Private Project

The Adventures of Jungle Jolly: Damn de Dam

Kimo Jolly has experienced life on the road in Central and South America from age 5-11, settled life in rural Belize, gang life in south Miami, the yuppie life of an engineer, and the abandonment of the rat race to return to live off-the-grid in Belize as a watershed ecologist, activist, father, and educator. His varied education informs his resistance to the construction of the Chalillo Dam in Belize, which would dam the Macal River, his boyhood swimming hole. Western/Gringo conservationists focus on the destruction of vital habitat and breeding grounds, but Kimo realizes that this does not resonate with the Belizean public. He forges a divergent strategy, emphasizing the increased costs of electricity and the foreign (Canadian) ownership of the dam. These varied perspectives on the fate of the Macal River showcase the marginalization of Belizean voices, with Kimo providing counterpoint to both the corrupt Belizean leaders willing to sell out their people and land, and foreign environmentalists unable to see from a Belizean perspective.

  • Will Scott
    Director
    The Night the Blackbirds Fell, The Hanging of David O. Dodd
  • Brian Campbell
    Director
    The Natural State of America, To Kingdom Come
  • Brian Campbell
    Writer
    The Natural State of America, The Night the Blackbirds Fell, To Kingdom Come
  • Brian Campbell
    Producer
    Seed Swap, The Natural State of America, The Night the Blackbirds Fell, To Kingdom Come
  • Kimo Jolly
    Key Cast
    "Kimo Jolly "
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    39 minutes 34 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 19, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    10,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Belize
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Canadian Association of Anthropology - Cuba
    Santiago de Cuba
    Cuba
    May 20, 2018
    Cuba Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Lyons Film Festival
    Lyons, Colorado
    United States
    April 6, 2019
    Colorado Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Eugene Environmental Film Festival
    Eugene, Oregon
    United States
    October 4, 2019
    Oregon Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Green Screen Environmental Film Festival
    St. Clair, Port of Spain
    Trinidad and Tobago
    November 3, 2022
    Caribbean
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Will Scott, Brian Campbell

Brian C. Campbell is Chair of the Department of Environmental Science & Studies, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Environmental Studies at Berry College, in Mt. Berry, Georgia. He is the director of the Environmental Studies Program (BA, BS, Minor) on the 27,000 acre campus that houses an agricultural biodiversity conservation project and an applied environmental anthropology research program. He received his PhD from the University of Georgia, Department of Anthropology, Environmental and Ecological Anthropology Program, developed and directed the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) anthropology program, and produces documentary films through Ozarkadia Films. Campbell’s film production project, Ozarkadia Films, allows him to collaborate with students and independent film-makers in the production of ethnographic films related to environmental anthropology and sustainable land management. Campbell has produced five independent documentary films that have screened in film festivals: To Kingdom Come (2019), Official Selection Boone Film Festival, Official Selection and Audience Award Winner for Features, Rome International Film Festival, Damn de Dam (2019) Official Selection Lyon Film Festival, Eugene Environmental Film Festival, Seed Swap (2010) screened on public television (AETN, PBS affiliate), The Natural State of America (2011) won the 2011 Society for Applied Anthropology Film Award and The Night the Blackbirds Fell (2013) received funding from the Arkansas Humanities Council, UCA Foundation, and Inspired Media and screened in four states, including a Georgia premiere at the 2014 Rome International Film Festival.

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Director Statement

Damn de Dam engages the role of humans as ecological actors in Belize, presenting examples of sustainable community ecosystem management, but also the flip side, the folly of human politics that mismanage and destroy ecosystems and human lives. The film presents a compelling narrative that integrates Mr. Jolly’s life-story, full of existential trials and eco-political entanglements into a watershed ecology field tour, which showcases rural Belizeans who simultaneously survive a subsistence lifestyle and preserve wild species and habitat. The Jolly family has provided me with a remarkable photo/slide collection of their travels throughout the Americas from 1970-1990, which documents their interaction with indigenous peoples, rural farmers, gauchos (cowboys) and maroons (African Amazonians). The film flashes back to these impressive images as Kimo reflects on his upbringing, and thereby provide context for the anthropologically-informed ecological theory and worldview that inform his decisions to live off-grid in the jungles of Belize, and help explain his uncanny ability to relate to the extremely diverse cultural mosaic that is Belize: Creole, Mopan & Kekchi Maya (in addition to others) Garifuna, Caribbean Black, Mennonite, Mestizo, ex-patriot North Americans. The film provides unique anthropological insights into cross-cultural politics of the Americas, engages transcultural identity struggles, and reveals the interrelationships between ecological and social justice.