Timely documentary explores the world’s critical edges at the crossroads of megaprojects and nature conservation

The Maya Forest on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico stands at the intersection of megaprojects and nature conservation. A new documentary film, SAKBE – Roads of Life in the Maya Forest, tells a story of biocultural diversity and about people, nature conservation and conflicts in an area where biodiversity is extraordinarily abundant. At the same time, the film offers a broader view of the future of the world’s supposedly remote regions.

Created by Senior Researcher Hanna Laako and Documentarist Kerttu Matinpuro as a science communication and dissemination initiative, the documentary draws on themes emerging from Laako’s research project, portraying the conflicts faced by people living in the Maya Forest through the film’s protagonists. The film challenges assumptions about the world’s critical edges by revealing how they are in fact central to global themes and politics, and thus deeply interconnected with the wider world.

“Whether to stay or to leave emerges as one of the film’s fundamental questions, explored by the protagonists through their own paths in life, that is, whether to stay or to leave in a situation where the Mexican government encourages new people to move into the area. The word Sakbe in the documentary film title is a Mayan word referring to a road, both literally and symbolically,” Laako says.

In recent decades, the Maya Forest has witnessed the implementation of numerous megaprojects. One example examined in the film is Tren Maya, a railway project launched in 2024 and intended to serve millions of tourists visiting the area annually, while also creating new livelihoods. According to Laako, however, the project also has a geopolitical dimension.

“For instance, biodiversity loss has emerged alongside climate change as one of humanity’s major challenges, and especially in the world’s critical edges, megaprojects increasingly intersect with themes relevant to nature conservation globally.”

The documentary was produced as part of the Political Forests – the Maya Forest project, funded by Kone Foundation and led by Laako. The project explores how nature conservation reshapes international relations and political geography in Mesoamerican borderlands, with a particular focus on biocultural diversity and biocultural conservation.

Hanna Laako is a scholar of political science and international relations, and a Senior Researcher at the University of Eastern Finland. She has lived more than a decade in southern Mexico, conducting research. She has studied the transboundary Maya Forest since 2019.

Kerttu Matinpuro is an independent documentarist, producer and journalist based in Joensuu, Finland. She works on multidisciplinary projects in collaboration with NGOs, academic initiatives and cultural institutions. Her professional interests include environmental issues, grassroots activism and cross-border cooperation between Finland and Russia.

SAKBE - Roads of Life in the Maya Forest

Directors: Hanna Laako and Kerttu Matinpuro

Duration: 1h 30min

Link to the documentary film: https://youtu.be/KgDFiB7_91A

Sakbe Maya Forest on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SakbeMayaForest