Icarus Films Targets Mar. 20 For The DVD Debut(s) Of Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth And Miss Kiet’s Children

Timing is everything.   Earlier this week a major news story broke that an archaeological find was made at Tikal in Guatemala that will literally re-write the history books on Mesoamerica and Mayan history.

And right on cue Icarus Films announced that they will be teaming with Bullfrog Films for the DVD release of documentary filmmakers Eric Black and Frauke Sandig’s Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth on Mar. 20.

So why is the headline-grabbing news report this past week about what was found at Tikal in Guatemala such a big deal?   Thomas Garrison, the head of the project (an archaeologist from Ithaca College), walked within 150 feet of a massive Mayan temple in 2010, but didn’t see a thing because of the dense jungle.   Using the Lidar system — pulsed laser light — Garrison and his international team mapped over 500,000 acres in the Guatemalan jungle and found hidden ruins that are nothing short of mind-boggling.   WOW … make that WOW times ten!!

Which brings us back to Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, which explores the history and myths of this ancient civilization through the eyes and daily routines of six young Maya — their unique view of the world … and their “cosmovision.”   

We spend time with Chan K’in (studying to be shaman), Flori, Felipe, Chepita, Jerónimo and Alonso, a Mayan astro-archaeologist.   We see the “modern” Mayan world through each of them as they attempt to make the connections to the past; to their history.

Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth, is a fascinating look at a world that many of us cannot even begin to comprehend.   Too often we think of Mayan ruins as simply a tourist destination … a bus ride to Chichen Itza to see stone buildings, and, well, ruins of a past civilization.  

We are only beginning to understand that the Mayan culture was vast and elaborate — larger — than previously imagined.   Through time spent with Chan K’in, Flori, Felipe, Chepita, Jerónimo and Alonso there is a glimpse, a hint that the past and the future may come full circle.

Heart of Sky, Heart of Earth is presented in Spanish and Mayan with English subtitles.

Also heading home on DVD on Mar. 20 is Dutch documentary filmmaker’s Peter Lataster and Petra Lataster-Czisch’s Miss Kiet’s Children, an award winning look at young Syrian school children trying to navigate their way through Dutch culture and a very alien (to them) school system.

We meet the children of mainly Syrian refugees in Miss Kiet Engels’ classroom, but this film is definitely not about the teacher or the process, but about the children … it is presented largely from their level.

Miss Kiet’s Children is a lovely, rewarding experience, as we are able to put faces — young, innocent faces — to a story that often seems about horrors and adults doing unspeakable things.  The documentary is presented in Dutch and English, with English subtitles.