Oka! Amerikee

Oka! Amerikee is an independent feature film filmed on location in the Central African Republic in the summer of 2009. The film tells the story of an American ethnomusicologist and his life with the Bayaka people of the Central African rainforest. The cast and crew spent close to four months in the Central African Republic and this blog has some behind-the-scenes insights and reflections on life on a film set in the remote African village of Bayanga.

The movie is partly based on the life’s work of Louis Sarno, who has lived with and recorded the music of the Central African pygmies for over 20 years.

The pygmies of the Central African Republic are Bayaka, an indigenous group who live also in the Congo. They are a severely economically and socially marginalized, maintaining a tenuous balance between their traditional forest lifestyle and their increasing assimilation into Central African society. Oka! Amerikee offers a unique glimpse into the music, humor, and spirit of the Bayaka people.
—okaamerikee.com