Garifuna Film Trilogy

About

WHO ARE THE GARIFUNA?

The Garifuna people are descendants of Carib, Arawak and West African people who live in the coastal regions of Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras and Belize in Central America.  The Garifuna came to be in Central America after they were exiled from their homeland (the island of St. Vincent in the Caribbean) by the British in 1797 after two centuries of successfully defending their freedom against colonization.  Since they refused to submit to slavery, the Garifuna are one of the few African-Native descendents in the Americas to preserve their African roots while at the same time fusing with indigenous influences.  The Garifuna hybrid culture embodies a unique synergy between African and indigenous culture and language.

In 2001, UNESCO proclaimed the language, dance and music of the Garifuna as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.

Despite widespread acknowledgement in intellectual and educational circles of the richness of Garifuna language, dance, music and culture and the need for its preservation, the survival of the culture is at risk due to globalization, poverty, AIDS, discriminatory land measures, and lack of educational opportunities.  These challenges have taken a toll on the current generation of Garifuna and many have been forced to assimilate toward more mainstream cultural influences, giving less and less attention to their cultural roots.  Local governments and the society at large in the countries in which the Garifuna live tend to ignore their plight and have yet to exhibit serious concern for the survival of this culture.

WHAT IS THE GARIFUNA FILM TRILOGY?

The Garifuna Film Trilogy is a series of interlocking dramatic fictional feature films of an exciting, artistic and provocative nature which are uplifting, empowering and promote the retention of Garifuna culture, heritage, language and pride worldwide.

PART 1 SYNOPSIS:  [Working Title:  Garifuna in Peril]  Ricardo, a Garifuna language instructor in the United States sets out to help his village in Central America by building a school there, but runs into unforeseen opposition when his brother becomes embroiled in a shady land deal, prompting Ricardo to confront land rights issues along with his educational mission.

PART 2 SYNOPSIS:  Nusi, the leader of a Garifuna village in Central America, immigrates to the United States to gain support for land rights issues back home and is almost derailed when he settles for a low paying job and faces the temptations of materialism and infidelity, resulting in a disconnect from his family and even the issues he was originally fighting for.

PART 3 SYNOPSIS:  Awanda, a Garifuna lawyer in the United States, becomes acquainted with the struggles of Ricardo and Nusi and launches a complex legal case in international court to stand up for the Garifuna’s rights to their own lands.  In the process of researching the case (by traveling to Central America), she pursues the secondary cause of AIDS education, which she believes is critical to the Garifuna’s survival and ability to defend their land rights.

OBJECTIVES OF THE FILM SERIES

The Trilogy of films as a whole aims to achieve the following:

THE VALIDATION OF GARIFUNA CULTURE

(1)           The films will be shot mostly in the Garifuna language, offering a work of art that can be used as a learning tool as well as a positive model to encourage the younger generation to retain the language.

(2)           The films will touch on topics relating to Garifuna history, a source of educational enlightenment as well as personal conviction and identification with the Garifuna cultural legacy, which is very unique as compared to other blacks in the Americas.

(3)           The films will portray Garifuna cultural rituals in a positive light.  Each film has a scene with a medicine man or medicine woman (buyei) who serves as a spiritual advisor to the characters.  Dreams of ancestors also appear in each film, bridging the gap between this life and the next, a crucial theme in Garifuna culture.

PROVIDE ARTISTIC OPPORTUNITIES TO THE GARIFUNA COMMUNITY

(1)           Actors.  The many roles in the films provide opportunities for actors to gain performance experience that may aid them in beginning or accelerating their artistic careers.

(2)           Musicians.  Musicians and bands contributing to the soundtrack will gain exposure for themselves as well as Garifuna music.

(3)           Crew/Filmmakers.  Participants can learn aspects of film production during this process.  It is hoped this project will persuade more members of the Garifuna community to make films.

COMMUNICATION TO THE WORLD OF THE CHALLENGES FACING THE GARIFUNA COMMUNITY

(1)           Literacy and Education.  The films contain plots that about empowering minds and valuing education as a necessity for community progress that must be fought for.

(2)           Land rights.  The films contain plots that have to do with characters fighting for land rights and facing opposition from those who seek to take over the Garifuna lands for profit or outside interest.

(3)           HIV\AIDS.  It is estimated that approximately 8% of the Garifuna community in Central America have contracted the HIV virus.  The film series seeks to educate and inform the audience as well as model behavior change in order to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS.

(4)           Women’s changing roles.  The films seek to make women’s voices heard and show women in model leadership roles as a method of bolstering the role and acceptability of women playing a major part in all of the above challenges.

A UNIVERSAL CALL TO ACTION FOR GREATER PROTECTION OF INDIGENOUS CULTURES

(1)           These films provide a vehicle for Garifuna culture to increase its visibility, opening doors for further work and communications by others.

(2)           The issues of indigenous land rights and HIV/AIDS are universal challenges affecting everyone in the world.  While these films relate to the Garifuna experience directly, the topics addressed can be identified to similar movements in other cultures throughout the world, thus providing a universal message.

(3)           The films hope to bring the Garifuna culture and struggle to broader international attention.  The plots of the films suggest solutions to the problems facing the Garifuna, providing examples as to how attention can be brought to these struggles on an international and personal level.

(4)           The films hope to stimulate further work by other indigenous filmmakers.

This post is also available in: Spanish