Jaguares of Nayarit

This is a teaser trailer for the film's pitch deck:

JAGUARES of NAYARIT



STORY OVERVIEW

This isn’t just a story about Jaguars and environmental justice, It’s a story that unfolds the complexity of Mexicos most bio-diverse narco-state in raw and revealing form. Our main characters, Victor and Maria - biologists, activists, professors - live and work in the rare and remote jungles of Nayarit, Mexico to protect and conserve the many fragile corridors for one of Mexicos most symbolic and threatened animals, the Jaguar. Ranging from coastal mangroves to high Sierra Mountains, the Jaguars’ habitat faces rapid and growing threats from development, agriculture, industry and political instability and territory disputes. Victor and Maria run their efforts through their grassroots research and conservation nonprofit, Jaguares Sin Protectiones. Their community first approach demands that they do not let themselves or others remain in stereotyped boxes thus including all the major stakeholders of indigenous people, ranchers, hunters and cartels who also must make a living off the land. In this proposed feature that sits somewhere between Raul Ruiz’ The Territory, Mathew Heinnemans Cartel Land, and Eric Bendick's Path of the Panther, verité along with participatory filming allows for never before seen sides of Nayarit’s culture, crime, and bio-diversity and how they are inextricably linked. By following Victor and Maria’s work, the film highlights communities most impacted by territorial disputes and cartel violence, as well as corporations treating land and communities like commodities and how they evolve to be the most critical allies in the conservation of habitat that jaguars need to survive. Victor and Maria’s story begs the imminent question: in a world rapidly changing in a way that means precipitous declines, and disappearances, of key habitat and wildlife: who can we afford to leave out of the conversation?





THE CHARACTERS

VICTOR & MARIA

Victor and Maria are a powerful and dynamic duo, if understated. Victor brings the biology background, having received his PhD in wildlife biology and has spent the last 15 years studying jaguars. In his off days from teaching at the Universidad Autonoía de Nayarit in Tepic, where their organization is based he is typically out in the field with Maria or members of the remote communities where jaguar calls home. Maria is dedicated to conservation and biology, but brings her background in sociology to inform their approach to community engagement. Together, they manage camera traps and recruit community support to place and monitor them; they track jaguars and invite community members to help them document the species’ movement through this critical habitat; and they conduct community events and facilitate community exchanges. The two balance each other in both interest and energy: Victor’s focus on biology tends to leave little room for social chit chat, and is as likely to sleep in the hammock in the back country as he is inside their home (or more likely). Maria is not interested in spending a night in the field, but can build lasting community connections with her deep knowledge and appreciation for cultural history throughout the diverse ejidos which help govern land practices. Together, as renegades within their respective practices, they bring art and music into their conservation approach, and share a commitment to protecting Indigenous cultures and traditions.



Additional Charachters

Nayarit residents, despite being in one of the most impoverished states, are proud of their land and are all battling just to survive in ways that keep them connected to the environment that has sustained them for generations. The film aims to feature indivdiauls that Victor and Maria directly work with including indigenous leaders, hunters, cartel members, fishermen, and corpearte developers.



THE PLACE

Nayarit is one of Mexicos most bio-diverse and culturally rich sates and is the only state that features all six of Mexicos wild cats. It is also considered a narco run state, often a battleground between Sinaloa and Jalisco carteIs which occupy regions throughout. With territory disputes along with increased tourism and development, Nayarit is undergoing massive changes. In just the last 20 years, agricultural land has consumed an additional 10% of the land base, and critical mangrove habitat has been reduced by 12 %. Over the last thirty years, the surface area of shrimp ponds (which decimate mangrove habitat), has increased by over 1,1000% (to nearly 300,000 acres) due to illegal shrimp businesses. In 2014, Tepic that capitol was ranked #8 of the most violent cities in the world. Now with agreements in place between cartels and various power stakeholders, there is peace but it remains a ticking time bomb.



Teaser filmed and Edited by Johnny Holder