Tigrero - A Film That Was Never Made

In 1954, American director Sam Fuller visited Brazil to find suitable locations for an adventure movie. The main parts were to be played by John Wayne, Ava Gardner and Tyrone Power. The film would deal with the escape from the jungle of two lovers (Gardner and Power), who find the assistance from 'tigrero' (jaguar-hunter) John Wayne very convenient. Fuller discovered excellent film locations in the territory of the Karajá Indians, who according to Fuller were "the most peace-loving and respectable people [he] had ever met." For private use, he made some documentary shots of the Indians. Back in America, the insurance companies refused to insure the film stars because they deemed the intended production too risky. Consequently, the project was cancelled. Forty years later, filmmaker Mika Kaurismäki goes back to the Karajá Indians together with Sam Fuller and Jim Jarmusch, who interviews the old man. What does the Indians' life look like after all those years? The film also contains footage from the documentary material Fuller shot in 1954.