Sin Semilla No Hay Sombra (The Seed Before the Shade)

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TYPE: Documentary Feature
GENRE: Documentary
STATUS: Post-Production

LOGLINE

The children growing up in the shores of the Amazon River in Peru show us that all humans are one and the same.

SYNOPSIS

A medical vessel sailing through the Amazon Rainforest encounters the surreal, playful lives of the children who inhabit its shores. Yet childhood eventually comes to an end, and growing up comes with its dose of reality - one of extreme poverty and utter abandonment of the state.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

Hundreds of communities live along the shores of the Amazon river, the majority of which do not dress in ancient drapes but rather wear Tiktok shirts and soccer jerseys. That is to say, they are not willfully disconnected from society. They are members of it, part of the system, with Peruvian documents and a sense of patriotism. In spite of this, they live in extreme poverty, abandoned by the state. Many of the villages lack schools, electricity, clean water, and lack medical posts. The rates of anemia, sexual and physical violence, and teen pregnancies in the region are alarmingly high. All this in an area three times the size of England and the most linguistically diverse in Peru, with over 27 indigenous languages. Needless to say, there is no infrastructure for vaccinations, pregnancy check ups, ophthalmology, dentistry or psychological support. This is why NGOs take it upon themselves to sail the rivers of the Peruvian Jungle and provide these services the state won’t. My cousin is a psychologist in the Forth Hope, a medical vessel from the NGO Vinetrust, and she asked me to come take pictures and video for a research project they were doing. I was onboard for 20 days, visiting two different communities a day, meeting the locals and their villages. In spite of all the issues that abound in the area, every afternoon soccer and volleyball fields are crowded with energetic children and adults playing, and smiles and laughs are everywhere. It is a lively place of beautiful, strong people. As a Peruvian, a sense of patriotism was pushed on me since childhood, one which heavily focused on the natural riches of our country. We pride ourselves on being from one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. At the same time, however, the country endures heavy natural destruction daily. That patriotism, then, is in dissonance with what we citizens allow to happen. Most Peruvians turn a blind eye to ecologically shattering activities, and continue to focus on idealizations of our natural wonders. And when ecological disasters are discussed, a key factor is often left out: the human element. When an area of the Jungle is destroyed or contaminated, ecological balance is broken. No system is isolated; each system is a crucial part of the next. Even if destruction occurs hundreds of kilometers away from a community, still their ecosystem-dependent livelihoods are put in jeopardy. I hope this documentary can help refocus Peruvians’ already existing nature-obsessed patriotism toward these ignored human implications. As proud Peruvians, we should invest our energies on ensuring the safety of the people who inhabit our country’s natural wonders. Sin Semilla No Hay Sombra does not show any ecological disasters, but rather the human gem that is vulnerable to them. When telling people I am making a documentary about children in the Amazon, their reaction is often “oh, yeah it’s terrible”. But this movie shows exactly the opposite of what they’re thinking: it shows smiling, joyful, intelligent and energetic people.

KEY CREW

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