Trailer for Oka! Amerikee, eco-drama set in the Congo rainforest

Filmed in the Congo rainforest of the Central African Republic (CAR), a region rarely explored in film, the movie tells the story of an American ethnomusicologist living with the indigenous Bayaka people, also known as the pygmies, as loggers invade their land.

According to the film’s website: “The movie is partly based on the life’s work of Louis Sarno, who has lived with and recorded the music of the Central African pygmies for over 20 years. The pygmies of the Central African Republic are Bayaka, an indigenous group who live also in the Congo. They are severely economically and socially marginalized, maintaining a tenuous balance between their traditional forest lifestyle and their increasing assimilation into Central African society. Oka! Amerikee offers a unique glimpse into the music, humor, and spirit of the Bayaka people.”

Oka! Amerikee will have its Washington D.C. premiere at the Environmental Film Festival on March 15th, 2011. It will show at the E Street Cinema at 7 PM. Tickets are $10 and can be bought at the theater box office starting February 28th.

Director Lavinia Currier is most well-known for another film that dwells on the relationship between humans and nature: Passion in the Desert.

For more information see the film’s website: Oka! Amerikee

Author: jlhance

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