Director James Cameron says a real-life Avatar battle is playing out in Brazil's Amazon rain forest, where indigenous groups are trying to halt the construction of a huge hydroelectric project.
Cameron and actress Sigourney Weaver are in Brazil to protest against a proposed dam in the Amazon that would be the world's third-largest hydroelectric project.
The Hollywood celebrities joined about 1000 demonstrators in Brasilia's streets on Monday as they urged the government to halt the planned Belo Monte project.
Cameron said he was in Brazil's capital to support Indian and environmental groups.
Cameron attended an environmental summit in the Amazon with former US Vice-President Al Gore last month.
He returned to Sao Paulo this week to promote the DVD version of his blockbuster movie Avatar, in which the fictitious Na'vi race fights to protect their homeland, the forest-covered moon Pandora, from mining.
He said he came to Brasilia on his own initiative because he was drawn to the activists' plight.
Avatar has struck a chord with environmentalists worldwide, from China, where millions have been displaced by major infrastructure projects, to Bolivia, where Evo Morales, the nation's first indigenous president, praised the film for sending the message of saving the environment from exploitation.
"I'm drawn into a situation where a real-life Avatar confrontation is in progress," Cameron said in a telephone interview while en route to protests taking place in front of the Mines and Energy Ministry. …
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