screenshots / Embrace of the Serpent / 2015 Buffalo Films

The story of Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, who over the course of forty years assisted two scientists in their search for a sacred psychedelic healing plant.

The film is inspired by the journals of two explorers, Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evan Schultes.

The role of the younger Karamakate was played by Nilbio Torres with the older being played by Antonio Bolívar.

The "serpent" in the film's title refers to the Amazon River, due to it's winding shape and that it is home to many species of snakes

Filming locations in the Amazonía region of Colombia, South America include Cerros de Mavicure, Fluvial Star Inírida and the Vaupés River.

A screening of the film was held in the jungles of Colombia in a makeshift cinema for the Amazonian tribal people.

The film received an Academy Award nomination in 2016 for Best Foreign Language Film.