tjër di-what price paradise?

A feature-length documentary film that examines critical ethical issues viewed through the eyes of 3,500 residents of a river valley located inside a trans-boundary protected watershed shared by

Costa Rica and Panamá inside the La Amistad International Park.

Tjër Di: What Price, Paradise?

The film explores the Tjër Di Naso, a little-known

indigenous culture, home to the last kingdom in the western hemisphere.

Failure to recognize the Naso and their connection to Tjër Di

(the Naso god "Grandmother Water") will likely result in cultural genocide.

Their lives in this rainforest - cultural and spiritual - depend on the Teribe River.

The documentary explores issues at the heart of an epic struggle between contemporary society, “clean energy”,

and vibrant indigenous cultures that survive without “modern conveniences” which drive today's energy

demands.

Present-day conquistadors fly the flags of corporations, in the

name of economic growth and development. In a country where two-thirds of electricity is generated from hydro-

electric projects, dam contracts are big business.

Proposals exist to build more - not for the regions' own needs -but to export electricity to countries such as Costa Rica.

Will consumers’ insatiable thirst for more resources drive

the development of every last corner of our natural environment, and in the process, destroy the few surviving

examples of how people live in harmony with nature?

Through the Naso's struggle for their Rio Teribe,

sociological issues in the debate for development vs. conservation are examined.

The elders, children and the rest of the tribal community have formed and continue to form human blockades for the purpose of blocking construction from the illegal dam in their ancestral territory.

The protesting tribal community wish to maintain their way of life in the rainforest along the Rio Teribe.

The cinematography will juxtapose the humanistic and

ecological beauty of the residents in La Amistad with their frustration at the drumming … of the march of mainstream

consumer culture.

The cameras will bring a mystical, avatar-esque wilderness

into view, to provide further focus on the examination brought forth in the film.

The audience will hear from the hearts and minds of

ODESEN leaders Edwin Sanchez, Adolfo Villagra & their families.

ODESEN is the Organization for the Development of Sustainable Ecotourism for the Naso.

One dam alone was sufficient to depose a king in this rain-forested paradise. At the same time ODESEN was birthing

eco-tourism in the park, King Tito was deposed in an uprising following his approval of the first hydroelectric

project in the Tjër Di kingdom.

King Tito Santana agreed to three dams, each larger than the last. He was exiled by the tribe after the first dam broke ground. He agreed to these dams against his tribe’s wishes.

The newly elected king, King Valentin Santana, now represents Tjër Di & the Naso. However, this election has not yet been recognized by Panama’s National Assembly.

Tjër Di: What Price, Paradise?

Written by Stephen KaczorProduced by award-winning filmmakers Tony Pagano & Jeffrey Porter, in collaboration with

Jennifer Long, Eric Ellman & the Big River Foundation

“Only when the last tree has died, the last river has been poisoned, and the last fish has been caught will we realize we cannot eat money.” —Cree proverb

We visited the King’s counsel in Naso territory. The Naso made it clear to us they have no voice and that we are all they have to tell their story. Our team has made a face to face promise with the Naso to do just that.