Testimonials

The video, the song you made eternal, feels like humanity’s cry to heal the pain we collectively hold as a shared consciousness. It isn’t just words but every image and every frame was eternal in its silently loud and disruptive message. It reminded me very much of my all time favorite film Baraka, by Ron Fricke.

—Cookie B.

The Eternal Song is a film of multi-layered meaning—some explicit, some implicit. Rather than imposing an agenda, Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo allowed the film to create itself by listening and being-with the land and Indigenous people. This is not an anthropological study, but a relational unfolding where trust made visible what is rarely seen. Without speaking of climate change, the film shows the melting ice, the cracking soil, the forests falling—juxtaposed with Indigenous wisdom amidst overdevelopment. It acknowledges pain and devastation, even genocide, yet moves through grief in ceremony and dance—moving forward.

—Fariba B, PhD, Artist, Dream Researcher

The Eternal Song is a rare and necessary film—one that steps back to let the world’s Indigenous people speak directly to the viewer, in their own words and languages. With no outside narration, no white analysts, and no imposed frameworks, it practices cinematic listening. A profound and poetic deconstruction of colonialism, and a testament to survival, memory, and cultural resurgence.

—Mark Achbar, filmmaker (The Corporation, Manufacturing Consent)

Bold, authentic, and timely.

—Dr. Sekagya Yahaya Hills

BEAUTIFUL!

I have never felt so seen and so understood by watching this kind of documentary/movie. So much love is overflowing from within by being acknowledged of who we really are as Indigenous People. Amazing! I couldn’t stop crying. It is a sacred movie. It is so powerful. I love it. So incredibly grateful to be alive and knowing that there are people like Aviaja Rakel Qujanaq and beyond.

—Ivalo N.

THANK you so very much! I am overwhelmed by the beauty and vulnerability of this powerful documentary. It reminds me of the famous line from Dostoyevsky’s Idiot: “Is it true that beauty will save the world?” What a beautiful poem you have created! What a great piece of art and what a powerful step towards healing! One of the best documentaries I have ever watched.

—G. S.

What beautiful, astonishing, bold and generous work you two continue to do. We are so lucky to have it shared with us. Just the concept alone of The Eternal Song would make it a great film, but to have it done with such a high degree of artistry makes it truly extraordinary. So exquisitely filmed and edited. And I especially loved the music, that was out-of-this-world good! CONGRATULATIONS! And THANK YOU!!

—Michael B.

All I want to say is: your film is absolutely STUNNING. Bravo!!! Haunting, powerful, elegant and brutal. I was blown away. It was BREATHTAKING.

—Rachael K.

What a MASTERPIECE—ancient tears were free flowing from our souls multiple times during the movie! It is beyond moving, and wow the imagery, innate wisdom brought forth.

—Yasemin B.

What a work of art! It puts many, many exclamation marks on our common message. We are the land, we are the water, we are inseparable.

—Charlene E.

There are no words for how beautiful and meaningful this film is. Really, I don’t have words. Resonating, heartbreaking, maddening, stunning, heart-filling—it makes me want to make an even bigger difference in the world.

—Stephanie H.

This is ultimately beautiful, mesmerizing, and engaging a deeper understanding of Earth’s respect for all life, including humans.

—Tiokasin G.

When colonization hit Mother Earth, it changed all these different people simultaneously. It became a global family issue. We need a call for the global family to come together. This film, in an almost preverbal or preconscious way, is making that call.

—Pat M.

I am in awe, and still digesting everything.

This is the way it should be done—transformation through honest shadow work.

The film is about souls meeting and showing the way through ceremony.

Blessings from me and the ancestors.

—Rakel K.

The music is wonderful. The cinematography is a dream, and the content is so very moving, fascinating and so important in this time of rampant settler-colonialism, occupation and war.

Bless your hearts!

—Rae M.

Watching felt like sitting in sacred ceremony where time slows, the Earth speaks, and something ancient stirs within your bones. The Eternal Song is more than a film. It’s a prayer. A call. A remembering and remindering.

—Carlie A.

From the very first frame, I felt my heart open. This isn’t a documentary in the traditional sense, it’s a weaving… of stories, of cultures, of grief and joy, of resilience and reverence. It gently unthreads the noise of modernity and invites us back into relationship with land, with each other, with spirit.

—Carlie A.

The Eternal Song left me in tears of sorrow, yes, but also of awe. It reminded me that amidst all the noise, there is still a pulse, a rhythm, a song, waiting for us to remember. The film is that song. A luminous offering to the world, a mirror for the soul, and a map for the future.

—Carlie A.

I am speechless! What a magnificent film you have made. I hope it is seen far and wide. The message is timeless and so timely and the cinematography is stunning. Thanks for sharing it with us.

—Alison T.

What an absolutely gorgeous film in so many ways—absolutely beautiful and so incredibly moving. Thank you for the love and for your tremendous creativity. I’m excited for the release and for watching how it changes the world.

—Gail B.