Manifesto We are committed to a world where Indigenous communities have the tools and resources to tell their own stories and defend their territories.

We work through two connected branches: among.earth Films, our in-house production arm, and among.earth Justice, focused on training, mentorship, evidence gathering, advocacy, and legal support. Together, they form a single ecosystem.

among.earth Films

We imagine a film industry where Indigenous filmmakers are authors, directors, cinematographers, editors, and producers of their own cinematic narratives. A world where stories about land and climate justice are told through Indigenous perspectives, languages, and worldviews.

among.earth Justice

We belief that film is more than only a storytelling tool but also a way for communities to record environmental and human rights violations and pursue legal redress. Film is never separate from the political reality of the communities we work with, and the stories we support make visible what extraction would rather keep quiet.

Approach

Theory of Change

Our goals

Indigenous forests, land, language, traditions, and livelihoods are preserved through storytelling.

Approach

Theory of Change

Our goals

Indigenous peoples lead the creation of their own stories and are equipped to document evidence of violations of their rights.

Approach

Theory of Change

Our goals

A new framework for international litigation is inspired that promotes a different way of providing evidence in court that protects Indigenous and environmental rights.

What we wish to see

We envision storytelling as a practice that safeguards Indigenous lands, languages, and ancestral knowledge across generations, with Indigenous filmmakers leading the authorship of their own stories.

We wish to see communities achieve systemic legal change, winning court cases built on visual evidence they gathered and authored themselves.

Long-term goals

Build bridges between the international film industry and Indigenous cinema by connecting Indigenous filmmakers with the networks needed to advance their practice while strengthening Indigenous authorship on the global stage.

Support Indigenous communities and environmental lawyers in protecting Indigenous territories by creating Indigenous-led visual evidence that can withstand legal scrutiny in court and strengthen cases against extractive industries.

The impact

Indigenous filmmakers are breaking through the film industry, moving from first workshops to international recognition, with youth empowered as the next generation of storytellers and community feedback shaping the work at every stage.

Films and visual evidence is used successfully in court, holding industries accountable and protecting hectares of biodiversity and Indigenous territory, as Indigenous communities turn their own storytelling into legal power.

What we do

We produce and co-produce films in long-term partnership with Indigenous filmmakers, building an international network that connects Indigenous cinema with the wider film industry while strengthening Indigenous authorship, creative exchange, and community-led storytelling.

Indigenous communities strengthen their legal knowledge by sharing their films and visual evidence with legal experts and by actively participating in their own legal cases.

Root Values

All projects are grounded in Free, Prior, and Informed Consent. Indigenous filmmakers produce their stories, with active community approval, and partnerships are built with deep respect for local traditions.

Local community members and networks co-lead initiatives, fostering leadership, inclusion, and grassroots capacity.

Stories are shared across platforms but remain fully owned and controlled by the community and its representative organizations, ensuring cultural integrity and self-determination. Advocacy networks stay Indigenous-led and adaptable, with storytelling and network facilitation driven by the community at all levels.

among.earth remains a long-term point of contact for communities throughout each project, sustaining engagement and support beyond project timelines.

Where it all started

The story of our founder

Abdel Mandili
Founder

As an Amazigh filmmaker, Indigenous to North Africa from the Atlas Mountains, my roots run deep into a civilization of nomads, poets, guardians of the land who've always known that the earth does not belong to us, we belong to her.

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It began deep in the world's remaining forests. I was there with my camera, embedded with Indigenous communities, alongside local filmmakers, documenting stories of injustice and eviction.

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We captured stories of destruction, and each time I reached back out. I heard the same echoes: new concessions, new arrests, new scars carved into sacred land. And I began to ask myself: What is the point of making films if the people are left facing the same fight, again and again? So we asked a new question:

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How can we help? As creatives, as filmmakers, as allies? And the answer was clear: Put the tools in our hands. Not to speak for us, but to stand with us.

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That's how among.earth was born.

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An Indigenous-led collective of filmmakers working with frontline communities across the Amazon, the Coral Triangle, the Leuser Ecosystem and beyond. Using cameras, drones, and satellites as shields and testimony.

Because a camera in the right hands is more than a lens. It's a witness. A story is more than memory. It's resistance. And together, we're not just telling stories, we're building legal cases, reclaiming territory, defending life.

Abdel Mandili
Founder

Among.earth