10/05/2024
Nixon Danny Andy Narvaez is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, and land defender. Born on September 18, 1997, he is a son of the A’i Cofán community of Sinangoe in Ecuador and serves as an Indigenous rights multimedia activist. His homeland, surrounded by majestic mountains and the vital Aguarico River, stands at the center of the Cofán people’s existence and ongoing resistance against extractive industries.
He received intensive media studies training from the Alianza Ceibo Foundation, formed by four Indigenous nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon, in 2017. From 2018 onwards, he began documenting the fight of the A’i Cofán of Sinangoe against mining extractivism, which threatened them with 52 concessions around their land. His efforts set a critical precedent when they sued the Ecuadorian state and successfully eliminated these mining concessions, preserving their territory from contamination.
From 2021 to 2022, Nixon participated in the Emerging Filmmakers program of If Not Us Then Who, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities through storytelling, media, and art. In 2022, he directed his first documentary, ‘Yoco Cofán: Wisdom and Territory,’. Currently in post-production, this documentary explores his community’s efforts to maintain their spiritual ties, showcases their profound relationship with the land. In 2023, he collaborated with Canal+ of France, filming in Ecuador for the documentary ‘El niño de la selva.’
In 2024, Nixon continued his work with the Ceibo Alliance, leading organizational communication processes, conducting training sessions, and creating video and photo content.
