provide a captivating overview. The short run time is the only downside to this otherwise fantastic documentary. It leaves the viewer wanting to learn more about all aspects of this issue.

Behind the Smokescreen is highly recommended, both for academic and general audiences. It would be most useful to Agriculture, Environmental Sciences or Latin American Studies. Though it touches on topics of interest to Indigenous Studies, there is not enough content to be useful in an academic context.

Published and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Anyone can use these reviews, so long as they comply with the terms of the license.