CH-12. Song from the Forest

Germany/USA/Central African Republic, Feature Documentary, 2013, 96 min

?A mesmerizing glimpse into (one man?s) search for a sub-Saharan Walden.? ? Variety

Long ago, Louis Sarno, an American ethnomusicologist, heard a haunting song on the radio and followed its melody to the Bayaka pygmies in the Central African jungle. He stayed for 25 years, recorded 1,000 hours of unique Bayaka music, married a Bayaka woman and had a pygmy son, Samedi, who is now 13. Fulfilling an old promise to his son, Louis takes Samedi to the fearsome jungle of New York City to meet his relatives in America, including his closest friend from college, Jim Jarmusch. On this journey, Louis realizes he is not part of this globalized world anymore, but globalization has also arrived in the rainforest, and now the Bayaka depend on Louis for their survival. Father and son return to the melodies of the jungle, but the question remains: How much longer will the songs of the forest be heard?