A Comedy/Melodrama - Based on Ludwig Palacio's "Sugarosi"
Among the several firsts that “AGADA” is introducing is being primarily a Garifuna language (declared an oral and intangible heritage by UNESCO) feature film with subtitles in English and Spanish. The screenplay by Dr. Ludwig Palacio of Belize, Central America is based on true events about a tall, pretty, gracious, strong and assertive woman, Agada, who in the 1950’s during British Colonial rule, succeeds in captivating her home town in profound shock.
A butcher, and mother of four children by different men, she is accused of stealing (which in those days, was an unspeakable crime and punishable to the full extent of the Colonial law) by her Jamaican neighbor, Nicodemus Thompson who wants to see the full punishment imposed. Without knowing her fate, Agada concedes in her best friend Nita, who advises her to seek the guidance of the Garifuna ancestors through the offering of food and a ritual mass called “dugu”. With the talk and support of the entire town, Agada is taken to court and defends herself in a mysterious manner of conduct that leaves the citizens of Peini (Punta Gorda) puzzled unto this present day.
AGADA is the first feature film to be produced by a Belizean ensemble of talented individuals with the support of outstanding professionals in the film industry. Also featured as a captivating element in the film is the beliefs, rituals and astonishing culture of the Garifuna people who are descendants of African slaves who intermingled with island natives and who became deportees of St. Vincent to the Central American region.
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