Jama Wapichana is a multidisciplinary artist, writer, screenwriter, filmmaker, and interdisciplinary researcher from the Wapichana people of Brazil and Guyana. She is a Jabuti Prize-winning co-author (2023), holds a degree in Indigenous Territorial Management, a Master’s in Literature (focused on Indigenous Literature), and a specialization in Economic Justice Advocacy for Indigenous Women of the Americas.
Founder of Wapichana Produções, she has over four years of experience developing creative projects that integrate Indigenous knowledge, technology, market strategies, and sustainability in the Amazon region. She directed two short films, wrote the hybrid documentary Ämazad (developed during a Cine Luso residency in Brussels), and was part of the research team for Netflix’s Ricos de Amor 2.
She was selected for Netflix’s Second Act screenwriting program and the LANANI Lab (Globo), where she is developing an original feature. She leads the “Wapichana Indigenous Literature and Inclusion” project, producing accessible materials in Brazilian Sign Language (LIBRAS), and contributed to the Afro-Amerindian Gamified Narratives Lab, creating Indigenous-themed 2D minigames for children.
Jama has completed the development of her debut feature film A Jornada de Kapoi, supported by the Paulo Gustavo Law (2023), and is currently enrolled in Roteiraria’s professional screenwriting course.
Education
- B.A. in Indigenous Territorial Management
- M.A. in Literature (Indigenous Literature) – Federal University of Roraima
- Specialization in Economic Justice Advocacy for Indigenous Women – ECMIA
- Becoming a Social Entrepreneur – University of Michigan (2023)
- Alumni Project: Community Organizing for Social Justice – University of Michigan (2022)
- MOBILANG: Community Interpreters Training – University of Brasília (2021)
- Course on Mining Impacts and Defense of Traditional Peoples – Fiocruz (2020–2021)
- Afro-Amerindian Gamified Narratives Lab – 2D minigames based on ancestral myths (2023)
Filmography
- “MACUNAÍMA” (Brazil, 02/2025) – Casting Researcher.
- “As Aventuras de Makunaima para as crianças” (FILMES QUE VOAM, 02/2025) – Assistant Director.
- “As Aventuras de Makunaima para as crianças” (FAGANELLO COMUNICAÇÕES LTDA, Brazil, 02/2025) – Field Producer (production services in Roraima).
- “Ricos de Amor 2” (Ananã Filmes Eireli, 07/2021 – 06/2022) – Co-Writer.
- “Pé de Lírio” (AKWA PRODUÇÕES ARTÍSTICAS LTDA, Brazil, 03/2025) – Screenwriter.
- “GENTE VERDADEIRA” (episode Ingarikó) (FAGANELLO COMUNICAÇÕES LTDA / Brazil, 12/2023) – Screenwriter & Researcher.
- “GENTE VERDADEIRA” (episode Wai Wai) (FAGANELLO COMUNICAÇÕES LTDA / Brazil, 04/2024) – Screenwriter.
- “GENTE VERDADEIRA” (episode Brasília – Marcha das Mulheres) (FAGANELLO COMUNICAÇÕES LTDA / Brazil, 09/2023) – Director & Screenwriter.
- “JÓIA DE IROKO” (H.S. LIMA PRODUÇÕES AUDIOVISUAIS – ME / Brazil, 04/2023 to 07/2023) – Writer (TV series).
- “O CHÃO DA MALOCA GRANDE” (EMBUÁ Produções / LPG / Boa Vista / Roraima, 006/2023 call) – Short Film.
- “Wa Kuwai” (SESC RORAIMA / Brazil, 12/2023) – Director & Screenwriter (experimental short).
- “Boca da Noite” (SESC RORAIMA / Brazil, 12/2023) – Director & Screenwriter (animated short).
- “Amazad” (Residência Cine Luso Espírito Mundo, 2023) – Screenwriter (docu-fiction).
- “GLOBO – A Jornada da mulher Kanaimé” (2025) – Script Development (fiction feature).
- “ACNUR – La Mochila Migrante” (02/2025) – Camera Assistant, Field Producer & Location Sound.
- “O caminho da Guerreira Lyuna” (2024–2025) – 2D Game, Lead Writer.
- “A jornada da Kapoi” (LPG / Boa Vista / Roraima, 2023–2025) – Head Writer, Writers’ Room (fiction feature).
- “O Chão da Maloca Grande” (LPG / Boa Vista / Roraima, 2023–2025) – Director & Screenwriter.
Awards, Grants & Residencies
- “A Jornada de Kapoi” – Development grant (LPG, Boa Vista, 2023)
- “O Chão da Maloca Grande” – Development grant (LPG, Boa Vista, 2023)
- “WA KUWAI com James Perry” – Indigenous Youth Cultural Survival Grant (2023)
- Residency – Cine Luso Espírito Mundo (Brussels, 2023) – for the documentary Ämazad
- Netflix Second Act – Screenwriting Accelerator for Black and Indigenous Writers (2022–2023)
- EducationUSA Opportunity Funds / Fulbright + Lemann Foundation
- (2022–2023) – Merit scholarship for graduate study preparation
- Access E2C (2021) – English language scholarship
- ProLíder Fellowship (2021) – Leadership grant from Instituto Four; first Indigenous fellow among 12,000 applicants
- PIBIC/CNPq/UFRR (2017–2018) – Scientific research grant from the Federal University of Roraima