Punta Soul, Director & Producer Nyasha Laing is a Belizean-American lawyer, writer, and filmmaker who has worked for international law firms and organizations such as the ACLU, FilmAid International, and the National Institute of Culture and History.
A former free-lance writer for the African Magazine, the Singapore Business Times, the Belize Reporter, and Black Enterprise, she enjoys singing, traveling, and creative non-fiction writing.
Nyasha holds a degree in History from Yale University and a JD from NYU School of Law. She
is the founder of The Global Parish Project, an organization that promotes the production and cross-cultural sharing of documentary storytelling in Belize.
Director’s Statement
Punta Soul was conceived as the story of how traditional Punta music evolved into the national music of Belize, and was born out of a desire to more deeply experience my roots. The film evolved into a story about how Garifuna artists from Belize’s isolated communities started an international cultural renaissance that also embraced the black Creole. The rise of Garifuna music is a testament to its power to break down barriers, and is an enduring reflection of the spirit of the ancestors.
Punta Soul is the intergenerational story of a music in migration. Through its intimate portraits of Garifuna musicians such as Andy Palacio, Punta Soul chronicles the evolution of popular Garifuna music from Belize. The Garifuna, an afro-indigenous people exiled from the Caribbean to the coast of Central America in 1798, have carried on a rich and vibrant culture whose expression is found in the electric sound called ‘Punta Rock’ and the more soulful ‘Paranda.’ Punta Soul explores the role of the music and the musicians in the cultural renaissance of ethnic communities in Belize. Punta Soul was released in November 2008 at the WOMEX World Music Expo in Seville, Spain.
Director: Nyasha Laing
Producer: Nyasha Laing
Cinematographers: Khary Jones, Nyasha Laing & Cybel Martin
Editors: Brent Toombs & Nyasha Laing
Film Sponsors: HIVOS
This film will be shown on February 14 at noon in Los Angeles
1 comments:
It is so nice to see our young people so passionate and working so hard for a dream. Only wish I could have been in L.A. to see the film.
The Garinagu are a great people and culture. Keep up the good work Ms. Laing, you have accomplished a lot. God Bless You.
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