El cineasta Michael Gilkes promete ofrecer a los espectadores una mirada al interior de la vida del pueblo Makushi, que vive en el asentamiento de Surama en Rupununi, Guyana, con el primer filme de una serie de 14 filmes titulado Growing up Caribbean. El director prometió que su filme Maira and the Jaguar people será "atractivo e interesante".

Es una historia sobre chicos, el primero de esta serie de 14 filmes que se filmará en diferentes países del Caribe, sobre el tema "Creciendo como caribeño”.

El director ya presentó un clip del filme, que tendrá una duración de 30 minutos. La historia está inspirada en la selva de Guyana, y tiene lugar en una pequeña comunidad indo-americana, El Shaman, Piaiman, cuenta la legendaria historia de Maira y su hermano Mairun, a los niños reunidos  a su alrededor.

Michael Gilkes es cineasta, dramaturgo, realizador de varios cortometrajes y autor de libros dedicados al Caribe.

Penelope Hynam, productora del filme, explicó que la idea de crear esta serie, de la cual Maira and the Jaguar People formará parte, surgió después de que asistiera al Festival de Cine de Barbados hace dos años. Hynam expresó su sorpresa y deleite por el gran número de “excelentes” cortometrajes presentados por los realizadores y escritores caribeños  en el Festival.

“Este será el primer filme de la serie, porque tenemos los primeros pueblos que habitaron el Caribe, será además el único filme de la serie que se centrará en las zonas del interior, la selva caribeña”, expresó Gilkes al periódico Sunday Stabroek.

Los filmes de la serie quieren mostrar como crecen los niños en el Caribe, y al mismo tiempo, se espera que resulten entretenidos e interesantes, al contar historias originales de escritores caribeños.

En este momento el proyecto aguarda por la financiación prometida por el gobierno, pero el sector privado ya se ha  interesado, lo cual a facilitado dos viajes preliminares a Rupununi.

Film-maker Michael Gilkes promises to give viewers an insight into the lives of the Makushi people living in Surama Village in the Rupununi in an “exciting and interesting way” when he rolls out his new film titled Maira and the Jaguar people.’

It is a story about children and the film is the first in a series of 14 films to be shot in different countries under the theme ‘Growing up Caribbean.’

Maira and The Jaguar People

This was a promotional presentation of Maira and The Jaguar People, a thirty minute film in the making. Dr Michael Gilkes presented a short clip from the film along with related clips from other film productions. The story is based in the Guyana rain forest and was conceived by Dr Gilkes. It is set in a small Amerindian community and the Piaiman (Shaman) tells the legendary story of Maira and her brother Mairun to the children gathered around his benab.

Director, Playwright and Author of several short films and books about the Caribbean, Michael Gilkes, explained the inspiration for the short film Maira and the Jaguar People: A Story from the Guyana Rain Forest. Gilkes explained that the film is based upon the story of a young girl who happens upon a jaguar while exploring the rainforest with her brothers. The event was an introduction to the short film on Thursday, February 21 at Moray House.
Penelope Hynam, the film's producer.

Penelope Hynam, the film’s Producer explained that the idea to create a film series, or which ‘Maira and the Jaguar People’ will be a part, was born after she attended a Film Festival in Barbados two years ago. Hynam expressed her surprise and delight at the volume of “wonderful” short films that were featured by Caribbean directors and writers.

The attendees at Moray House for the Moray House Trust short film introduction of  Maira & The Jaguar People: A Story from the Guyana Rain Forest included well known members of the film fraternity, Francis Quamina Farrier, Dr. Paloma Mohamed and several others.

Film-maker Michael Gilkes promises to give viewers an insight into the lives of the Makushi people living in Surama Village in the Rupununi in an “exciting and interesting way” when he rolls out his new film titled ‘Maira and the Jaguar people.’

It is a story about children and the film is the first in a series of 14 films to be shot in different countries under the theme ‘Growing up Caribbean.’

“It is the first because we have the first peoples here and it is the only one that will focus on the interior, the rainforest,” Gilkes told the Sunday Stabroek in a recent interview.

Most of the actors are expected to be Amerindian and children will be central to the film. He said the main characters in the film will be Maira and her brother Mairun and he has already found the children to play that role and rehearsal has commenced.

The films in the series are expected to show how children grow in the Caribbean and are set to be entertaining and interesting with original stories written by Caribbean writers.

Gilkes, who has undertaken several film projects, the last being Concert in the Rainforest with the Wai Wai people, said they want to start shooting the film in November and the preliminary work has already begun.

At present the project awaits government funding which has been promised, but in the meantime the private sector has also pitched in and this has facilitated two preliminary trips to the Rupununi.

Gilkes is the writer and director of the film and he said it is based on what he has learnt of the interior and its people.

“So it is based on their lives and their traditions,” he said, adding that the film will be the flagship production for the series.

He envisions that the film will attract people to Guyana as it would present the country in a different light that many may never have seen.
“You are seeing it [Guyana] from the perspective of the Amerindian people, from their eyes…” Gilkes said.

He explained that the Surama people would build a film village for them so as to minimize the disturbance to the villagers during filming. It is expected that the village would then become part of the community’s eco-tourism facilities and would accommodate persons who visit the area.

“So it is a useful thing we are doing both for the Amerindians and for ourselves; what we would be doing is showing Guyana from another perspective and we would attract people.”

Gilkes noted that when visitors go into the rainforest it is to see the flora and fauna and it is never really about the people, so the whole community of the Makushi people would be featured in an “exciting way.” During the film Maira and her brother go into the forest and meet a talking jaguar and they learn from the experience that they have to respect everything, even death. The music of the forest, such as the bird songs and sound of the flute, are to play a big part. They and the viewers are taken back in time as the films unfolds, and they are caught up in a dreamlike drama of life and death with the talking jaguar when they lose their way in the forest to look for the elusive ‘flute-bird.

Since they discovered the jaguar’s secret he refuses to allow them to return to the village and they are sad they must become ‘jaguar people’ like him. However, later the jaguar attacks them, and in the end the brother kills the animal and saves their lives.