Apo Calypso Productions is shifting its lenses throughout the far reaching crannies, corners, and nooks of the earth in search of those few remaining communities who continue to live according to the cycles of nature. As our odyssey progresses, our footage accumulates like raindrops in puddles and our international network of people of the land branches like roots, further harnessing us to the land.
It has, from the beginning of its foundation, been Apo Calypso's plan to develop a series of cultural Immersion films, each documenting a distinct group of peoples who have demonstrated a profound capacity to live in balance with their environments. Using Il Ngwesi as our original model and template, we hope to produce a number of films that will inevitably be released as a collection of films that reconnect people, through these various cultures, to the land upon which they depend. Having already acquired the footage for three of these films, we are now, with evidence of our capability and potential, in the process of developing a coherent Business proposal that will articulate our vision for the project and the way we will go about realizing it.
In light of our need to buckle down to complete this essential document, we have decided to remove ourselves from the distractions that the world of convenience often provides. Far away. In fact, we will be spending the next two weeks in Treasure Beach, an isolated paradise along the southern coast of Jamaica. This location is one of the places least frequented by tourists, and subsequently one of few remaining areas where grass roots fishermen communities continue to prosper. This will grant us the chance to, while working on our proposal, simultaneously acquire footage for our fourth film of the series.
The fishermen of Jamaica are a unique peoples who have been forced to adapt to a land that they do not consider as home. Violently uprooted from their motherland, the fishermen long for Zion in a land that, despite its natural beauty and abundance, is sprawled with social and environmental decay. Observing this destruction from afar, the fishermen choose to maintain their original pact with the creator to maintain the land they have been bestowed. While not technically an indigenous peoples, the fishermen of Great Bay, Jamaica maintain a deep connection to their surroundings, for which they continually give thanks. These people have a particular relationship to water: a sacred resource that directly feeds entire communities. For the fishermen, the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides also quenches a spiritual thirst as a microcosm of a larger universal cycle, by which they are contained. For a brief visual meditation of their cultural way of life accompanied by the soothing reggae sounds of the Congos, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JhTM0Lar3Q
Following our immersion into the ways of life of the fishermen villages of Treasure Beach, we will be making a brief stop-over in Miami, where we will spend the weekend with Lucho Condor. Lucho is a member of the Humanitarian Leaders, a founder of Tribal Link News, a yoga teacher, and a spiritual healer. Over the course of seven years he has developed a very intimate relationship with the mysterious Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada in Northern Colombia: so close that the Kogi, who are very sensitive to the unseen forces that surround us, recognize Lucho as having lived amongst them in a past life. During the course of our stay we will be expressing our hopes to visit the Kogi in their homeland in October, and will be learning more about Lucho's latest film project, entitled Prophecy: The Last Message. We will be discussing what kind of role we will be able to serve in this film that seeks to document the collaboration between Kogi and Hopi spiritual leaders who are bound by their shared prophecy of the Eagle of the North and the Condor of the South. The film will be a very fulfillment of the prophecy as both groups meet in Colombia to perform ceremony at sacred sites before embarking on a nation-wide tour through out the United States to share their prophecies and teachings. This tour will conclude at the United Nations in New York City, where these medicine men will deliver their final message to the western world. For more information about Lucho's project, visit his blog at: http://tribalinknews.blogspot.com/.
Upon our return to Toronto on the 25th of May we will be putting the final touches upon the series proposal. Once completed, the proposal will be distributed alongside the Final cut of Il Ngwesi, three film trailers for British Columbia, Indonesia, and Jamaica, respectively, four photo albums, and a demonstration of the diverse cultural songs and chants we have acquired thus far. This package will serve to help us to secure funding and investment required to complete the task at hand.
Once we have finished this proposal, we will begin development of a Beta HTML website that will serve as a platform for sharing information regarding the series that is currently underway. This should be up and running within the forthcoming months.
Furthermore, we will also be hosting a number of fundraising gallery, screening, and party events throughout the month of June. We will keep you updated as these events present themselves.
While our intention to visit the Bedouins of Jordan this summer has been postponed due to logistics and the emergence of these new opportunities, we look forward to connecting with them at a later date, as our contact base in Jordan Strengthens and grows. Instead, we will be embarking upon a long-awaited return to Kenya, the birthplace of humanity, and the starting point of Apo Calypso Productions. Here, with the help of the Cultural Video Foundation in Nairobi, and Saaya Tema in Il Ngwesi, we will be hosting two free screenings of our first film:IL Ngwesi: People of Wildlife. The first screening will give street children and slum dwellers in Kibera, Nairobi(A slum of a million people) the opportunity to immerse themselves in a way of life that, though exists only in their own backyard, is rarely accessible to them. The second screening will be hosted in the community of Il Ngwesi itself. Projected in natural surroundings amongst the wild backdrop of the Rift Valley, this screening will give Masai a chance to see themselves on the big screen, as we ask for their blessing. This visit will ensure that our connection to the community will never be forgotten and bring our model for films-for-development full circle.
We are thankful for the path that lies before us, and ask for guidance and protection as we embark on this mission that doesn't quite ever end.
Onwards and Upwards,
Apo Calypso Productions
It has, from the beginning of its foundation, been Apo Calypso's plan to develop a series of cultural Immersion films, each documenting a distinct group of peoples who have demonstrated a profound capacity to live in balance with their environments. Using Il Ngwesi as our original model and template, we hope to produce a number of films that will inevitably be released as a collection of films that reconnect people, through these various cultures, to the land upon which they depend. Having already acquired the footage for three of these films, we are now, with evidence of our capability and potential, in the process of developing a coherent Business proposal that will articulate our vision for the project and the way we will go about realizing it.
In light of our need to buckle down to complete this essential document, we have decided to remove ourselves from the distractions that the world of convenience often provides. Far away. In fact, we will be spending the next two weeks in Treasure Beach, an isolated paradise along the southern coast of Jamaica. This location is one of the places least frequented by tourists, and subsequently one of few remaining areas where grass roots fishermen communities continue to prosper. This will grant us the chance to, while working on our proposal, simultaneously acquire footage for our fourth film of the series.
The fishermen of Jamaica are a unique peoples who have been forced to adapt to a land that they do not consider as home. Violently uprooted from their motherland, the fishermen long for Zion in a land that, despite its natural beauty and abundance, is sprawled with social and environmental decay. Observing this destruction from afar, the fishermen choose to maintain their original pact with the creator to maintain the land they have been bestowed. While not technically an indigenous peoples, the fishermen of Great Bay, Jamaica maintain a deep connection to their surroundings, for which they continually give thanks. These people have a particular relationship to water: a sacred resource that directly feeds entire communities. For the fishermen, the ebb and flow of the ocean's tides also quenches a spiritual thirst as a microcosm of a larger universal cycle, by which they are contained. For a brief visual meditation of their cultural way of life accompanied by the soothing reggae sounds of the Congos, follow this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JhTM0Lar3Q
Following our immersion into the ways of life of the fishermen villages of Treasure Beach, we will be making a brief stop-over in Miami, where we will spend the weekend with Lucho Condor. Lucho is a member of the Humanitarian Leaders, a founder of Tribal Link News, a yoga teacher, and a spiritual healer. Over the course of seven years he has developed a very intimate relationship with the mysterious Kogi peoples of the Sierra Nevada in Northern Colombia: so close that the Kogi, who are very sensitive to the unseen forces that surround us, recognize Lucho as having lived amongst them in a past life. During the course of our stay we will be expressing our hopes to visit the Kogi in their homeland in October, and will be learning more about Lucho's latest film project, entitled Prophecy: The Last Message. We will be discussing what kind of role we will be able to serve in this film that seeks to document the collaboration between Kogi and Hopi spiritual leaders who are bound by their shared prophecy of the Eagle of the North and the Condor of the South. The film will be a very fulfillment of the prophecy as both groups meet in Colombia to perform ceremony at sacred sites before embarking on a nation-wide tour through out the United States to share their prophecies and teachings. This tour will conclude at the United Nations in New York City, where these medicine men will deliver their final message to the western world. For more information about Lucho's project, visit his blog at: http://tribalinknews.blogspot.com/.
Upon our return to Toronto on the 25th of May we will be putting the final touches upon the series proposal. Once completed, the proposal will be distributed alongside the Final cut of Il Ngwesi, three film trailers for British Columbia, Indonesia, and Jamaica, respectively, four photo albums, and a demonstration of the diverse cultural songs and chants we have acquired thus far. This package will serve to help us to secure funding and investment required to complete the task at hand.Once we have finished this proposal, we will begin development of a Beta HTML website that will serve as a platform for sharing information regarding the series that is currently underway. This should be up and running within the forthcoming months.
Furthermore, we will also be hosting a number of fundraising gallery, screening, and party events throughout the month of June. We will keep you updated as these events present themselves.
While our intention to visit the Bedouins of Jordan this summer has been postponed due to logistics and the emergence of these new opportunities, we look forward to connecting with them at a later date, as our contact base in Jordan Strengthens and grows. Instead, we will be embarking upon a long-awaited return to Kenya, the birthplace of humanity, and the starting point of Apo Calypso Productions. Here, with the help of the Cultural Video Foundation in Nairobi, and Saaya Tema in Il Ngwesi, we will be hosting two free screenings of our first film:IL Ngwesi: People of Wildlife. The first screening will give street children and slum dwellers in Kibera, Nairobi(A slum of a million people) the opportunity to immerse themselves in a way of life that, though exists only in their own backyard, is rarely accessible to them. The second screening will be hosted in the community of Il Ngwesi itself. Projected in natural surroundings amongst the wild backdrop of the Rift Valley, this screening will give Masai a chance to see themselves on the big screen, as we ask for their blessing. This visit will ensure that our connection to the community will never be forgotten and bring our model for films-for-development full circle.
We are thankful for the path that lies before us, and ask for guidance and protection as we embark on this mission that doesn't quite ever end.
Onwards and Upwards,
Apo Calypso Productions
1 comment:
It’s great to know that ApoCalypso is dedicated to revealing the traditional indigenous knowledge’s of the communities mentioned. It’s definitely an inspiring way to expose/ present environmentally sustainable ways of living. Il Ngwesi was very inspirational and I look forward to upcoming films/works.
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