A Walk Through the Land of a Thousand Hills

Director: Chema Domenech
Country of Origin: United States
2019

Claver Ntoyinkima, a native park ranger, shares the secrets of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda as he guides us through the forest. With almost 300 bird species, over 1,000 plant species, and dozens of large and small mammals, Nyungwe is one of the most biodiverse places in the world. Twenty-five years after the devastation of the Rwandan Civil War, the park is now one of the best-conserved montane rainforests in Central Africa. As Claver walks through the forest we uncover the origins of his conservation values and the history of an ecosystem that survived one of Rwanda’s darkest periods.

Director Statement:

Despite the globalized nature of society today, many people do not have the opportunity to personally experience the transformative power of the wilderness they impact. Visual storytelling is a powerful tool that creates emotional connections between people and the natural world and thus facilitates the protection of our planet’s wild places. My goal is to tell these stories.

Chema Domenech Chema Domenech Photo 1 IMG_6849 Producer: Chema Domenech
Key Cast: Claver Ntoyinkima
Editor: Kelly Carpenter
Original Score: Ian McLeod