Madre Ceiba

(In Post-Production)

Madre Ceiba tells the story of a diverse community in the Costa Rican Caribbean experiencing rapid change through the eyes of Encar Vila, the co-founder of the Jaguar Rescue Center – a wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and rewilding facility.

As humans encroach on wildlands, the primary forest that these animals call home is under threat, and Encar and the local community are fighting to protect the mother jungle. Encar’s journey mirrors the nurturing force of the jungle, a mother from whom all living beings draw sustenance. It is a place of refuge and of growing peril, a symbol of resilience. The stories of wild animals and the people working to protect them are woven together as local indigenous leaders, Afro-Caribbean business owners, and a National Park ranger contextualize the changes this region is experiencing.

Madre Ceiba humanizes the biodiversity crisis through a visual exploration of our collective connection to the natural world, taking us on a journey into our own wildness, and asking us to take action to protect ‘La Ceiba’ – the mother forest.