Interweaving #17 - Protecting the Pollinators
In this episode, filmmakers Blake Lavia and Tzintzun Aguilar Izzo of the Talking Wings Collective take us on a journey to Coatepec, Veracruz (Mexico), where stingless bees embody the promise of regenerative agriculture for a world that desperately needs climate solutions. They also give us a preview of their upcoming film and the 2020 North Country Art, Land and Environment Summit.
About Talking Wings:
We are the Talking Wings Collective, a group of environmental artists and filmmakers who are working on "Burning or Breathing: Guardians of Earth and Water." The documentary and multimedia project follows Earth Guardians from across Turtle Island/North America as they create a sustainable and restorative future.
Our core team is primarily comprised of Veronica Blake Lavia and Tzintzun Aguilar-Izzo, and the Producer Alejandro Beltrán Cordero. Talking Wings stands in solidarity with the communities and indigenous nations on the front lines of this climate emergency. Our films and works of art/resistance call for a renewed consciousness for the land, its inhabitants and their collective memory.
Burning or Breathing
The feature documentary, “Burning or Breathing,” follows Earth Guardians on their quest to create sustainable and regenerative environmental solutions. Our goal is to champion the voices of the leaders on the frontlines of this climate emergency. These inspiring figures include members of the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe Environment Division, Antigua River Sentinels and tropical Melipona bee-keepers.
In a voyage that traverses Turtle Island / North America, Talking Wings Productions weaves together narratives of ecological resistance. From century-old trees to diminutive bees, they meet the earth guardians who are creating sustainable alternatives to the global emergency. These leaders protect the land on which their communities have lived for millennia. Likewise, their communities are working proactively, to create a green and restorative economy of the future, an economy that honors the living memory of land and water.
Our documentary will be accompanied by a website. This online platform will weave together the different movements and struggles. Stories from across the continent will unite in a tapestry of resistance and growth. All the interviews that don’t make it in the documentaries final cut, will be included in the website, where everyone can follow the stories of the Guardians of Earth and Water.
NCALE Summit: September 7th to October 2nd, 2020
In a series of panel discussions, art exhibitions and film screenings, taking place throughout the St. Lawrence River Watershed (on Haudenosaunee Territory), the NCALE Summit will focus on sustainable and regenerative solutions to the climate crises.
Our Vision / Mission -
In the face of the climate crises, communities across the world are organizing to protect the lungs of the planet and create a sustainable future. While this is a global struggle, the seeds of resistance start on a local level. The St. Lawrence River Watershed (Haudenosaunee Territory) is no exception. The North Country Art, Land and Environment 2020 Summit will utilize art and conversation to contextualize this struggle and present local environmental solutions.
Our region of northern New York covers a large geographic territory, encompassing the St. Lawrence River Valley and part of the Adirondack Park. The Summit will feature a series of educational exhibitions, panel discussions, workshops and film screenings. Through these events the environmental future of the St. Lawrence Watershed will come under the spotlight. While mostly taking place in the towns of Canton and Potsdam, the conversation will envelop the entire North Country.
All images courtesy of the Talking Wings Collective.