In developmentDocumentary series · 8 episodes
E agora, José?
This is the strangest place in the universe. And now, José?amazonia2050.com.br/ Synopsis
The promise of a global economy with net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is a unique opportunity in the history of humanity. The series “E agora, José?” investigates the impact this agenda will have on Brazil and the world. We dive into a journey to understand the initiatives, the players and the technologies that can finally square sustainability with profitability and, along the way, preserve the lives of future generations on our planet. Shall we go together?
Is deforestation a synonym for development?
Every piece of evidence points the same way: the forest is worth more standing than felled. Today the Amazon's economic model rests on exporting low-value goods, on uncontrolled extraction of natural resources at negligible prices, on the expansion of the agricultural frontier for commodity production and, finally, on industrial-scale mining. If we have known since 1972 that this is a race against time to stop global warming, why have we advanced so little towards sustainability?
But does sustainability rhyme with profitability?
The series “E agora, José?” tries to answer this and other questions about sustainable economic development, going beyond the environmental and climate issue. We set out to understand how far the current model has reached and, above all, which new windows of opportunity open up through economic models built on ESG, industry 4.0 and the green economy. It is time for researchers, governments, the private sector, organised civil society and consumers to think together about the future we want.
/ Episodes
8x26"- EP 01
The Forest Beyond Imagination
The true scale of the Amazon and the global biological machine.
Far more than a green repository, the forest works as the planet's great thermal and water regulator. The opening episode reveals the grandeur of the “flying rivers”, the invisible cycles of biodiversity and the urgency of seeing the Amazon not as a frontier to be exploited, but as the master key to the balance of the world's climate.
- EP 02
The Stakeholders
The human mosaic and the tensions across the territory.
Who lives there, who produces there and who contests the Amazonian soil? A deep investigation into the clash and the coexistence between riverside communities, indigenous peoples, the advance of conventional agribusiness, mining and the presence of the State. A realistic look at the conflicts and the alliances possible in the search for pacification and territorial governance.
- EP 03
ESG, Carbon Credits and the Financial Market
Putting a price on air, water and climate risk.
São Paulo's Faria Lima and Wall Street have woken up to the regenerative economy. We dive behind the scenes of the voluntary and regulated carbon credit markets, into the role of large investment funds and the creation of impact financial instruments. Sustainability has stopped being mere philanthropy and become a calculation of corporate financial survival.
- EP 04
Agroforestry Systems and the Green Economy
High-value production at scale without felling a single tree.
How to produce food and industrial inputs by regenerating the biome instead of exhausting it? Meet agroforestry systems (SAFs), riverside cooperativism and the potential of açaí, native cacao, essential oils and Brazil nut chains — proving in practice that the standing forest is exponentially more profitable per hectare.
- EP 05
Regulation and Public Policy
Legal certainty, sovereignty and the diplomatic race to 2050.
What good are good intentions if the law does not keep up with reality? This episode debates the bottlenecks of land tenure regularisation, the fight against organised environmental crime, international climate targets (the Paris Agreement) and the government policies needed to guarantee sovereignty and stability to bioeconomy investors.
- EP 06
Sustainability in Education
Training the leaders and minds of tomorrow.
The ecological transition will not happen without a revolution in thinking. We follow cutting-edge educational initiatives — from schools on the riverbanks to executive ESG training programmes — showing how traditional local knowledge can join hands with frontier science to forge Brazil's next decision-makers.
- EP 07
Amazon 4.0 and the Creative Labs
Biotechnology, satellites, AI and the sustainable industry revolution.
The fourth industrial revolution has reached the jungle. Alongside scientists such as Carlos Nobre, we explore the Amazon Creative Labs (LCAs), blockchain traceability of the production chain, remote sensing and genomic sequencing, showing how a high-tech bioeconomy can generate products of very high global value right at the source.
- EP 08
Possible Tomorrows
The scenarios for Brazil and the world on the 2050 horizon.
What happens if we reach the net-zero target in time? And what is the real, irreversible cost if we cross the tipping point? The series finale projects concrete futures for the economy, the climate and society, leaving an overdue call for coordinated action across society, companies and governments.
/ Production plan
Roughly 16 months
- Months 0–2
Research and treatment
Fieldwork, scientific consultancy and script development.
- Months 3–6
Pre-production
Field planning, logistics and permits in the Amazon.
- Months 7–12
Production
Shooting in the territories, interviews and archive material.
- Months 13–14
Post-production
Editing, animation and building the narratives of the episodes.
- Months 15–16
Finishing and release
Colour grading, sound mixing and the series premiere.
/ Themes
- Gold mining and extraction
- Entrepreneurship
- Digital transformation and patents
- Energy transition
- Sustainable agribusiness
- Infrastructure, mobility and transport
- Positive-impact credits
- High-value agroforestry systems
- Indigenous and quilombola peoples and the production chain
- Productivity and scalability
- Regulation and environmental policy
- Amazon 4.0
- LCA — Amazon Creative Labs
- Laws and legislative bills
- Carbon credits
- ESG, the green economy and the financial market
- Carbonplace
- Tourism in the Amazon
- Big Techs
- Legal Amazon
- Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
- Net Zero
- Brazil's energy matrix
- Education and sustainability
/ Planned interviews
Carlos Nobre
Climate scientist
Paulo Nobre
INPE
Miriam Leitão
Journalist
David Kopenawa
Indigenous writer
Ailton Krenak
Indigenous writer
Pedro Leite da Silva Dias
USP — atmospheric sciences
Thelma Krug
IPCC
Mario Mantovani
S.O.S Mata Atlântica and Imaflora
Nicole Schwab
World Economic Forum
Mercedes Bustamante
US National Academy of Sciences
Guilherme Augusto Verola
INPE
Gesner Oliveira
FGV
Alex Atala
Chef
Marina Silva
Politician and environmentalist
/ Director's vision
Hybrid storytelling, an original eye
The classic documentary model has been exhausted. Turn on the television and you can see that narrative genres are increasingly blended: fiction films with a documentary language and documentaries with a fiction language are more and more common, and the series “E agora, José?” will follow that hybrid line. With voice-over narration by two voices known to a wide audience, interviews with scientists, financial market professionals, government representatives, consumers and NGOs, combined with archive footage, stock imagery and dramatised re-enactments, we will tell this incredible story and introduce its protagonists, antagonists, supporting players and victims. Our focus will be the search for viable economic models for preserving the forest and for the sustainable economic development of the whole production chain. And we go further, understanding which futures are possible according to the scenarios proposed. We will bring in-depth discussion and face the question with the seriousness it deserves, without slipping into a pamphlet tone or bad taste, and with the entertainment element that will keep viewers glued to the screen.
Guilherme Canton · FPS Filmes
/ Let's talk