BAKA: A CRY FROM THE RAINFOREST

Phil Agland / United Kingdom / 2013 / 89 min
30 November 2016. 6:30-9PM The Pod, The Spark, E Park Terrace, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14 0YN

Organised by Film Festival Ambassador Roy Hanney

A quarter century after his award-winning documentary Baka: People Of The Rainforest, Phil Agland revisits the same Baka family in the Cameroon. For the first time they watch the film he made of them, delighted in seeing lost ones brought back to life. They’re also astonished to have a glimpse into how they used to live. For in the span of a single generation, Agland discovers that the Baka people’s lifestyles have dramatically changed. The rainforest, once so abundant with game, is now depleted by hunters and timber companies, and the Baka are losing their hunting skills. They’re also being decimated by a homegrown alcohol that is highly addictive and wiping out the menfolk. With the women now becoming addicted, it is even taking its toll on young, and unborn children. Inspired by the film, the Baka men embark on a journey into the forest to reconnect with the old way of life of their fathers.

The screening will be introduced with a short talk on the context of the film and its history at 6.30pm and will be followed by the screening at 7pm (duration 90mins). There will be a short Q&A opportunity post screening.

Part of the Film Festival Ambassador series.  Thanks to our dedicated RAI Film Festival Ambassadors, a selection of films from the RAI Film Festival Archive will be screening in universities and community venues across the UK between November 2016 and March 2017.