HBO Max documentary crew threatened in Amazon during filming

The production team of the new HBO Max documentary series, ‘Morte e Mistério na Amazônia’, was forced to flee the Alto Rio Negro region by boat under the cover of night following death threats. Director Tatiana Issa reported that the danger arose when the documentary's central figure, Tatunca Nara, realized the crew intended to confront him with investigative documents regarding events in the Amazon during the 1970s and 1980s.

The three-episode series investigates disappearances linked to expeditions searching for Akakor, a legendary lost city in the forest. The production revisits the history of foreign travelers, such as John Reed, Herbert Wanner, and Christine Heuser, who vanished while searching for the site. The series also examines the legacy of German journalist Karl Brugger, who popularized Nara's claims in the 1970s before being shot and killed in Rio de Janeiro in 1984.

While Nara has never been convicted in connection with these cases, the documentary aims to use new evidence and international investigations to challenge his version of events and provide a voice to the victims.