In football-loving country, Brazil, there is only one team made up of Indigenous players from various ethnicities. Despite meeting all the requirements set by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to be considered a professional team and having played in the first division for three years since its founding in 2009, it does not have any sponsors. In 2024, a famous Serie A coach from one of the country’s biggest football teams made an offensive comment about Indigenous peoples. Although the coach apologised publicly, his statement highlighted a recurring problem in public discourse: the lack of literacy regarding Brazil’s Indigenous peoples. This led a group of creatives to come together to create a campaign and bring attention to Gavião Kyikatejê Football Club, aiming to attract brands to sponsor the team and, in doing so, improve its financial condition as a club.
The initiative opens up sponsorship slots and invites brands to support the team through sports marketing actions. “We are looking for companies willing to invest in the team. This will help us improve the structure and the quality of life of the athletes and the Kyikatejê village community,” explained Zeca Gavião, the first Brazilian Indigenous person to complete a higher education degree in Football and president of the Indigenous team.
Creatives, Victor Toyofuku (Creative VP Area23), Yohanna Ioshua (Senior Copywriter WMcCann SP), and Henrique Louzada (Copywriter Ogilvy Amsterdam) invited Thiago Balma, executive producer, and Luiz Whately, associate director at Balma Films, to develop a campaign to promote the Indigenous team and question outdated ideas, encouraging the public to reflect on the treatment of Indigenous peoples in Brazil.
“Gavião has already made history on its own, through its own effort. We tell their story as a tribute and to help propel the team to fly even higher,” Victor Toyofuku stated.
“Gavião having an Indigenous athlete team and not having any institutional support reflects how far we are from achieving inclusion in football,” added Thiago Balma.
As they explored creative paths, the group brought in additional partners to participate in the project. They also sought the advice and approval of Chief Zeca Gavião, Pepkrakte Jakukreikapiti Ronore Konxarti, leader of the Kyikatejê village and president of Gavião Kyikatejê Football Club. Filmed in 16mm by Balma Films, the film includes animated scenes produced by Dirty Work and a soundtrack by Bumblebeat. The post-production was handled by the post-production company Cuadro Post.
Animation directors, Faga Melo and Gustavo Leal, explored the history of the Kyikatejê ethnicity to incorporate elements that represented the village, its symbols, and legends – such as that of the Gavião itself, which gives the team its name. To bring the audience closer to the ethnicity, some scenes in the film were hand-painted.
“By creating a parallel narrative through animation, we sought to add a mystical layer that contrasted with the documentary feel of the captured images,” Leal & Melo commented. “By telling the legend, we made the hero’s journey. This was the way we found to convey the strength of this team. We want the viewer to feel the Kyikatejê energy to truly understand who these athletes are.”
Credits:
Concept: Victor Toyofuku
Direction: Luiz Whately
Creatives: Victor Toyofuku, Henrique Louzada, Yohannã Ioshua, and Lucas Pimenta
Film Production Company: Balma Films
Director: Luiz Whately
Animation Production Company: Dirty Work
Animation Directors: Gustavo Leal, Faga Melo
Sound Production Company: Bumblebeat
Music Direction: Lucas Sfair, Henrique Tanji
Post-Production: Cuadro Post
Influencers: Resenha Digital
Indigenous Leadership: Zeca Gavião
Indigenous Consultant: Karina Puri
