Living in coastal Columbia is a challenge. In the short film titled "Dulce," knowing how to swim determines your survival. The skill is a way of life for a little girl named Dulce, who must learn how to swim in order to assist her mother in harvesting the piangua shellfish found in the mangroves. She understands the importance, but she is terrified of swimming. This skill is vital to harvesting. Her fears resonated with me because of my own challenge in learning how to swim. It wasn't until I nearly drowned that I completely understood how important this skill is. As Dulce cried during her swimming lessons, my heart melted watching her struggle. Imagine how stressful it must be to need a particular skill to survive and you're terrified to learn it.
DulceAlthough Dulce's mother wanted her to learn how to swim, it was clear she had compassion for her daughter. When she explained the dangers of not having the skill that could save her life, Dulce was infused with confidence and a willingness to learn. Not wanting to disappoint her mother, Dulce strives to succeed so she can join her mother and the other village women in harvesting.
This short is visually stunning. The beautiful scenery of the village women harvesting the piangua shellfish was captured by several well-placed camera angles. It added a richness to the story. Directors Angello Faccini and Guille Isa take you on a journey, using the first-person narrative to convey the importance of a skill that some people may take for granted. You find yourself engulfed in a world which balances a way of life and a need to survive. Additionally, the directors managed to capture the importance that mangroves play in the harvest. Dulce remarked to her mother on the litter strewn about the mangroves' roots. You can clearly hear the sadness and disappointment in her voice.
DulceThere is a lot of dialogue so you are able to experience Dulce and her mother's emotions. During the scene where Dulce stands on the dock watching her friends leap into the water, I found myself filled with anticipation that she would take a leap of faith. The short is clearly well-documented, planned, and executed with immense care, love, and a deep affection for the story. But aside from the aesthetic values that "Dulce" has to offer, one cannot overlook the most important message-the significant value of our environment.
In conclusion, "Dulce" is beautiful, well-directed, and presented. It offers an intimate look at how climate can affect a way of life, which anyone can enjoy and learn from. It recently premiered at the Palm Springs International Short Fest and it won "Best Documentary" which makes Dulce Oscar-qualified. The film is executive produced by Lee Pace, Margarita Mora, and Anatasia Khoo in collaboration with Conservation International and Jungles in Paris. I encourage you to watch it when it becomes available to the public.
About Dulce
On Colombia's Pacific Coast, a mother teaches her daughter how to swim. It is an essential skill in this remote region, where livelihoods are made on the sea and where rising tides, made worse by climate change, have swept entire villages away in recent years. The girl, named Dulce, learns to overcome her fears and join the community of women who harvest the mangrove cockle, or piangua, for a living. It is a coming-of-age process that helps her understand both her cultural and natural surroundings, from the mud of the mangrove swamps to the powerful tides.
Afro-Colombian residents of the Iscuandé River delta have depended for generations on fishing and mollusk harvesting, specifically the mangrove cockle, or piangua. Overharvesting, however, has led to a drastic decline in piangua populations. As communities here work to preserve their coastal lands from pollution, development, and extreme ocean erosion, the essential role of the mangrove ecosystem-as the anchor of a sustainable harvesting economy, and as a protection against sea-level rise-has come into focus.
