Patrol
Directed by:
Brad Allgood & Camilo De Castro
2023
82 minutes
An emerging crisis in one of Central America’s last remaining rainforests ignites a heroic mission in Patrol. When illegal cattle ranchers decimate large swaths of rainforest, indigenous rangers join forces with an American conservationist and undercover journalists to expose the dark world of conflict beef.
SCREENING
Friday, October 27, 2023 at 1:00 PM
Patrol Official Trailer
ABOUT THE FILM
WINNER: 2023 FHFF BEST EXPLORERS & ADVENTURES
Nicaragua is facing an escalating crisis. Illegal cattle ranchers and miners are destroying the Indio-Maiz Biological Reserve — one of the last remaining rainforests in Central America. Deforestation is leading to the destruction of biodiversity, traditional ways of life, and climate change. Commodities produced on illegally converted lands are finding their way to unsuspecting consumers in the US and other major markets.
Every year animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gases than all of the transportation sector, accelerating global warming and putting the future of humanity at risk. Mesoamerica is a biodiversity hotspot; with only 0.5 percent of the world's land surface, the region is home to 7 percent of its biological diversity.
The indigenous and Afro-descendent peoples are addressing the threat head-on—fighting back to protect their territory and way of life. This is the story of Patrol.
Patrol
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS
Brad Allgood
Camilo De Castro
Camilo de Castro
“Indigenous communities in Nicaragua are facing a silent war. Protected by a corrupt government, land traffickers, gold miners and cattle ranchers are violently taking communal lands, destroying the rainforest and terrorizing local communities. In the last 10 years, thousands have been displaced from their land and over 70 indigenous people, including women and children, have been killed.”
Camilo de Castro is a filmmaker, journalist, and environmental activist. In 2010, he founded CaLé Producciones, a communications company for social change, which works with civil society organizations to strengthen their advocacy work. He has worked with indigenous communities, environmental groups, and civil society youth organizations to develop strategies for incidence and leadership building.
For 8 years he was the leading investigative journalist for the news magazine program Esta Semana. In 2008, he received the Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Journalism Excellence Award - the most important journalism prize in Nicaragua – for Emergencia en el Bosque, a documentary about the illegal logging of forests in Nicaragua. In 2010, he received the award for a second time for an investigation into corruption in the Supreme Electoral Council, and the same year, he won the National Prize for Journalism and Communication María José Bravo. He directed El canto de Bosawas, a documentary about the Mayangna indigenous community in the Bosawas Natural Reserve, and Sueños de birrete, a documentary that explains the challenges facing the education system in Nicaragua. He is currently working on a documentary about the impact of illegal cattle ranching in the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve and the efforts of indigenous and afro descendant people to protect their land. He has a bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University.
Brad Allgood
“With this film and impact campaign, we hope to bring awareness to the plight of the Rama and Kriol, as well as stop the sale of commodities affiliated with deforestation. We must hold the Nicaraguan government and the beef industry accountable for their complicity in human rights and environmental abuses. And above all, we must join the fight to protect the last wild places on this planet.”
Brad is an award-winning filmmaker with a background in international development and public health. His films have taken him into the heart of the Nicaraguan rainforest, as well as to remote Caribbean islands, the sparse Kalahari desert, and dense African jungles. While working for PBS Marketing and Communications, he produced national campaigns for PBS programs including the Emmy Award-winning series Downton Abbey and the American Experience film Freedom Riders. Before transitioning to filmmaking, Brad served for 3 ½ years as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nicaragua. He holds an M.A. in Film and Video Production from American University and a B.S. in Biology and Geology from the University of Georgia.
CREDITS
Produced and directed by
CAMILO DE CASTRO
BRAD ALLGOOD
Cinematography by
CAMILO DE CASTRO
BRAD ALLGOOD
LEONOR ZÚNIGA
Editors
BRAD ALLGOOD
CAMILO DE CASTRO
Field Producer
CHRISTOPHER JORDAN
Impact Producer
ANGIE GENTILE
Associate Producer
JENNIFER TOCQUIGNY
Contributing Producer
STEVE DORST