Baka: People of the Forest
Mon 24 July 2006 9.05pm
Drama documentary about the life of a Pygmy family through the course of three generations.
Set in the 'Dja' rainforest in central Cameroun.
The makers of this documentary, DJA River Films, stated, "We wanted to show how a culture functions which has grown up around its environment, free from the constraints of 'civilisation'. But above all, we wanted the people to come across as people (...).
In the West our perception of people like the Baka tends to be romantic: but the life of those known as 'primitive' peoples, is neither idyllic nor easy, and unity with nature does not make a 'noble savage'. In the film, we wanted to show the Baka as they are: not savage, not particularly noble, but warm, humorous, clever and complex".
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