Rainforest School

The Amazon jungle rises north from the river basin to the Guiana Shield. We are filming a documentary about a rainforest school [the school is being funded by WWF] that is being set up in interior of Suriname, in the Guianas, South America.

We are also developing an education program and publicity material [such as the poster above] for Stinasu, the foundation for nature conservation in Suriname. The education program and documentary focus on animal behaviour, rainforest ecosystems and conservation issues such as the impact of gold mining on vegetation, biodiversity and health. We are also working with leading primate anthropologists to capture footage (HDV equipment) of species unique to the Guianas such as the bearded saki as well as the spider monkey, the white faced saki, howler monkey, capuchin and other animals. We are in Suriname on Brownsberg mountain [on the link map below near Brownsweg]:
Click here for a map.

Amerindians and Waini River

Two interconnected films Herõrru and the Waini River/Shell Beach, one on a Netherlands Committee of The World Conservation Union (NC-IUCN) funded community project producing crabwood oil (Herõrru in the indigenous, Amerindian native tongue, or carapa guianensis) as a sustainable and alternative source of earnings.

The project, on the Waini River, north west Guyana, is one of the first steps of the wider aim to develop the entire region (from the Waini river to the coast and Shell Beach) into a protected area.

This holistic, regional approach could also impact on the sea turtles [including the charismatic Leatherbacks pictured below] of Shell Beach and the surrounding fishing communities. Some fishermen in the area are known to poach sea turtle eggs and even butcher the turtles on the beach for sale as meat in local markets.

For more information please email Andy or for film email Louise.

Sea Turtles

Working draft [first]

Programme Outline for film

In most cases voice overs will be kept to a minimum and only used when interview material is not available. Interviews will be in native languages when the English is not suitable and subtitled for viewing.

1. Introduction: the geography and the situation.
2. Stinasu: the history of the area, the issues and the work being done.
3. Monitoring and a description of the different turtle species.
4. Examining the main problems: the impact of tourism, fishing and poaching.
5. Conclusion.

1. Introduction: the situation and the geography.

• Shots of Galibi and Matapica area.

Voice over/introduction: "Suriname is on the northern Atlantic coast of South America and is bordered by French Guyana to the east, Brazil to the south and the former British Colony, Guyana in the west. Most of the coast is covered by mangrove forests, interspersed by isolated sandy beaches. It is on these beaches that sea turtles migrate to lay their eggs as they have done every year for centuries.

• Images of turtles laying eggs.

Voice over/introduction: "There are four species of marine turtles nesting in Suriname. They are the Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas), the Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea), the Leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) and the Hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricafa). As one of the last major sites for Leatherback, Suriname is of international importance in terms of the protection of marine turtles. The Galibi Nature Reserve is also one of the most important nesting sites in the Western Atlantic for the Olive Ridley population. While all of these species are endangered, although the most common species found in the area is the Green Turtle and the Leatherback."

2. Stinasu: the history of the area, the issues and the work being done.

• Interview explaining Stinasu's work and history.
• Cut with shots of research centre into images showing monitoring process.
• Interview with WWF Guianas.

3. Monitoring and a description of the different turtle species.

• Interview with a field monitor, explaining the monitoring process while carrying out a health check.
• Images of Green turtles.

Voice over/interview "The Green turtle is locally known as 'Krape'. It is recognised by its round, blunt beak and [fill from interview and up-to-date research]. Many of the turtles feed on sea grass and algal fields off the Brazilian coast, before making their way north, nesting on the coast of Surname and the Guyanas. The Green turtle population is relatively stable."

• Images of Leatherbacks.

"Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Leatherback turtle which is critically endangered and threatened with extinction. Suriname has one of the largest Leatherback nesting colonies in the world. Each year, around [fill from interview and up-to-date research] individual turtles nest in the area. The Galibi Indians commonly refer to these turtles as 'Aitkanti'. These giant turtles are among the largest living reptiles. They are extraordinary creatures that can grow up to [fill from interview and up-to-date research] in length and weigh up to [fill from interview and up-to-date research]. They dive as deep as 1300 meters and largely feed on [fill from interview and up-to-date research].

"While their numbers are in sharp decline, the nesting numbers recorded in Suriname show a remarkable increase since 1999. From more than 10,000 nests in that year rising to 30,000 nests in 2001 [CHECK, conflicting information from reports]. This makes conservation of the Leatherback nesting areas in the Suriname essential for the survival of the species."

• Images of Olive Ridley turtles.

"It is generally accepted that Suriname has the most important nesting beaches in the Atlantic for the Olive Ridley turtle. But tragically, while 3,290 nests were counted on the beaches in 1968, by 1989 the number had dropped to only 598, a dramatic 80 per cent decrease. [Update with more recent figures]. This species is known to get caught and drown in the nets of shrimp trawls."

• Images of Hawksbill turtles.

"The Hawksbill Turtle or 'Karet' only nest in the region occasionally. There are rarely more than 30 nests a year and relatively little is known about the species as they are difficult to study [WHY? Because of numbers?]."

4. Examining the problems: the impact of tourism, fishing and poaching.

Voice over: "The problem of poaching is a very real one. It is still one of the main threats to the turtle's survival. In order to enforce the anti-poaching laws the foundation for nature preservation in Suriname, Stinasu, works closely with Nature Conservation Division, a government organisation who enforce conservation laws and patrol nesting sites to stop poachers raiding eggs."

• Interviews with manager and wardens from NCD.
• Cut to into scenes of night and boat patrols.

Voice over: "The issues of poaching are extremely sensitive and are not simply about catching criminals. The existence of the reserves and laws to stop poaching have not been welcomed by everyone. The resident Amerindian people have lived in the area for centuries and have a long tradition of collecting turtle eggs, which are part of their traditional diet. In fact, they have argued that they have traditional rights to collect eggs as a natural food resource."

• Archive footage

Voice over: "In the 1960s eggs were harvested during arribas (or mass nesting events) by the peoples of the two nearby villages. Villagers did not take kindly to being forced to stop collecting the eggs and in 1998 armed locals forced Stinasu staff off the area and monitoring was put on hold for two years.

"Although poaching has been reduced in the area through the work of Stinasu, the number of nesting females rapidly fell until in 1989, to just 424 - a fall of more than 80 per cent in two decades. During the peak season of 1995, more than 40 per cent of Olive Ridley eggs were poached, despite a ban on harvesting eggs [more up-to-date figures required]."

• Interview with Amerindian village chief.
• Cut into shots of the Amerindian village, fishing and daily life.

Voice over: "Now, the area is much more peaceful and in balance. Education projects are in place to ensure that everyone understands the reasons for conservation laws and the importance of preserving the nests. It is important that everyone benefits from the reserve, so that the area and the turtles can be preserved [more detail on Amerindian involvement needed]."

• Interview with captain of shrimp trawler.
• Cut into shots of shrimp trawler and images of TED (Turtle Exclusion Device).

Voice over: "Fishermen's nets pose a real danger to sea turtles. As fishing increases in the area so does the incidental catch of sea turtles. It is one of the main hurdles to sea turtle conservation. [More research information required]."

• The impact of tourism; visual of tourists watching turtles.
• Vox pops with tourists and tour guide.

5. Conclusion.

Close.

For more information please email Andy or Louise.

Confirmed filming dates

Confirmed diary dates for filming include:

April 1 - Turtle egg laying and conservation at the Galibi reserve in Suriname.
April 17 - Filming at Shell Beach in Guyana. Following a group of Amerindian locals newly trained in conservation techniques as they begin to monitor a nearby turtle sanctuary.

Organisations who are helping with filming include:
WWF
Stinasu
Guyana Marine Turtle Conservation Society

Jungle Boat Trip

The boat from Belem to Manaus is now an almost legendary trip through Brazil to the jungle. This film of the five day trip sees foreigners sleeping in hammocks alongside local people in a journey down the Amazon river. If you are interested in this film please email Louise.

Jericoacoara

Still on the gringo trail this beach town, popular with hip Brazilians, is accessible only by 4 x 4 jeeps over the sand dunes. While the area occasionally suffers from the odd power cut, the buggy rides, remote lakes, beautiful silver beaches and giant dunes more than make up for the town's hippy overtones. If you are interested in this film please email Louise.

Carnaval Chaos

Salvador Carnaval at dawn

THE CAPITAL of the Bahia state in north east Brazil is a world away from the riches of Rio and the glitzy commercialism of the capital.
Revellers danced to the sound of drumming through almost all of the city’s streets night and day.
Salvador’s Carnaval dwarfs Notting Hill Carnival many times over and is distinct from Rio celebrations in that it is a street carnival for the people, rather than a pre-eminence on a Sambadrome where it can be difficult to get involved in a spectacle watched from the stands amid the bright lights and international TV cameras.
The city, once called Bahia, is the oldest in Brazil and was the country’s capital for two hundred years, evident through its large collection of colonial architecture in the old town centre, called Pelourinho.
Rio became the nation’s capital in 1763 after Guanabara bay’s strategic importance grew out of the gold trade and sugar cane industry
Salvador was founded in 1549 when was Portuguese became permanently occupied there.
Beautiful, buildings painted in pastel colours and with beautiful decoration surround the cobbled streets and squares where more traditional costume and music were to be found.
It was here that I was hypnotised by a macabre street entertainer kicking and flicking with a stick what appeared to a rabid cat bound in rags, much to the initial horror of passing women and children.
The artist, dressed in a gothic clown outfit, which appeared to be thematic of costumes in the old town, made a small fortune selling gadget which he blew to make the sound of a shrieking cat.
One of Salvador’s innovations are the trio elétrico, meaning The Electric Sound Wagon, which are, practically speaking, live bands (which are ubiquitous in Salvador, and Brazil for that matter) on stages, on top of a 15 ft tall wall of 100,000 watt speakers, carried by monstrous juggernauts.
The idea was invented in 1950 when a trio of musicians tore the seats from a ford car and wired up guitars to the battery and a set of speakers. The old model T fords eventually evolved to around the scored of giant lorries that were seen in this year’s Carnaval.
The trios are surrounded by blocos that parade through the streets of the old town and along the beach road from Barra to Ondina.
The blocos are roped off, inside of which are dancers wearing distinct tee shirts, while scores of stewards force their way through the crowds, rather like a mobile dance club.
People outside the blocos are called pipoca or human popcorn, because they get bounced around so easily.
The food, culture religion, and wonderful music of Salvador flows from its roots in west Africa and Bahia’s slavery legacy.
Most of the music of the African blocos is based on a tribal style of drumming and emanates from the black, poorer communities of the city.
One of the most famous Afro blocos is Olodum, while another worthy of note is the funky, high tempo Timbalada bloco.
One peculiarity, and a pillar of Carnaval, is the bloco called Filhos de Ghandy, the Sons of Ghandhi.
They are particularly notable for their white and blue Indian attire and head dress. Yet members are reported to join the group less out of reverence for the great Indian leader than because their dress is thought to be attractive to women.
The group spray people with perfume along route and play a calming and beautiful rhythm called ijexá.
The city is also thought to be the birthplace of Capoeira, the Brazilian balletic and acrobatic martial art passed down by the descendants of African slaves, regularly, if not sometimes violently, practised Salvador’s streets.
The other characteristic of Carnaval is the barracas which turn the city into thousands of parties with their own sound systems, fuelled by countless street vendors carrying polystyrene box coolers full of ice and beer or stalls selling killer strength caiprinhas or batidas made with cachaça and crushed fruit.
For more information please email Andy.

Dawn in Rio de Janeiro

A HD time-lapse film of Christ the Redeemer from the picturesque harbour of Urca in Rio. If you are interested in this film please email.

Paraty

WORD of mouth is a powerful medium. It took me from a conversation with an ex-pat American on a flight to the Brazilian metropolis of São Paulo, to a coastal town south of Rio.
The town, called Parati (Paraty in Portuguese, pronounced Parachee) is well known to the Brazilians for its beautiful streets and buildings. One of the defining features of the town is the charm of its cobbled streets and Paraty is widely accepted as boasting some of the finest examples of Brazil´s colonial architecture and the legacy of the Portuguese. Horse and cart still bob and weave down the bustling, narrow streets through they are now accompanied by cars and bicycles.
Paraty owes much of its history to its tidal persuasions, or rather the direction of its wind which blows inland during the day and to the sea at night. Following the arrival of the Portuguese, the town and its river, made for a convenient port for exporting a type of wood called Pau Brasil – the name transliterates to ´redwood embers´owing to its properties for use as a clothing dye. Paraty was built in the 16th century and the oldest parts of the city that still remain date back as far as 1647.
As the Portuguese began to take gold from the nearby inland state of Minas Gerais, Paraty became a port taking riches from Brazil to Portugal. The route over the mountains, which is the main reason why Paraty has remained largely unchanged, became known as ´The Gold Way´. Paraty, the name comes from the Amerindian word for fish, had a fort built complete with cannons.
One evening, I was lucky enough to stumble on a group of musicians who looked to be serenading a house in one of the town´s Praças, or squares. As I discovered, the event, outside the former mayor´s house, was part of a Catholic festival and true the nature of the Brazilian people I was invited into the house and given beer, cachaça and sandwiches. The owner of the house, Aloyzio Castro, was the mayor of Paraty three times and is still a very important man in the town. The festival, called Dia de Reis, meaning the Day of the King, ran from the January 6 until the Reis on January 20.
A local journalist, Edgar Bessa told me, ¨They do this once a year and when the band stop playing the music the people have to open their doors and let the them in and they have to let everyone else in too That is why you were invited in. The band play their music and they are paid with food and drink.¨
The music, called Granda, is similar to Samba and the band who played at the mayor´s house came from two other groups, the Caroas Cirandeiros and from Paraty, Os Caiçaras.
One of the other major festivals in June is called Festa do Druino and involves a colourful procession down the cobbled streets celebrating the spirit part of the holy trinity. The Festeiro sees one small boy made king for the day, symbolised when the town drunk is taken off the streets and thrown in jail. The drunk does not fair badly in this and in fact is given food, the local booze, cachaça and bed for the night. The next day the boy who is king orders the police to let him go. The police bow humbly in deference to the king and the drunk is set free.Paraty, its island-hopping boat trips and the nearby idyllic beaches of Trinidade are about to change as they become an increasingly popular escape for Brazilans now that a major road has been built over the mountains. When you have burnt yourself out at the increasing commercial and tourist driven Rio Carnaval, go to Paraty and see how the Brazilians do it.

For more information email Andy.

Small beginnings

On January 15, 2005, camera operator, Louise Purnell and journalist, Andy McCorkell flew to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The duo are covering events and stories from across the continent through film (Digital HD; HDR-FX1E Sony camera), digital photography and with news reports. Visit this website to follow their progress and read the latest news.