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DOCUMENTARY FILMBY KABOPRO FILMS

EXPOSÉ

HUICHOLESTHE LAST PEYOTE GUARDIANS

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LAGUNA SECA, THE WIXÁRIKA VILLAGE AT SIERRA MADRE

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TITLE Huicholes: The Last Peyote Guardians

PRoDUCER y DIRECToR Hernán Vilchez

PRoDUCTIoN Hernán Vilchez & Argentina Druida Films

DATE oF BEGINNING oF PRoDUCTIoN 2011

DATE oF PRoMoTIoNAL LAUNCHING July 2012

APRoX. DATE oF CoNCLUSIoN November 2012

DURATIoN aprox. 90 min.

TV VERSIoN 52 min.

FoRMAT Full HD

FILMING LoCATIoN México and Argentina

oRIGINAL LANGUAGES Spanish and Wixárika (English subtitles or voice-over)

TRAILER 2MINS http://vimeo.com/kabopro/huicholes-trailer

TEASER 20MINS http://vimeo.com/kabopro/huicholes-teaser (pass: clemente2012)

WEBSITES huicholesfilm.com / kaboprofilms.com / druidafilm.com

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SYNOPSIS

HUICHoLES: THE LAST PEyoTE GUARDIANS is a story about the mystical Wixárika People, one of the last pre-Hispanic alive cultures in Latin America, and their struggle against the mexican government and multinational mining corporations to preserve Wirikuta; their most sacred territory and home of the famous peyote cactus.

Since 2010, the authorities granted to mining concessions to Canadian investors to prospect the whole protected area, rich in silver and other valuable minerals. The company promises to create thousand of jobs for the needy villagers of the region, without contamination.

Nevertheless, the mining activities are seen by the Wixárika and their supporters as a great menace for the delicate biodiversity of this unique ecosystem, listed by the UNESCO as World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

An unequal and controversial fight from today that triggers the global debate between ancient cultural values, the exploitation of nature and the inevitable development of the peoples.

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TREATMENTWe enter the Wixárika world with the Ramírez, a typical family from the Sierra organizing the traditional pilgrimage made each year in the dry season to the sacred area of Wirikuta, the “House of the Gods”.

Preparation starts with the familiar ceremonial sites of the community. Making a journey through the Chihuahua Desert until the arrival to their higher altar in the Catorce Hills. The pilgrimage that recreates the steps of their “Big Brother” in the Wixárika creation myths. The Ancestor whom is able to finally see the rising sun after the “Great Darkness”, and guides his people through life by being incarnated in the sacred peyote plant.

Through his personal account, Clemente, law student at Guadalajara City and son of José Luis Ramírez (a famous Wixárika shaman), introduces us in a rather unknown Mexico. A voyage that documents their lifestyle and ritual ceremonies, the wishes and expectations of an indigenous community struggling to preserve their ancestral values against the impact of modern life.

1. Surrounded by the imposing Sierra Madre Occidental, the Ramírez get ready to start the pilgrimage and reveal their particular lifestyle. In the family´s ceremonial site, the calf sacrifice launches the ritual cycle.

2. Once the initial problems of the departure are overcome, the family arrives to the holy springs that emerge in the arid Chihuahua Desert, where the youngers are inititated and everyone gets purified.

3. Once trespassing the Wirikuta´s treshold, there is no more possibilities to regress. Invoking their gods, the pilgrims enter the magical land of their Ancestors. There, in a desertic site full of life and feeling, the whole family “hunts” the sacred peyote that is blessed to open rhe visions and divine messages of everybody at the fire circle.

4. Finally, at the summon of the Quemado Hill, the Wixarika higuest altar, the marakame and his followers worship their gods, guided by the power of the peyote, in a ceremony filled with traditional music and ancestral emotions.

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This traditional trip to their holy land is the thread from where the different events surrounding the Wixárika reaction to the mining concessions emerge:

• The drought suffered in the last months at the Sierra Madre meant the loss of crops and thus the desperate need of the Wixárika men to look for work outside the communities. Raul de Witt, a permaculture expert with 25 years of experience in the region, gives us his vision about the environment degradation and its impact in the traditional cultures.

• The different representatives of the Wixárika People explain their reasons to request the government to urgently cancel all the concessions in the area: the survival of their ancient culture and even of the whole planet is related to this decision.

• The unemployment in the villages within the Wirikuta area (one of the poorest of the country, though their richness in natural resources) make the people demand for work, hence accepting the offerings of the mining companies.

• Managers and workers of the mining companies summarize the numerous benefits that modern mining provides to society.

• Leaders of the NGO assisting the Wixárika (Frente en Defensa de Wirikuta) analyze the dark spots of the mining firm arguments.

• Wixárika law students and the director of their especially oriented educational program (an experimented human rights lawyer of Guadalajara City), talk about interculturality and the imperative need of the indigenous group of studying to effectively protect their ancestral culture.

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• Mexican and international experts and academics contribute with their analysis of the situation, discussing the potential alternatives of sustainable development available for the inhabitants of the protected area.

• Mexican and international artists and intellectuals show their support for the indigenous cause in the conflict (Raúl Barragán from Café Tacuba, Gore Verbinsky director of “Pirates of the Caribbean”, the writers Alejandro Jodorowsky and Paul Auster).

By the end, the global debate arises; major topics that concern each one of us:

Do myths and spiritual systems of ancestral cultures apply in today´s reality, and if so, how could we take advantage of that archaic knowledge?

Is our modern individual lifestyle responsible of the over exploitation of natural resources and its implications in our survival in the planet?

Arethereanyrealisticalternativestoextractiveindustries,whichleadnotonlytoamoreefficientuseofthenaturalandculturalresourcesbutalsotoarealsustainabledevelopmentforthepeopleoftheaffectedarea,todaymostlylivinginaprecarious situation?

* we have a complete story board for the movie; too long to include in this presentation, but available on demand.

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THE WIXÁRIKA NEW GENERATIoNS

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MAIN CHARACTERSClemente Ramírez, a young huichol of 23 years old, father of 3 kids. One of the 9 heirs of the “marakame” (or shaman) leader of the family. Clemente lives a double reality as a young student of human rights at Guadalajara City, and at the same time an active participant of the rites and fight of his ancestral Wixárika culture.

José Luis Ramírez, is the marakame, musician and spiritual guide of his small community. Responsible of the magical and religious ceremonies. Owner of the traditional legacy of his people, inherited from his parents (famous sorcerers of the Sierra), he spreads his rich culture in Mexico and the world by his continuos travelling. Jose Luis, as the whole community, is deeply affected by the menace supposed by the mining projects in the sacred land of his ancestors.

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SECONDARY CHARACTERSMaría Teresa, wife of José Luis and mother of Clemente, sustains the family while both are outside the community. Loyal custody of the magical knowledge received from her parents, she also is in charge of the housework and the traditional tasks of the Wixárika women. María Teresa tutors with discipline the education of her children and shares with us her knowledge of the famous Huichol Art with amaranth the secrets of the 5 colour corn, base of their numerical code and the Wixátika nutrition.

Enrique (the elder son), Ignacio (the cousin), Carmela y Graciela (the two sisters), and the Wixárika kids that make the journey for the first time, complete the familiar circle of this pilgrimage rich in images and mythical content.

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FILM STYLE AND AESTHETICSThe documentary poses the different lines of argument appealing to multiple aesthetic approaches.

The sequences of the Pilgrimage of the Wixárika familiy are filled with strenght, beauty, detail, depicting their traditions and the grandeur of the natural environment. A combination between “cinema verité”, “Baraka” and the westerns of Sergio Leone.

In the connections between the actions of the family in their trip with the concepts related to the conflict, arise images and sounds that allude to the topics delt with: historical archives of the history of the Huicholes and the mining development in the Wirikuta region; flashbacks to the news of the process and the fight of the Huicholes for their sacred land; a visual and sound collage to illustrate our modern lifestyle and its drawbacks; animations to describe the details of the mining processes; shots of the effects in the environment of the extractive industry.

By the end, after the climax of the Pilgrimage and the confrontation of opinions, the audience receives the epilogue of all the voices, remembering that the whole story is being told by the narration of Clemente and his family from the Sierra: The Huicholes, the Last Peyote Guardians.

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MARÍA TERESA, MoTHER AND SHAMAN

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PROJECT BACKGROUND

With almost 45.000 members, the Huicholes (or Wixárika) from the Sierra Madre Occidental are one of the oldest and most recognized indigenous groups from Latin America that preserve still today a cultural legacy transmitted since generations; a living thread with a mythic past that we all belong to.

Their world is delimited by four sacred cardinal points, being the eastern one their most venerated ceremonial territory, a semi-desertic area of hills and plains of 140.000 hectares known as Wirikuta, “The Heart of the World”.

Considered one of the dry areas with richer biodiversity in the planet, Wirikuta is home for the endangered “Royal Eagle” and for hundred of endemic cactacea as the peyote. A plant well known for its medicinal powers due its unique alkaloid content, used for ceremonial and healing rituals by North and Central American communities.

For the last 500 hundred years, the contact with europeans and mexicans has created a threat for their natural and cultural resources. Nevertheless, due to their great capacity of adaptation to the environment, the Wixárika achieved to maintain almost intact their identity. They still celebrate each year their ancestral pilgrimage to Wirikuta, to bring the offerings for the Gods that live in the hills and in the holy springs, and to collect the sacred peyote, spiritual “guide” of the community.

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WIXÁRIKA TERRIToRy AND SACRED RoUTE

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But in the spring of 2010 all the shamans (or Marakates) from the Sierra, started to dream about a dark fate for their sacred area. Even though the Mexican Government has declared Wirikuta a protected region in 2001 due to the request of the Wixárika`s, there is still a present threat for the territory.

Arguing that mining is an authorized activity by the Management Plan of the reserve, the authorities granted the concession of the whole area of Wirikuta for mineral prospection to canadian companies (First Majestic Silver Corp and Revolution Resources Corp). According to the Wixárika, without consulting them.

Immediately, a group of civil organizations and NGOs supporters of the Wixárika joined to create the “Frente en Defensa de Wirikuta” (Wirikuta Defense Front), to aid them in the communication and legal actions to preserve the sanctuary. Thus, demonstrations, lectures, religious ceremonies and manifests where leaded by the Huicholes and their supporters through all the country.

Due to their efforts, on February 2012 a federal judge ruled to suspend the works of the First Majestic, until its proven that their activity won´t contaminate the area. This provoked the government to publicly announce in May that the company is giving up their concessions around the sacred sites, something that both the Wixárika and the activists denounce as a media manipulation to hide the real plans to continue the prospections in the area.

As an answer to this growing mediatic battle, famous Mexican artists organized the Wirikuta Fest, a massive rock concert where thousands of young people gathered at Mexico City to show their support for the Wixárika cause against the mining concessions in their sacred land.

The conflict is reaching its climax right now, just a few days before the president elections in Mexico, gaining interest in the media and the public. It ultimately represents one of the contemporary dilemmas of our global society:

• Whatarethelimitsfortoday´sextractiveandindustrialdevelopmentmodel?• Isitpossibletocombineeconomyandecologyinanefficientway?• Couldthemythiccosmogonyofancestralculturesgiveussomecluesforthesecrucialissues?

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ELIASAR, JoSÉ LUIS’ GRANDSoN

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OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT

HUICHOLES: THE LAST PEYOTE GUARDIANS intends to give the audience information of a contemporary conflict through authentic situations and testimonies. Through the frame of a fascinating etnological and social experience and based on cientifical and historical facts corroborated by experts and representants of all the sectors involved.

This “tour de force” of the Wixárika People captures the attention of the viewer and suggests valid elements for the comprehension of all the dynamics involved in the narration. At the same time raises awareness about key dilemmas of our times in a rigorous and mind-opening document of a conflict that is already part of the Mexican and the world´s current history.

Appealing to a delicate cinematography, an original soundtrack and to an enthralling story telling, it promotes reflexion in public of all ages and aspires to difussion of its debate in various types of media: internet, fim festivals, tv and educational screenings.

The film promotion will be done strategically through crossmedia tools in the web (blogs, twitter, facebook) and traditional media (radio, magazines, newspapers) to impact in the main target groups: human and indigenous rights activists, ecologists, students, independent film followers, and of course the general public. We already have the collaboration of cultural organizations, NGOs, fundations, universities and scientific institutions for the finalization of the film.

We plan to distribute the movie both in DVD and Blu-Ray but mostly by on-line screening, and to broadcast it worldwide. The participation at film festivals will be a key tool of difussion. We also intend to organize special screening at schools, universities, at international and mexican forums about indigenous rights and environment.

The idea is to maximize the channels´ possibilities to share the message of the Wixárika story, to as much public as possible.

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DIRECTOR´S MOTIVATION

The team started the research about the Wixárika in 2010, interested in discovering the secrets of a remaining culture that keeps alive a key piece of the American Continent´s ancient knowledge. Just 40 years ago Wixárika’s started to share with outsiders. Their healing arts and ceremonial peyote rituals, together with a deep ecological message and a complex cosmogony, are slowly being revealed.

In our first visit to the communities of the Sierra in 2011, the elders decided not only to authorize us to film their ceremonies (normally forbidden for the foreigners). They demanded our help to transmit the message of their gods worldwide, claiming for the defense of their sacred territory and its implications for humanity.

This had a great impact on us.

We then started to dig in the queries shown up in the Wixárika case:

- Is modern mining a tool of development, or on the contrary, a way of severely contaminating the environment?

- How can the indigenous knowledge be integrated into our contemporary society?

- Can interculturality be one of the keys of social development?

- How responsible are we the individuals in caring for the resources of our world as a whole?

Thus, the main objective is to raise awareness in the global community about the implications of the extracting activity in the planet´s equilibrium, and at the same time to show concrete alternatives of real sustainable development. in the mining areas.

And above it all, we intend to promote the relavance of the Wixárika People as an alive cultural heritage that ultimately shows us the trap humanity is setting for itself, with the irrational exploitation of the nature.

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MARAKAME JoSÉ LUIS, WITH PEyoTE AT THE WIRIKUTA DESERT

CREW

HERNáN VILCHEz Production, Direction, Edition

SUSANA PILGRIM Script and Edition

FABIANA ROTH Associated Producer

JOSÉ ANDRÉS SOLóRzANO Cinematography

GASTóN FEDERICO SALAzAR Original Soundtrack

KANTU VISUAL Art Design

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SUPPORT

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