The Kuna Yala Projet
Genesis
On her field study semester in 2013, Chloë our team leader went to conduct a climate change impact analysis in the the Kuna Yala. After discussing with the population, she realized that the culture and nature was deteriorating. The youth no longer cares about their traditions, a documentary would be an adapted way to regain their interest in their roots. She obtained the National Geographic's Young Explorer Grant to produce a documentary – to help them remember their traditions and preserve their ecosystem.
The Kuna is a strong and revolutionary community. They fought the colonist’s invasion and domination and obtained autonomy in 1925. A decade later the Kuna territory was established and they have been controlling their land since then. No foreigners from the Kuna people can own land. This autonomy has allowed them to preserve their culture and nature. In the 80’s their land was declared as forest reserve, and is one of the greenest land in panama. Despite being one of the strongest indigenous group in Latin America, they are still threaten by global forces of market economy. This affects their livelihood, their environment and ultimately their culture.
Why the Kuna people?
Our Destination
We are heading to the Northeastern coast of Panama in the Caribbean Sea. The Kuna territory is on the coastland and archipelago of hundreds of islands.We are going to Rio Tigre, accessible by plane or by an hour boat ride after driving hours in the tropical forest.
What is at stake?
Erosion of Culture
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Connected to North American values
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Youth fly to city + negate their culture
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Transmission eroded
Erosion of Nature
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Climate change→ sea level rise→ flooding
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Commerce → overuse of natural resources
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Waste → contaminating water & soil
“The people who lose their traditions, lose their soul”
The Project
In order to revive their legends and give back value of their ecosystems we will shoot a participative documentary of an adapted myth to contemporary context in which children will enact key characters of myths and illustrate it with animations.The goal is to integrate modernity to the myth and to make children participate in order to regain their interest in their culture and nature so that they become an aware new generation that preserve their environment. Ultimately, the aim is to promote culture diversity and to raise worldwide awareness of global problems and influences on a local scale.
Synopsis
The story begins on the island with the usual Kuna daily life, the indigenous romantic image is replaced by one of a modernized community where western technology and products are overly presents and the surroundings are polluted.A child receives a phone call, he is contacted by a spirit in the form of a wooden figure; nuchu. The nuchu takes him on a spiritual journey in Mother Earth’s guts, and he discovers the creation of earth according to Kuna oral tradition. As the child goes deeper, he voyages in many worlds where he meets trees, animals and other creatures who explain to him the necessity to preserve nature. When he returns to his island he must combat the Kuna who wish to continue their destructive and comfortable lifestyle. This fight is a metaphor of the clashing values in the Kuna community between tradition and modernity.
An artistic & particapatory documentary
We want to go beyond the simple objective documentary and involve the community, in particular children. We have designed the documentary to make children key characters who rediscover their myths by enacting them. Furthermore, we will have creative workshops designed and led by the artistic duo Lara and Julia. This is aimed at the youth for them to re-appropriate their legends in a creative way. The children will create their own kite, which will represent different animals of the Kuna ecosystems and myths. The kites will be incorporated in the documentary where each child will act various animals in the spiritual voyage beneath earth.
Moving Space Animation by Lara and Julia.
Artistic Animation
The animation will illustrate the Kuna’s cosmology and legends in the documentary. Julia and Lara will draw and animate the myths. They will inspire themselves on preliminary research, and on their experience on the field with the workshop that they designed for the children. The animations will be based on the paintings of the Kuna artist Achu with whom we collaborate.