0:00:05 > 0:00:08This is central Africa, 25 years ago.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12The tropical forests of southern Cameroon.
0:00:15 > 0:00:17I spent two years filming here
0:00:17 > 0:00:20with the people who know these forests the best,
0:00:20 > 0:00:23the Baka, hunter gatherers,
0:00:23 > 0:00:26who were known to the outside world as Pygmies.
0:00:29 > 0:00:31They introduced me to the wonders of this forest
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and the creatures that live here.
0:00:34 > 0:00:36Their names for the animals were magical.
0:00:36 > 0:00:41Ebobo was the lowland gorilla that climbed the tallest trees.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45Kamba was the largest of the forest elephants.
0:00:46 > 0:00:50Nduku was the very rare golden cat.
0:00:50 > 0:00:54And this creature, ngbongelebo, was the honey badger.
0:00:54 > 0:00:59But the forest was really brought to life for me by the man who became my friend.
0:00:59 > 0:01:03Likano, the father of the family I filmed.
0:01:13 > 0:01:15HE IMITATES A CHIMPANZEE
0:01:15 > 0:01:18Ali was Likano's youngest son.
0:01:18 > 0:01:2225 years later, I've returned to Cameroon to find Ali again.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29I want to find out what has happened to Ali and his family
0:01:29 > 0:01:32when the outside world has changed so much.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38I am returning to where I last saw him,
0:01:38 > 0:01:40a few miles from the Bumba River
0:01:40 > 0:01:43that drains south into the Congo basin.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10Finding Ali was easy.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14His new village is not far from where they had lived before.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17Ali is 30 now and still living in a leaf hut
0:02:17 > 0:02:20with his disabled daughter Yeye.
0:02:20 > 0:02:22HE CHATS TO HER
0:02:31 > 0:02:35Yeye is around five years old but can't walk
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and is barely able to talk.
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Yeye's mother finds it hard to cope with her disabled daughter,
0:02:59 > 0:03:02so spends much of her time in her parents' village,
0:03:02 > 0:03:05leaving Ali to look after her.
0:03:10 > 0:03:13Ali has to carry Yeye everywhere.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Ali has told me that his father Likano died eight years ago
0:03:17 > 0:03:20and takes me to his grave just beyond the village.
0:03:22 > 0:03:26He brings with him a booklet I've given him
0:03:26 > 0:03:28with photographs from 25 years ago.
0:03:44 > 0:03:47This is the first time that Yeye and her cousin Ambi
0:03:47 > 0:03:50have ever seen pictures of their grandfather.
0:03:59 > 0:04:01SHE SPEAKS
0:04:31 > 0:04:34Unusually for the Baka, Likano was a born leader
0:04:34 > 0:04:37and insisted that his village had to be in the real forest,
0:04:37 > 0:04:41well away from the road and the outside world.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Ali doesn't remember, but he hated the arrival of his baby sister.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49LIKANO SPEAKS
0:05:06 > 0:05:09LIKANO CHUCKLES
0:05:21 > 0:05:26Ali's parents named their new baby girl Camera after my film camera,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29because, so they said, I always cradled it like a baby.
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Now Camera is 25 and has three children of her own.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41Ambi is her oldest.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45She is having her hair done for her first day at school.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59AMBI SOBS
0:06:08 > 0:06:15Camera's baby boy is called Akade and Ndodia is her other daughter.
0:06:31 > 0:06:35I was surprised to find Ali's grandmother Ndende still alive.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39She must be in her middle 70s and has seven great-grandchildren.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Four generations of women share this tiny village of 16.
0:07:00 > 0:07:04HE CARRIES ON TALKING
0:07:10 > 0:07:12HE CHUCKLES
0:07:12 > 0:07:14SHE GIGGLES
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I find Deni, Likano's widow,
0:07:23 > 0:07:27looking after her grandson Akade while the village is fishing.
0:07:50 > 0:07:52Camera has named Akade Little Elephant Hunter
0:07:52 > 0:07:55in honour of his great-grandfather Akade,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58the greatest of all the elephant hunters.
0:08:06 > 0:08:09Deni must be 50 now.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12She was shy and reserved when I first met her 25 years ago
0:08:12 > 0:08:15but now she's very much the matriarch of the village.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34With most of the family still here and fishing together,
0:08:34 > 0:08:38as they always had done, it doesn't feel that much has changed.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41I had no idea then how wrong I could be.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00After a few nights, I showed the Baka the film we made together so long ago
0:09:00 > 0:09:03on a projector set up in the village.
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Not only can everyone see themselves for the first time on film,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13loved ones are suddenly brought back to life on the big screen.
0:09:17 > 0:09:2225 years on, Ali and his older brother Yeye are still inseparable.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29THEY ALL CHAT AND LAUGH
0:09:58 > 0:10:00LAUGHTER
0:10:07 > 0:10:11EVERYONE CHEERS AND LAUGHS
0:10:29 > 0:10:31EVERYONE CHEERS
0:10:46 > 0:10:49HE SINGS
0:10:56 > 0:10:58HE SINGS
0:11:05 > 0:11:08HE CARRIES ON SINGING
0:11:52 > 0:11:55HE CARRIES ON SINGING
0:12:06 > 0:12:10THEY JOIN IN THE SINGING
0:12:19 > 0:12:23THEY CARRY ON SINGING
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Watching the film has rekindled Ali's love for his father.
0:14:20 > 0:14:22The grave is no longer just an empty place.
0:14:22 > 0:14:27Ali now feels the presence of his father again.
0:14:29 > 0:14:32Likano's village 25 years ago was full of artefacts,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35axes, spears and drums.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39I am surprised to find there is nothing of that sort left here
0:14:39 > 0:14:43when they were such an integral part of daily life.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46The machete seems to have replaced everything.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57The only blacksmith who still makes spear and axe heads
0:14:57 > 0:15:00lives in a Bantu village four hours' walk away.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09He fashions the axe heads from old car parts.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17I want to encourage Ali to take me into the forest again
0:15:17 > 0:15:19in the way that his father used to,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22hunting and gathering with spears and axes.
0:15:27 > 0:15:31After Likano's death eight years ago,
0:15:31 > 0:15:33Deni married his younger brother Paul.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Paul is the only one in the village who remembers how to make an axe.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Ali and Yeye listen politely but they disapprove of Deni's marriage.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06Paul does not measure up to their father.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16The next day, Ali and Yeye take me to the forest
0:16:16 > 0:16:18a couple of hours' walk away from the village
0:16:18 > 0:16:22to show me why they no longer have a need for spears and axes.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25Their old camp is beside the rapids of the river.
0:16:25 > 0:16:29It was a place teeming with monkeys when I was last here
0:16:29 > 0:16:32but it's obvious that this is no longer the case,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36although the new spears and axes make it feel like the old times.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42There are still plenty of trees here
0:16:42 > 0:16:44but the forest is no longer what it seems.
0:16:46 > 0:16:49So many of the medicines gathered from the forest are chemicals
0:16:49 > 0:16:52produced by the trees to defend themselves
0:16:52 > 0:16:53against attack from insects.
0:16:57 > 0:17:00But many of these trees are no longer reproducing
0:17:00 > 0:17:04because the very animals that pollinate their flowers and disperse their seeds
0:17:04 > 0:17:08have been over-hunted and are close to disappearing altogether.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20I watched Likano treat Ali with this resin when he was a baby.
0:17:20 > 0:17:25It treats many ailments and will confer good health on Yeye.
0:17:51 > 0:17:56Today the forest is a ghost forest, a shadow of its former self.
0:17:56 > 0:17:58Even the fishing is not what it was.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05We stay in their old camp overnight.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09THEY TALK TO EACH OTHER
0:18:31 > 0:18:34THEY CONTINUE TALKING
0:20:11 > 0:20:14The forest has been hunted out, mostly by Bantu hunters
0:20:14 > 0:20:16with guns and traps to provide bush meat
0:20:16 > 0:20:19for people of nearby villages and towns.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Bush meat is the most prized meat in Cameroon
0:20:22 > 0:20:26and fetches a high price throughout the country.
0:20:27 > 0:20:31To the south of the Bumba River lie the rainforest national parks
0:20:31 > 0:20:34that have been created in recent years to protect the forest,
0:20:34 > 0:20:37but the Baka are no longer allowed to hunt there
0:20:37 > 0:20:39as they have done for centuries.
0:20:40 > 0:20:45They have been excluded, sometimes forcibly.
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Baka villages have been burned
0:20:47 > 0:20:50and families trucked out and dumped on the nearest road.
0:20:50 > 0:20:53Pressed into smaller and smaller areas,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55these patches of forest no longer offer
0:20:55 > 0:20:59young Baka men like Ali and Yeye incentive to go hunting.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Losing the hunting skills is just one of the many reasons
0:21:04 > 0:21:07why the Baka are losing touch with their culture.
0:21:07 > 0:21:08Increasingly, I fear the forest
0:21:08 > 0:21:11no longer has a part to play in their lives.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28Timber companies add to the pressure, coming ever closer.
0:21:28 > 0:21:30This concession to the north of Ali and Yeye
0:21:30 > 0:21:33covers several hundred square kilometres.
0:22:21 > 0:22:24With forest life now largely a thing of the past,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27the focus has switched more to the outside world.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30Camera is determined to give Ambi every chance she can.
0:22:30 > 0:22:33She has decided she wants Ambi to attend school.
0:22:34 > 0:22:39It's an hour's hop, skip and jump away in the Bantu village of Massea.
0:22:51 > 0:22:53Today will be Ambi's first day.
0:22:53 > 0:22:56She will be the only Baka child to attend.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40Lessons are in French and English.
0:23:40 > 0:23:43The rest of the children only speak their local Bantu language
0:23:43 > 0:23:46so Ambi we will not understand a word.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49The teacher, Sister Nathalie,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53is one of four Catholic sisters who run the small mission here.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56SISTER NATHALIE GREETS THE CLASS
0:23:56 > 0:23:57THE CLASS RESPOND
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Bonjour, papa. Bonjour, maman.
0:24:13 > 0:24:15THE CHILDREN RESPOND
0:24:33 > 0:24:36THE CHILDREN CALL OUT
0:24:41 > 0:24:43THE CHILDREN CALL OUT
0:25:15 > 0:25:21Ambi has been promised a school pinny to celebrate her first day.
0:25:31 > 0:25:34THEY ALL SING
0:25:34 > 0:25:37THE TEACHER ENCOURAGES THEM
0:25:45 > 0:25:49THEY ALL SING
0:25:49 > 0:25:51Allons-y!
0:25:51 > 0:25:53THEY SING
0:25:53 > 0:25:58Likano, Ambi's grandfather, would have been so proud of her today.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03He spoke often of his ambition that his children should go to school.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05SHE CALLS TO AMBI
0:26:12 > 0:26:14THEY CHUCKLE HAPPILY
0:26:14 > 0:26:17SHE SPEAKS TO AMBI
0:26:24 > 0:26:27THEY CHAT
0:26:27 > 0:26:31Losing their forest is one thing, but this is worse.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33I'd been warned before I returned
0:26:33 > 0:26:36that the Baka have lost a generation of men to alcohol addiction,
0:26:36 > 0:26:41in particular to a distillation called arki.
0:26:41 > 0:26:44Arki's a spirit distilled here from sweet bananas
0:26:44 > 0:26:47by Bantu women who do not drink it themselves.
0:26:48 > 0:26:53It is highly addictive, with a dangerously high alcoholic content.
0:26:53 > 0:26:56It is illegal, as it was when I was here before,
0:26:56 > 0:26:58but now the law is no longer enforced.
0:27:02 > 0:27:04This lethal drink is destroying the Baka.
0:27:11 > 0:27:15Camera's husband Ngoko is particularly susceptible to arki.
0:27:15 > 0:27:19Local Bantu farmers exploit this addiction to entice the Baka
0:27:19 > 0:27:23to hunt in the forest for them and to work in their cocoa plantations.
0:27:24 > 0:27:28A full day's labour is often paid only with alcohol.
0:27:28 > 0:27:32I'd noticed drinking once or twice on my arrival
0:27:32 > 0:27:35but now it's obvious that it's happening most days.
0:27:38 > 0:27:41Most shockingly, Deni,
0:27:41 > 0:27:45who never drank when I was last here, seems addicted.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02SHE EXCLAIMS
0:28:02 > 0:28:0525 years ago, only some of the men drank.
0:28:05 > 0:28:07Not only are many of the women now addicted,
0:28:07 > 0:28:10but even children are drinking this lethal substance.
0:28:17 > 0:28:20Ali's sister-in-law is six months pregnant.
0:28:20 > 0:28:23It is hard to believe that regular drinking
0:28:23 > 0:28:25will not damage the baby growing inside her.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35THEY TALK TO EACH OTHER
0:28:40 > 0:28:43SHE CALLS TO SOMEONE
0:28:50 > 0:28:53I have no idea whether Ali's wife drank during her pregnancy
0:28:53 > 0:28:57but I do wonder whether Yeye was affected by alcohol
0:28:57 > 0:28:58while in her mother's womb.
0:28:58 > 0:29:01Her condition is a real concern.
0:29:01 > 0:29:05It's already becoming more and more difficult to look after her in the forest.
0:29:05 > 0:29:07I also have a nagging worry
0:29:07 > 0:29:10that Yeye may be suffering from foetal alcohol syndrome
0:29:10 > 0:29:13but it's impossible to be sure.
0:29:14 > 0:29:17I've suggested to Ali that he bring Yeye to the clinic here in Massea
0:29:17 > 0:29:21to see what, if anything, can be done.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26The clinic is right next door to Ambi's school.
0:29:26 > 0:29:27Debout.
0:29:27 > 0:29:30Assis. Debout.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Assis. Debout. Assis.
0:29:34 > 0:29:36THE TEACHER SPEAKS
0:29:36 > 0:29:38THE CHILDREN RESPOND
0:29:45 > 0:29:49Sister Josephine established this clinic four years ago.
0:29:53 > 0:29:55HE TRANSLATES
0:29:55 > 0:29:58ALI REPLIES
0:30:17 > 0:30:19Elle etait bebe?
0:30:28 > 0:30:32But Ali is right. Yeye is at least six years old.
0:30:38 > 0:30:41ALI TRANSLATES
0:30:41 > 0:30:45Donne-moi la main. Viens.
0:30:48 > 0:30:50Donne la main. Aha! C'est bien.
0:30:54 > 0:30:56YEYE WHIMPERS
0:31:03 > 0:31:06The problem is the child is very weak.
0:31:06 > 0:31:08I will put her on a special diet.
0:31:08 > 0:31:13She should be able to have foods rich in calcium
0:31:13 > 0:31:18and possibly we should put her on calcium tablets.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20THE OTHER MAN TRANSLATES
0:31:25 > 0:31:27YEYE WAILS
0:31:27 > 0:31:30Together with calcium tablets,
0:31:30 > 0:31:33Ali is encouraged to exercise Yeye's legs
0:31:33 > 0:31:36by walking her as frequently as possible.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38Bien. Oui.
0:31:38 > 0:31:42But I do still worry that Yeye's condition must be more serious
0:31:42 > 0:31:45than calcium deficiency and a fear of walking.
0:31:46 > 0:31:49If nothing is done, Yeye's future is increasingly bleak
0:31:49 > 0:31:52as she becomes too big to be carried.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00Ali has confided in me
0:32:00 > 0:32:05that one day he hopes that Yeye will be able to attend school like Ambi.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Ambi's making great progress.
0:32:29 > 0:32:33Sister Natalie already has high hopes for her,
0:32:33 > 0:32:36perhaps one day to return as a nurse or a teacher.
0:32:47 > 0:32:50There is a belief amongst the local teachers
0:32:50 > 0:32:53that Baka children make the brightest students.
0:32:53 > 0:32:57In the village senior school, the only Baka boy is top of the whole school.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10THE CHILD SPEAKS TO AMBI
0:33:17 > 0:33:20THE TEACHER EXCLAIMS AND CHUCKLES
0:33:24 > 0:33:25Ca c'est bien!
0:33:27 > 0:33:28Ecris.
0:33:28 > 0:33:31Oui, ca c'est bien.
0:33:44 > 0:33:47These few remaining tall trees stand as lonely sentinels,
0:33:47 > 0:33:50a reminder of my stay so long ago.
0:33:53 > 0:33:57The men have returned drunk from working in the Bantu plantation,
0:33:57 > 0:34:01telling old forest stories inspired by the film.
0:34:02 > 0:34:05As usual, Camera's husband is drunker than most.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36Years ago, Ali and Yeye would have spent the day tending traps and hunting.
0:34:36 > 0:34:41Now they and their friends simply sing about these animals their fathers once hunted.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44THEY SING
0:34:47 > 0:34:50This porcupine was the only time I saw bush meat in the village.
0:34:53 > 0:34:55DRUMS PLAY AND THEY SING
0:35:10 > 0:35:13DENI CALLS OUT
0:35:18 > 0:35:21SHE CALLS OUT AGAIN
0:36:01 > 0:36:04SHE CARRIES ON SPEAKING
0:36:11 > 0:36:14HE REMONSTRATES
0:37:21 > 0:37:24While her father Yeye has been dancing,
0:37:24 > 0:37:27little Andu has been drinking the dregs of arki.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33THEY SING AND CLAP
0:37:43 > 0:37:48Deni is trying to sing the children's song about the monster Likobo.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50SHE SINGS
0:37:54 > 0:37:57THEY BOTH SING
0:38:10 > 0:38:12THEY PLAY MUSIC
0:38:17 > 0:38:20A BABY CRIES
0:38:56 > 0:38:58THEY PLAY AND CLAP
0:39:01 > 0:39:03SHE HUMS
0:39:07 > 0:39:11The old film has revived the women's interest in so many things.
0:39:11 > 0:39:15They, more than the men, still keep some of the old traditions alive.
0:39:20 > 0:39:22Interest in the old ways is so high
0:39:22 > 0:39:26that I'm forced to show the film almost every night now.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29Beyond the sheer entertainment,
0:39:29 > 0:39:32is a genuine fascination in the world of their fathers.
0:39:41 > 0:39:44CHEERING
0:39:44 > 0:39:47THEY TALK OVER EACH OTHER
0:39:49 > 0:39:53LAUGHTER
0:39:56 > 0:39:59THUNDER
0:40:12 > 0:40:14SHE LAUGHS
0:40:21 > 0:40:23CHEERING AND APPLAUSE
0:40:26 > 0:40:28LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE
0:40:30 > 0:40:33THUNDER IN BACKGROUND
0:40:33 > 0:40:34BAKA MUSIC
0:40:49 > 0:40:52Desperately proud of what they've seen on screen,
0:40:52 > 0:40:55Ali and Yeye talk more and more about going on a journey,
0:40:55 > 0:41:01deep into the forest to experience again the life of Likano and Akade, the elephant hunter.
0:41:30 > 0:41:31HE CHEERS
0:41:32 > 0:41:34THE BIRDS SCREECH
0:41:35 > 0:41:38CRICKETS IN BACKGROUND
0:41:42 > 0:41:44DRUMBEAT
0:41:51 > 0:41:52After the film,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56Camera's brought little Akade to the village of her in-laws,
0:41:56 > 0:42:01to dance in celebration of the life and death of her great-uncle, Sakola.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05Sakola's widow, Mbali, leads the chant.
0:42:07 > 0:42:10Deni's also here.
0:42:11 > 0:42:18Without Paul, she's receiving the attention of younger men.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20SINGING AND MUSIC
0:42:28 > 0:42:32Nobody here could possibly know the tragic turn of events
0:42:32 > 0:42:34that is to unfold in the next few days.
0:42:41 > 0:42:44Overnight, Paul's threat has come true.
0:42:44 > 0:42:49Fuelled by alcohol, he has beaten a young man over the head with a machete
0:42:49 > 0:42:52for getting a little too friendly with Deni.
0:43:52 > 0:43:56The incident with Paul is bad enough, but worse has happened.
0:43:56 > 0:43:59Last night, Camera's husband returned home drunk.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01He accused her of having had an affair and beat her.
0:44:05 > 0:44:07Camera ran into the forest to escape him
0:44:07 > 0:44:10and spent a terrified night there.
0:44:13 > 0:44:15LAUGHTER IN BACKGROUND
0:44:21 > 0:44:24Yeye has been taking her calcium pills
0:44:24 > 0:44:27and is making some progress.
0:44:27 > 0:44:32But the focus of the village is on little Akade. He has fallen sick.
0:44:41 > 0:44:44AKADE CRIES
0:44:56 > 0:45:00There are many mahogany trees in this forest.
0:45:00 > 0:45:02Its commercial name is Sapele
0:45:02 > 0:45:06and it's exploited by the loggers for export to other countries.
0:45:09 > 0:45:13But for Deni, it provides cures for many ailments.
0:45:13 > 0:45:16SHE SINGS
0:45:21 > 0:45:25She's hopeful that it will help her grandson.
0:45:26 > 0:45:31BABY CRIES
0:46:50 > 0:46:51Two days later, Ali has asked me
0:46:51 > 0:46:54to come to the village of Camera's husband, Ngoko.
0:46:54 > 0:46:58Everyone has heard the devastating news.
0:46:58 > 0:47:01Baby Akade died in the night.
0:47:01 > 0:47:05WAILING
0:47:05 > 0:47:11SHE CRIES
0:49:52 > 0:49:55SHE SOBS
0:50:18 > 0:50:24DRUMMING AND CLAPPING
0:50:28 > 0:50:30For the second time in a week,
0:50:30 > 0:50:32the village gathers to express its grief.
0:50:35 > 0:50:39Mbali, little Akade's aunt, is leading the chant again.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43CHANTING AND DRUMMING
0:51:18 > 0:51:22It's hard to believe that Camera was dancing here with her baby son
0:51:22 > 0:51:24just a few days ago.
0:51:24 > 0:51:26Death has come horribly quickly.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21SINGING
0:52:23 > 0:52:27Always the craftsman, Babu has made a guitar to sing
0:52:27 > 0:52:30his lament for his nephew, little Akade.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33HE SINGS
0:53:31 > 0:53:35SHOUTING
0:53:54 > 0:53:56The cause of little Akade's death is deeply troubling.
0:53:56 > 0:54:00The conviction persists that sorcery by persons unknown
0:54:00 > 0:54:01is at the heart of it.
0:54:01 > 0:54:03The second death in so little time,
0:54:03 > 0:54:07Mbali, his aunt, feels the finger of guilt pointing at her.
0:54:53 > 0:54:56The heads of the two families, Selo and Paul,
0:54:56 > 0:54:58are trying to calm things.
0:55:37 > 0:55:42Camera's husband has fuelled the rumours by spending the night away.
0:58:01 > 0:58:06SINGING AND DRUMMING
0:58:24 > 0:58:29To change the atmosphere of death and recrimination,
0:58:29 > 0:58:32Ali and Yeye have decided that the village must leave
0:58:32 > 0:58:35as soon as possible for the deep forest.
0:58:39 > 0:58:43They've invited the Likobo monsters to dance for the children
0:58:43 > 0:58:45as a prelude to the journey.
0:58:49 > 0:58:54UPBEAT SINGING AND DRUMS
0:59:28 > 0:59:32SINGING, DRUMS AND CLAPPING CONTINUE
0:59:40 > 0:59:44BIRDS AND INSECTS CHIRP
1:00:38 > 1:00:40Before they go on the trip,
1:00:40 > 1:00:44Deni has called Camera and her husband together,
1:00:44 > 1:00:48to try and understand their son's death.
1:01:32 > 1:01:37It was Camera who asked for one last viewing of the film before we set off.
1:02:44 > 1:02:48Seeing his father's affection for him as a child is deeply moving for Ali.
1:02:50 > 1:02:55Ali wants to pass on to Yeye what his father passed on to him.
1:02:55 > 1:02:59Tonight, he decides to take Yeye with him.
1:02:59 > 1:03:02He can't bear to leave her behind.
1:03:02 > 1:03:05BIRDS CHIRP
1:03:05 > 1:03:09Somewhere in the forest, the family are heading west,
1:03:09 > 1:03:14avoiding the national parks to the south, where they risk arrest.
1:03:18 > 1:03:22The logging concession lies in their way.
1:03:22 > 1:03:25Their guards patrol the boundaries.
1:03:25 > 1:03:29Looping west to avoid them will make the journey much longer.
1:03:29 > 1:03:33And dangerous animals - elephant, gorilla, snakes -
1:03:33 > 1:03:35lie ahead in the deep forest.
1:03:35 > 1:03:40They don't know the way, but nothing is going to stop them now.
1:03:57 > 1:03:59Mado, Little Yeye's mother,
1:03:59 > 1:04:03has joined the band of travellers to help Ali with her daughter.
1:04:21 > 1:04:23MAN'S VOICE REPLIES
1:04:57 > 1:05:01THEY LAUGH
1:05:01 > 1:05:03Settling under the forest canopy for the night,
1:05:03 > 1:05:05away from the troubles of the village,
1:05:05 > 1:05:09is somehow deeply comforting.
1:05:25 > 1:05:28WOMAN LAUGHS
1:05:33 > 1:05:37It's not long before the true forest offers up food,
1:05:37 > 1:05:39just like the old days.
1:05:49 > 1:05:52THEY CHAT
1:05:52 > 1:05:55BIRDS AND INSECTS CHIRP
1:05:57 > 1:06:02CHATTING CONTINUES
1:06:18 > 1:06:22THEY CHAT
1:06:50 > 1:06:55EXCITED CHATTER
1:06:55 > 1:06:57Njenje are tiny, stingless bees,
1:06:57 > 1:07:02whose nest stretches the entire length of this rotten tree,
1:07:02 > 1:07:04beneath the outer bark.
1:07:12 > 1:07:15CHATTING CONTINUES
1:07:18 > 1:07:21BEES HUM
1:07:21 > 1:07:25CHOPPING AND CHATTER CONTINUE
1:08:16 > 1:08:21DEEP ROAR
1:08:29 > 1:08:32ELEPHANT TRUMPET ECHOES
1:09:36 > 1:09:40THEY CHAT
1:09:48 > 1:09:51CHATTING CONTINUES
1:09:51 > 1:09:54CRICKETS CHIRP
1:10:51 > 1:10:55After five long days, having successfully avoided the loggers
1:10:55 > 1:11:00and the park guards, we finally reach the Elephant's Mirror.
1:11:22 > 1:11:24Oh!
1:12:14 > 1:12:17HE LAUGHS AS HE TALKS
1:12:25 > 1:12:29The Baka are using an old Bantu hunting camp as a temporary village.
1:12:32 > 1:12:37Ali has discovered a honey bees' nest high in the canopy.
1:12:37 > 1:12:41It will take many hours to fell this tree,
1:12:41 > 1:12:44to get at the honey 30 metres above.
1:14:00 > 1:14:04Felling trees in small numbers doesn't hurt the forest -
1:14:04 > 1:14:08it may even make it richer by providing light gaps
1:14:08 > 1:14:11for new kinds of trees to grow.
1:14:25 > 1:14:26TREE CRACKS
1:14:31 > 1:14:32TREE CRACKS AND FALLS
1:14:44 > 1:14:46BEES BUZZ
1:15:03 > 1:15:04THEY SPEAK IN BAKA
1:15:13 > 1:15:17For Ali, and all the Baka, honey is the greatest gift of the forest.
1:15:59 > 1:16:01THEY LAUGH
1:16:03 > 1:16:04HE SPEAKS BAKA
1:16:25 > 1:16:28This is just how it was 25 years ago.
1:16:28 > 1:16:31We feel safe from the world.
1:16:31 > 1:16:34Even Camera and Ngoko are talking again.
1:16:37 > 1:16:39Away from the numbing effect of alcohol,
1:16:39 > 1:16:43the true predicament of the Baka sinks in.
1:19:11 > 1:19:13This morning we have to leave.
1:19:13 > 1:19:19Ali knows in his heart that Yeye will never be able to come back here again.
1:19:19 > 1:19:21But still he continues to encourage her.
1:19:23 > 1:19:24ALI SPEAKS IN BAKA
1:20:14 > 1:20:16THEY LAUGH
1:20:20 > 1:20:21SHE LAUGHS
1:20:27 > 1:20:28THEY LAUGH
1:20:51 > 1:20:55But it can never be like this. Paradise doesn't exist.
1:20:55 > 1:21:00I hear rumours of a railroad coming into the forest,
1:21:00 > 1:21:03with six kilometre-long trains to take the minerals
1:21:03 > 1:21:06that lie beneath the trees away to distant countries.
1:21:12 > 1:21:16I returned a few weeks later to the village to find out how things are.
1:21:17 > 1:21:21Not much has changed. The deep forest seems a world away.
1:21:21 > 1:21:25- ALI:- Woop, woop, woop!
1:21:25 > 1:21:29Little Yeye is older, stronger, but still unable to walk by herself.
1:21:31 > 1:21:33PEOPLE SING SINGING IN BAKA
1:21:34 > 1:21:35THEY SING IN BAKA
1:21:40 > 1:21:43The Bantu farmers are still here, prowling the village
1:21:43 > 1:21:46with their constant offers of poisonous alcohol.
1:21:55 > 1:21:58Camera has told her husband to leave.
1:21:58 > 1:22:00She will no longer tolerate his drunken abuse.
1:22:21 > 1:22:24Ambi is already speaking some French.
1:22:25 > 1:22:26Oof!
1:22:32 > 1:22:34THEY LAUGH
1:23:05 > 1:23:09Yeye's wife has given birth to a little girl they call Alula.
1:23:11 > 1:23:14We do not know yet what effect the alcohol drunk by her mother
1:23:14 > 1:23:18during her late pregnancy may have on her tiny body.
1:23:20 > 1:23:22But Alula will never meet her older sister Andu,
1:23:22 > 1:23:27who died shortly after the return from the Elephant's Mirror.
1:23:30 > 1:23:33With the death of little Akade, two of Deni's seven grandchildren
1:23:33 > 1:23:37have now died during my short stay of a few months.
1:23:37 > 1:23:39Yeye tends his daughter's new grave.
1:23:58 > 1:24:01Ali has taken his daughter once again to his father's grave.
1:24:01 > 1:24:04He never stops hoping for her.
1:25:24 > 1:25:26Is this what it's come to?
1:25:26 > 1:25:30Mud from his father's grave, rubbed on his daughter in hope,
1:25:30 > 1:25:33but perhaps more in despair.
1:25:41 > 1:25:43This is how I left Ali that morning.
1:25:45 > 1:25:46HE HUMS
1:25:51 > 1:25:5425 years ago, I left Ali and his baby sister Camera
1:25:54 > 1:25:58safe in the womb of the forest, in the loving care of their parents.
1:25:58 > 1:26:04I wondered then whether they would be the last generation to lead a forest life.
1:26:08 > 1:26:09BABY CRIES
1:26:16 > 1:26:19What I've found in these few months is worse than I could've imagined.
1:26:20 > 1:26:23Under the canopy of these tall trees,
1:26:23 > 1:26:25a human disaster is happening, quietly,
1:26:25 > 1:26:29unnoticed by the outside world.
1:26:31 > 1:26:35Alcohol has filled the void left by the retreating forest.
1:26:38 > 1:26:43There are several thousand Baka families scattered throughout the forests of Southern Cameroon.
1:26:43 > 1:26:46Ali's story speaks for many of them.
1:26:46 > 1:26:48They've found themselves in a cul-de-sac,
1:26:48 > 1:26:51squeezed by the interests of wildlife conservation,
1:26:51 > 1:26:53the exploitation of the forests,
1:26:53 > 1:26:56and the self-interest of ever-present Bantu farmers.
1:26:58 > 1:27:01If there is to be a future for the Baka,
1:27:01 > 1:27:03it lies with the children of Ambi's generation.
1:27:03 > 1:27:06TEACHER SPEAKS IN FRENCH
1:27:07 > 1:27:08Now top of her class,
1:27:08 > 1:27:12education is gaining Ambi the respect of her classmates.
1:27:57 > 1:28:00THEY RECITE THE WORD "TULU"
1:28:09 > 1:28:15This is how it needs to be, bringing back a culture to the classroom as part of everybody's learning
1:28:15 > 1:28:19as a first step in giving the Baka the respect they deserve.
1:28:52 > 1:28:54TEACHER SPEAKS
1:28:54 > 1:28:55CHILDREN REPLY
1:28:57 > 1:28:59Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd