Burwa Dii Ebo
The Wind and the Water
2009, Panama, 98 min, Digital Beta,
Kuna and Spanish with English subtitles
Director: Vera Bollow, Igar Yala Collective

Presented as part of:
The Wind and the Water
Oct 16 2009, 5:00PM
Al Green Theatre



From the heart of Panama comes this powerful and remarkable film, billed as the first dramatic feature from Panama and produced by an extraordinary collective of Panama’s Kuna artists. The increasingly complex dance between the traditional and contemporary way of life for the Kuna people are embodied by the two protagonists in the film. Machi, a young rural teen from Kuna Yala islands, yearns to mature and learn the ways of his Kuna elders. His journey to find his voice as an adult leads him to Panama City’s congested streets and hardened souls who teach him some difficult lessons about survival and friendship. Rosy is the city-savvy and image-conscious daughter of urban Kuna parents who have disconnected themselves from their rural upbringing and left their daughter culturally deprived and desperate to shake her Indo appearance. Unexpected circumstances cause the two teens’ worlds to collide and forces them to ask questions about their identity, life values and place in the world. A finely woven tapestry of the realities of the Kuna, this charming and inspiring film sheds light on the risks and rewards faced by this Indigenous People.