Far away from the fabricated metropolis of Toronto, we find ourselves taking a plunge back into the natural world. Away from the fantasy land that disguises exploitation as paradise, we have delved into the realm of the Ital: the organic way of life that the fishermen of Treasure Beach, Jamaica adhere to in order to sustain themselves and their children's' children. Though two weeks immersed in their culture, their simplistic yet benevolent lifestyle, is hardly enough to gather a holistic account of the teachings and understandings that ensure their posterity, our accomplishments have surpassed our expectations.
The remote, southern coastal tropical community of Treasure Beach, comprised of four fishermen villages is hardly your typical Jamaican tourist destination. Unlike the resort plagued city of Montego Bay, or the war-torn ghettoes of Kingston, Treasure Beach is one of few remaining places in Jamaica where inhabitants have maintained an intimate connection to the land they inhabit, acknowledging its preservation as paramount to their longevity. Their land is one of abundance: mango, guava, coconut, tamarind, and sea grapes flourish while the oceanic tides of the Caribbean Sea bring with them snapper, flounder, shrimp, lobster and other underwater delicacies.
Our stay, however short lived, was spent with a remarkable family who together as a family uphold their appreciation, spiritually, mentally, and physically, for the gifts that nature has bestowed upon them. This family is a living example of community solidarity, maintaining a strong bond of support amongst themselves as well as an active voice that speaks on behalf of the land that they occupy. Cultivating the land, gathering plants and the fruits that they yield, and harvesting medicines are this family's primary source of sustenance and we were honored with the privilege of having been able to accompany them on their day-to-day mission to preserve what they have inherited from their ancestors.
Throughout the duration of our trip we were able to initiate, develop, and strengthen a relationship with this community. This relationship became one based on a shared concern for the world's ever distancing relationship with themselves, as a global family, and their environment, the most fundamental component of existence. By exchanging stories we were able to gain the family's support on our mission to locate, learn, and share those understandings that people of the land the world over have always acknowledged. Hence, a collaboration with the community was soon underway.
We were able to accumulate an archive of footage demonstrating the practices and insights that this culture has to contribute to the re-imagining of humanity's relationship to their environment: a glance into the Ital mentality, which is based on embracing the natural and rejecting the artificial. This footage will be distributed alongside our proposal for the seven-film series that has been underway for the last two years as a promotional trailer with which we will be seeking to secure funding for a prolonged, full-length production featuring the Ital of Treasure Beach.
After our visit to Jamaica we flew to Miami to reconnect with Lucho Condor, who we met at the 2009 International Indigeneous Leadership Gathering in the St'at'imc Nation, in order to hand deliver footage that he had requested from last year's event. A Columbian healer and teacher, Lucho has been performing ceremony, directing his energy towards the cleansing of the oil-ridden Gulf of Mexico. Lucho was delighted to host us at his home for a number of days, throughout which we took part in one of these meditation ceremonies, became introduced to the spiritual community of Miami, hosted an ocean front screening of our first film, Il Ngwesi, and partook in a series of in-depth conversations discussing our potential role in his film project, Prophecy: The Last Message. This experience film that is 13 years in the works seeks to tell the story of the fulfillment of the ancient Eagle and Condor Prophecies foretold by Kogi and Hopi elders centuries ago. These prophecies predicted a time of immense social, environmental, and psychological unrest from which mother Earth would ultimately be cleansed. Our participation as film crew on the project would involve a number of weeks spent in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and ultimately, India. This journey would also provide the opportunity to film, as part of our proposed series, the Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada. We look forward to maintaining a direct line of communication with Lucho throughout the forthcoming months.
Having arrived back in Toronto it is now time to devote ourselves towards the intensive endeavour of producing: four trailers, four photo albums, and one soundtrack that will accompany the business plan we will be using to attract investment for the proposed series of seven films. We will be on a very tight and hectic schedule until the 25th of June, by which time all of these components shall have been completed. This will ensure that Apo Calypso Productions is in a comfortable position to begin attracting large-scale funding before we depart on our long awaited and highly anticipated return to Kenya. Having obtained the means to complete the mission that we have undertaken, the time will have come to return full circle and pay homage to our beginnings in the Rift Valley by showcasing our first film to the community that inspired it all.
Onward and Upward,
Apo Calypso Production
The remote, southern coastal tropical community of Treasure Beach, comprised of four fishermen villages is hardly your typical Jamaican tourist destination. Unlike the resort plagued city of Montego Bay, or the war-torn ghettoes of Kingston, Treasure Beach is one of few remaining places in Jamaica where inhabitants have maintained an intimate connection to the land they inhabit, acknowledging its preservation as paramount to their longevity. Their land is one of abundance: mango, guava, coconut, tamarind, and sea grapes flourish while the oceanic tides of the Caribbean Sea bring with them snapper, flounder, shrimp, lobster and other underwater delicacies.
Our stay, however short lived, was spent with a remarkable family who together as a family uphold their appreciation, spiritually, mentally, and physically, for the gifts that nature has bestowed upon them. This family is a living example of community solidarity, maintaining a strong bond of support amongst themselves as well as an active voice that speaks on behalf of the land that they occupy. Cultivating the land, gathering plants and the fruits that they yield, and harvesting medicines are this family's primary source of sustenance and we were honored with the privilege of having been able to accompany them on their day-to-day mission to preserve what they have inherited from their ancestors.
Throughout the duration of our trip we were able to initiate, develop, and strengthen a relationship with this community. This relationship became one based on a shared concern for the world's ever distancing relationship with themselves, as a global family, and their environment, the most fundamental component of existence. By exchanging stories we were able to gain the family's support on our mission to locate, learn, and share those understandings that people of the land the world over have always acknowledged. Hence, a collaboration with the community was soon underway.
We were able to accumulate an archive of footage demonstrating the practices and insights that this culture has to contribute to the re-imagining of humanity's relationship to their environment: a glance into the Ital mentality, which is based on embracing the natural and rejecting the artificial. This footage will be distributed alongside our proposal for the seven-film series that has been underway for the last two years as a promotional trailer with which we will be seeking to secure funding for a prolonged, full-length production featuring the Ital of Treasure Beach.
After our visit to Jamaica we flew to Miami to reconnect with Lucho Condor, who we met at the 2009 International Indigeneous Leadership Gathering in the St'at'imc Nation, in order to hand deliver footage that he had requested from last year's event. A Columbian healer and teacher, Lucho has been performing ceremony, directing his energy towards the cleansing of the oil-ridden Gulf of Mexico. Lucho was delighted to host us at his home for a number of days, throughout which we took part in one of these meditation ceremonies, became introduced to the spiritual community of Miami, hosted an ocean front screening of our first film, Il Ngwesi, and partook in a series of in-depth conversations discussing our potential role in his film project, Prophecy: The Last Message. This experience film that is 13 years in the works seeks to tell the story of the fulfillment of the ancient Eagle and Condor Prophecies foretold by Kogi and Hopi elders centuries ago. These prophecies predicted a time of immense social, environmental, and psychological unrest from which mother Earth would ultimately be cleansed. Our participation as film crew on the project would involve a number of weeks spent in Colombia, Peru, Bolivia, and ultimately, India. This journey would also provide the opportunity to film, as part of our proposed series, the Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada. We look forward to maintaining a direct line of communication with Lucho throughout the forthcoming months.
Having arrived back in Toronto it is now time to devote ourselves towards the intensive endeavour of producing: four trailers, four photo albums, and one soundtrack that will accompany the business plan we will be using to attract investment for the proposed series of seven films. We will be on a very tight and hectic schedule until the 25th of June, by which time all of these components shall have been completed. This will ensure that Apo Calypso Productions is in a comfortable position to begin attracting large-scale funding before we depart on our long awaited and highly anticipated return to Kenya. Having obtained the means to complete the mission that we have undertaken, the time will have come to return full circle and pay homage to our beginnings in the Rift Valley by showcasing our first film to the community that inspired it all.
Onward and Upward,
Apo Calypso Production
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