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Plunging headlong into the murk of exploitative missionary work and environmentally destructive capitalism, Transamazonia is a film with undeniable import and sociopolitical urgency, which its muddled narrative can’t completely dampen. Pia Marais’s fourth feature centers around American faith healer Lawrence (Jeremy Xido), who preaches the Gospel to an impoverished Brazilian village in the heart of the Amazon, aided by his daughter, Rebecca (Helena Zengel), the sole survivor of a plane crash that killed her mother. Their role in the community is troubled when a conflict arises between a local Indigenous tribe and a violent gang in the employ of the logging industry laying waste to their homeland.

Following a striking, wordless sequence in which an infant Rebecca is discovered in a rainforest clearing and carried to the relative safety of a hospital room, where her new status as a global media sensation disrupts a reunion with Lawrence, a...

There’s a distant, otherworldly aura to Rebecca Byrne, the teenage protagonist of “Transamazonia,” that is quite befitting of someone who literally dropped from the sky. As a small girl, a plane she was on crashed in the remote depths of the Amazon basin, leaving her the only survivor of the tragedy. Hailed by the media as a miracle child, she has since remained where she fell, carving out a reputation in the rainforest as a Christian faith healer. It’s a testament to Helena Zengel’s arresting, secretive lead performance that we’re never sure if miracles are Rebecca’s blessing or her branding. This central enigma informs the other, manifold ambiguities of Pia Marais’s intriguing environmental fable — in which religious mission work and industrial deforestation both pose threats to Indigenous identity.

Premiering in Locarno’s main competition, with a New York Film Festival slot to come, this...

The trailer for Pia Marais’ “Transamazonia” has debuted ahead of the film’s world premiere in competition at Locarno Film Festival. “Transamazonia,” which will have its North American premiere at New York Film Festival, is being sold in international territories by The Party Film Sales. WME Independent is handling North American rights.

The film centers on Rebecca, the daughter of missionary Lawrence Byrne. Rebecca was declared a “miracle” after she survived a plane crash as a child, deep in the Amazon Forest. Years later, she has become a miracle healer, sustaining their mission thanks to her growing fame. But when illegal loggers invade the land belonging to the indigenous people they’re evangelizing, Rebecca’s father manoeuvers them into the epicentre of this escalating conflict.

In a statement, Marais said: “In this feverish setting, I wanted to work loosely with elements of suspense and genre. In moments to create an uncanny dream atmosphere.