‘ The Music of El Dorado’

Dr. MIchael Gilkes,Visiting Artist and Scholar in the Department of African American Studies for Fall 2004 , is working on the film "The Music of El Dorado"
This 90 min. film was shot on location in the rainforest of Guyana and in Georgetown, Demerara.

Synopsis

‘The Music of El Dorado’ is designed to give Guyanese and others a vivid, thought-provoking picture of Guyana and the diversity & resourcefulness of its people. The rainforested hinterland & the people who live and work there will be foregrounded and the film will record the beauty & diversity of the landscape seen, as far as possible, through the eyes of the indigenous peoples themselves.

The film is not yet completed. Approximately 40 mins. of edited film have already been produced, and most of the raw footage is already ‘in the can’. When finished, the film will begin with a look at the historical myth of ‘El Dorado’ and its disastrous effect on the ‘New World’ peoples through foreign conquest and greed. It will then focus on the growing divide between ‘coastal’ and ‘interior’, ‘civilised’ and ‘primitive’ and other apparent cultural contradictions encouraged by the myth and its images of ‘the noble savage’ and the ‘civilising’ influence of Europe.

The film will move to the varied music of city and interior, the music serving as a bridge between cultures. The film’s purpose is to challenge as well as entertain, providing a realistic picture of Guyana through the eyes of Guyanese themselves. It will show the beauty, fragility and the visual, imaginative power and richness of the hinterland as a precious and valuable resource. And it will provide a thought-provoking look at our greatest asset and our most dynamic resource for development : the people of Guyana.

Michael Gilkes.

Interested in hearing more about this project ? Please write to :

Dr.Michael Gilkes ( President )
Heartland Productions Conservation International inc.
23 Gunsite townhouses
Britton’s Hill
St. Michael
Barbados tel: [246] 437 - 7096
e-mail: ikael_2000@yahoo.com

Major-General (rtd. ) Joseph Singh (Vice President )
e-mail: jsingh@conservation.org
Conservation International inc.
Forshaw st. Queenstown, Georgetown.