EEYA is a companion short film to Silent Forests that was released in 2017, and featured on National Geographic's Wildlife Watch. It was recognized in the 2021 Jackson Wild "World Wildlife Day: Forests" and is part of Jackson Wild On Tour. EEYA is also available in Chinese on Youku.
Eeya is the Baka word for elephant, an animal that is an important figure in the lives of the indigenous Baka tribes of Central Africa. The Baka are thought of as “scientists of the forest” – the forest provides them with everything they need to live, and they know its flora and fauna intimately. But, that has unfortunately made them appealing recruits for elephant poachers who use the Baka as hunting guides. The endemic poverty of the Baka makes them easy targets for such work; poaching gangs usually offer a pittance to the Baka guides they use - even as little as a pack of cigarettes. While some Baka have been lured by the payout of poaching, others – like Bosso Andre and his son Gaston - have been brought into the fold of the National Park system to work as eco-guards and guides. Bosso Andre takes us for a walk through the bush, and illuminates the impact that elephant poaching has had on the Baka way of life.
