BALAM

"Balam" is a short documentary film project that addresses the struggle of Rosanna and Ruben, a Mayan farming and ranching couple, to change the way in which the inhabitants of their community relate to the presence of jaguars in the surrounding jungle. After a jaguar attacks several of their sheep, Rosanna and Ruben begin a convulsive process of reconversion of livestock practices in San Pedro Bacab - an indigenous Mayan community in the Yucatan Peninsula - in order to eradicate the hunting of jaguars as a response to this type of situation. In this journey -with tinges of magical realism- that both undertake to transform their community, we discover the strong symbolism of the jaguar for the Mayan culture; the empathetic relationship that Rosanna builds with a female jaguar as she joins monitoring tasks; the challenges of the community toreconcile with wildlife as well as diverse threats for jaguars in this region of the world. "Balam" is an urgent and hopeful story about thecoexistence between big cats and humans, recognizing indigenous communities' efforts to create relevant solutions in key areas of the planet.

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