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The Tribe That Left the Forest: Mlabri, Asia's Forgotten People
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The Tribe That Left the Forest: Mlabri, Asia's Forgotten People

51 MIN · EN · STATUS: [ STREAMING ]
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Along the border of Thailand and Laos, the Mlabri were among the last hunter-gatherer peoples in Asia, moving through the jungle canopy and building shelters from leaves and branches rather than staying in one place. The film traces how that life began unraveling in the early 2000s, when governments and aid organizations resettled Mlabri families into fixed villages and mission stations. Through interviews and footage inside present-day Mlabri communities, it records what remains of the old forest knowledge alongside the pressures of village life, wage labor, and contact with Thai and Lao society. Elders recall the routines of nomadic life, from foraging to building temporary camps, while younger community members describe growing up between the two worlds their parents and grandparents never had to reconcile. The documentary treats the Mlabri's transition as part of a wider pattern across Southeast Asia, where the last unsettled forest peoples are being drawn into modern economies within a single generation. It first aired in 2016 and runs just under an hour.