On the Maroni river, the border between French Guyana and Suriname, the Wayana group (Native American community) is facing a cultural and social identity crisis.
In Taluen village, young Derreck discovers a world in metamorphosis. The various generations live together without understanding each other.
The child keeps playing, opening infinite perspectives for the future, as the children always do. But the seemingly calm village is getting upset by the child’s discoveries.
He loses himself between dreams and reality. His relatives are also taken in this dream journey, from which memories, fantasies and myths emerge.
« Anuktatop » (« metamorphosis » in Wayana language) opens up a whole universe, where times are conjugating, highlighting both the heritage handed down from the ancestors, owners of a rich past, as well as blowing the whistle about the prospects of the youth.
“The movie ‘Anuktatop : The Metamorphosis’ directed by Nicolas Pradal and Pierre Selvini, shows the dynamics between the Wayana’s history and the current situation in Haut Maroni, the border between French Guyana and Suriname. The filmmakers don’t depict the French Guyana Native Americans as «good savages» or «the last survivor of traditional knowledge» as documentaries about Amazonia usually do. The Wayanas are in between two worlds, a native american world and an intrusive globalization.
Anuktatop is a Wayana word derived from tanuktai which means «becoming» or more precisely «moving away to another form». For the Wayanas, this metamorphosis consists in the familiarization with a custom (in Wayana language : tehepamnephe) and the acquisition of an outfit (epam). By taking ownership of different habits, an individual changes his appearance but not his soul…” – An Anthropological Perspective, by Renzo Duin
A unique, award-winning documentary film, produced by David Crochet, directed by Nicolas Pradal and Pierre Selvini.
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