ALUKU LIBA SYNOPSIS: After years of serving in the army and drifting across the Amazon, Loeti yearns to go back to his land, to find his roots, and be amongst his people, the Aluku, the first Maroons of French Guiana and Suriname. One night, due to a crackdown on illegal gold mining, Loeti is forced to flee the site where he is working. Lost in the Amazon forest, he must use what is left of his childhood knowledge of the forest, to find his way back and combat the many deadly perils that lurk with every step. He is guided by the spirits, the animals, a compass, and his prayers. An intense reunion confronts Loeti with a changing world where old traditions and values are both challenged and influenced by the invading modern world. Loeti must deal with his past and grapple with what remains of the Aluku's ancient African customs by immersing himself in their magical world. ABOUT THE FILM: After Jolliet's first independent feature musical Docu-Drama, Harvest, his inspiration turned towards "Dramatic Documentaries", telling real life stories in a cinema verite style. When Gael Hatton showed up on his doorstep in St. Lucia, a seed was planted for a new film. Hatton had been posted as a teacher in Loca, one of the Aluku villages situated up the Maroni river in the Amazon forest at the border between French Guiana and Suriname. During his visit in the Caribbean, he spent time with Jolliet sharing the fascinating stories of this intriguing land. By the end of his trip, a friendship was born, and Jolliet decided to go to Loca and make a film with the Aluku. What fascinated Jolliet was the fact that the Aluku were the first slaves to escape the plantations of Suriname about 200 years ago. By escaping shortly after they were enslaved, and remaining isolated up the Maroni for centuries, the Aluku were able to keep their African culture, and learned about the forest from the Amerindians. This created a unique culture. Jolliet would find ancient Africa in the heart of the Amazon in South America. Given the nature of the project, Jolliet decided to make his film without a crew or a script. With so little information available, he decided to take the risks and just go. He spent a lot of time conceptualizing a lightweight portable "film rig". He built a light dolly, and a 12 foot portable crane that he packed with a 35mm lens adaptor with prime lenses that would fit two HD cameras, and an 8-track audio recording setup. All of which could fit into a hockey bag and two waterproof cases weighing less than 60 kilos. This way, he would be very mobile and efficient when traveling in difficult conditions. Even though modernity has reached them, the Aluku people are hostile towards foreigners and white men. After spending hundreds of years hiding up the Maroni, the Aluku became very secretive and distrustful of the outside world. It would take careful diplomacy and tact to be allowed to film and to have them participate. Luckily, Jolliet met Loeti, a young French-speaking Aluku man who was returning to his village after his travels. They became friends and decided to make the film together, with Loeti as the main actor. Jolliet proposed a rough story line based on Loeti's life, and for the next five months, struggled to make the film a reality. Through persistence, they gained the confidence and help of Captain Lawrence, Loeti's uncle, and were taken to places where no white man or camera has been. This allowed Jolliet to include rare events like the "Nivree" fishing techniques in the film. Eighty percent of the scenes are real scenes that were not staged. The story line would change given the opportunities or problems they encountered. At night, Jolliet would edit and translate the Aluku language with Loeti. It took them weeks to find a secret illegal gold site, and days traveling up the river to search for actors and participants, all the while dealing with equipment failure due to intense humidity and non-stop rain. Despite threats from people who did not want the film to be made, Jolliet stuck to it, even refusing to succumb to a mysterious 6 week fever. At the end of a long summer editing back in Canada, Jolliet's perseverance paid off. This remarkable film fell into place and it is now ready to be seen. Jolliet's goal was not to do an "ethnological" study in the
pure documentary form, but rather to share his experience with the Aluku
through the viewfinder of his camera, and let the Aluku express themselves
freely. The result is a film showing what the participants wanted to reveal.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR: NicolasJollietevolved from a touring musician to a filmmaker, captivating his audiences with his first independent full-length feature musical Docu-Drama, Harvest. Harvest was well received in theInternational Film Festival circuit, and Jolliets love and longtime focus on music quickly merged into a passion for film. Multi-skilled and multi-talented, Jolliet went from 10 years on the road touring with his band Psycho Key and recording albums, tomusic video production, before plunging into the world of filmmaking.After Harvest, Jolliet had caught the filmmaking bug. His talent for spontaneous filmmaking showed in his ability to adapt to any situation while maintaining artistic integrity. Jolliet describes every film he makes as an enriching life experience where he not only grows through his filmmaking but through his encounters and the subject matter he chooses.In the making of ALUKULIBA, he was totally engaged in the life of the Bonis, and melded into their community, getting as close to their culture as they would allow him to. No other white man has been granted the same privilege. His newest endeavour will be working as a Video Blogger alongside a documentary crew, filming the worlds nextnatural disasterfor the production Inside Disaster. DIRECTORS FILMOGRAPHY: 2008 HARVEST (musical Docu-drama, 73min) ALUKU LIBA CREDITS:
CONTACTS AND ADDITIONAL INFO: The villagers of Cottica, Loca and Boniville DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Nicolas Jolliet ASSISTANT DIRECTOR SOUND AND EDITING WRITTEN BY PRODUCERS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER PRODUCTION MANAGER AND COORDINATOR
CAMERAMEN SPECIAL EFFECTS Nicolas Jolliet SOUND EDITOR Nicolas Jolliet VOICE OVERS RADIO ANNOUNCER Jerome Bons TRANSLATIONS SUBTITLES Kyra Levy SOUNDTRACK BY Nicolas Jolliet OTHER PERFORMANCES BY SONGS PERFORMED BY Tenbe Na You Nanai
SINGERS MUSICIANS DANCERS SHOT ON LOCATION IN:
DIRECTED BY NICOLAS JOLLIET ACTORS CHILDREN OTHERS Famille Abanda: Aminto Alota The villagers of Cottica, Loca and Boniville DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY Nicolas Jolliet ASSISTANT DIRECTOR David Pierre SOUND AND EDITING Nicolas Jolliet WRITTEN BY Nicolas Jolliet and Loeti Mais PRODUCTION AND KEY SET PRODUCERS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Harold Levy PRODUCTION MANAGER AND COORDINATOR Kyra Levy STAGING AND SHOOTING CAMERAMEN SPECIAL EFFECTS Nicolas Jolliet EDITING, MIXING AND POST PRODUCTION FILM SOUND EDITOR Nicolas Jolliet VOICE OVERS RADIO ANNOUNCER Jerome Bons TRANSLATIONS SUBTITLES Kyra Levy MUSIC SOUNDTRACK BY Nicolas Jolliet OTHER PERFORMANCES BY the villagers of Cottica and Loca SONGS PERFORMED BY Tenbe Na You Nanai FEMALE A CAPPELLA PERFORMANCES SINGERS MUSICIANS DANCERS NICOLAS JOLLIET WISHES TO THANK: Gal Hatton, David Pierre, Rachid Ben Lounes, Jean Dangla, Rafala Manon, Bouchab Elkhal, Sylvia and Jerome Capitaine, Jerome Bons, Thomas Simon, Christian and Patricia Dangla, Vincent Carasse, Jean Mora, Roger, Amina and Mathieu Junqua, John Campana, Eric Parker, Linda Martin, Chris Clapinson and Benoit Giroud SHOT ON LOCATION IN: French Guiana (Loca, Boniville) and Suriname (Cottica) IN MEMORY OF KARLOS ABANDAI HYPERLINK "http://www.alukuliba.com" www.alukuliba.com PLACE ON EARTH |