A film about the role bees are playing in the revival of Maya culture in Yucatán.

A beautifully filmed documentary…
that points to some of the most pressing questions of our time.

—Dr. Joseph Patteson

An exquisite documentary…
a model of decolonizing
film-making.

—Lynne Heasley, Ph.D.

A gorgeous film that shows the strength of solidarity, communities, and activism
a hopeful, beautiful film that we need right now

—Dr. Bridgitte Barclay

A story about the environmental conflict between GM soy growers and Maya Beekeepers in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. It reflects on what the environment and economy could look like if bee health was considered as a criterion of sustainable development. The film explores the pre-colonial and ongoing relationship between Maya people and their environment, in particular the milpa agricultural system (and its main crop, maize), sacred sinkholes (called cenotes), and sacred stingless bees, the Melipona.

 
 

Events.

Viewing options.

This film can be shown freely, but please let us know if you plan to show it in classes or workshops.
La película puede proyectarse libremente, pero cuéntennos, por favor si la usan en clases o en talleres.

 

The team.

  • Kata Beilin

    DIRECTOR | SCREENWRITER | PRODUCER

    Kata Beilin is a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, novelist and researcher in Environmental Humanities. She authored In Search of Alternative Biopolitics which was awarded Choice Outstanding Academic Title of 2017, and co-authored Ethics of Life, the novel Meteors, Conversaciones Literarias Con Escritores Contemporáneaos, and a great number of articles. She recently published and edited the online volume Environmental Cultural Studies Through Time: Luso-Hispanic World.

  • Reynaldo A Morales, PhD

    ASSOCIATE PRODUCER, CAMERAMAN

    Reynaldo Morales is an Assistant Professor at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism and Media, and Faculty Fellow of the Buffett Institute for Global Affairs. As a lifelong filmmaker and researcher in Environmental Studies and Indigenous Rights in Peru and USA, he co-produced and directed many documentaries about and with Peruvian Indigenous and American Indian communities, and several scholarly articles about science education and traditional knowledge, pedagogy, and digital media development for Indigenous Peoples. He is currently producing an international documentary series about Indigenous Peoples solutions to the SDGs.

  • Avi Paul Weinstein

    CO-DIRECTOR | SCREENWRITER | EDITOR

    Avi Paul Weinstein is an independent filmmaker, editor and animator with a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art and Design where he studied with the Studio For Interrelated Media and graduated with distinction. Avi was awarded the Artist Fellowship for Film+Video by the Mass Cultural Council for his work exploring climate change and conservation.

  • Sainath Suryanarayanan

    CONSULTANT | INTERVIEWER | CAMERA ASSISTANT

    Sainath Suryanarayanan is a research scientist in the University of Wisconsin-Madison at the Population Health Institute and is a faculty affiliate in the Center for Culture, History and Environment (CHE). Suryanarayanan has published widely on topics at the intersection of environment, society and biology, and recently co-authored Vanishing Bees: Science, Politics, and Honeybee Health.

Contact us.

mayalandbees@gmail.com

FelixMundo Productions, Ltd.
2919 Harvey St
Madison, WI
53705