Dominican-made documentary, Uncivilized, premieres on the second anniversary of Hurricane Maria on September 18. The movie was produced by Michael Lees and shot by Emerald Movies. Lees said he produced the movie documentary to demonstrate that progressive development is not the same as happiness and lack of problems.
The movie tells the story of a man who goes into the forest to live in the most primitive way like ancient men. The man wants to know if someone can be happy without the trappings of civilization. But Hurricane Maria hits and the man finds the whole country thrown back to the ancient life of pre-historic periods.
With the entire country destroyed and forests ruined as well as essential services knocked out of service, the only way forward for people to survive in the nation is to return to the former lives our ancestors lived. The man is able to survive the Category 5 by riding out the storm in an improvised bamboo hut in the damaged forest. However, the man is able to document his life in the woods before, during and after the hurricane storm with his intact camera.
Producer Lees said he wishes to showcase Uncivilized in theaters. He appreciated Emerald Movies for producing the documentary to boost visibility for local filmmakers and actors. The management of Emerald Movies said they are happy for the movie and looks forward to the premieres in Dominica. “It’s a privilege to be able to support the local arts and see films getting made in Dominica,” Emerald Movies said.
Lees explained the main motivations for producing the movie:
“The idea of progress is something I wanted to challenge,” he said. “We’ve been sold a mythology that things are always getting better as we ‘develop’, essentially becoming more westernized. But now that we’ve hit this crisis of global warming, we’re seeing that that narrative of more equaling better may not be correct. And if development isn’t the answer, then what is?” Ghanian-American filmmaker Nikki Abban co-produced Uncivilized and Sheldon Casimir is the executive producer.
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