Pulitzer Prize Nominee Mark Dowie:

"In the course of researching my last book,
I watched many documentaries produced around the world.
None was more illuminating, scholarly or professionally rendered than Francesca Roveda's  Out of the Mist."

--Mark Dowie, Professor, UC Berkeley School of Journalism
Author of CONSERVATION REFUGEES:
The Hundred Year Conflict Between Global Conservation and Native Peoples

Two Endangered Groups, One Forest

Out of The Mist chronicles the untold story of the Pygmies of the Bwindi Rain Forest in Uganda, Africa. Many people are familiar with the plight of the Gorillas who were studied for years in the 1980’s by Dian Fossey. However, few know that in order to protect these “Gorillas in the Mist,” the Pygmy tribes which inhabited the dense Bwindi forest were forced by the government to relocate into open, unfamiliar, clear-cut settlements. As a consequence of this transition, the Pygmies (who call themselves the Batwa) had to abandon their traditional hunter/gatherer lifestyle, and may indeed be at risk of losing their entire culture.

Conservation Refugees

The Batwa are one of the most ancient remaining aboriginal societies, and their dilemma serves as a poignant example of the growing global tragedy of “conservation refugees.” This is a situation in which humans are displaced in order to safe guard the environment. The question is, will the world put as much value on protecting the Pygmies and their culture as it does on saving the mountain gorillas?

Heart of Creation, Edge of Extinction

Out of the Mist contrasts the beauty of Africa’s wildlife, with the suffering of it’s people, and shows both the benefits and negative consequences of the pygmies reliance on foreign tourists, missionaries, humanitarian aid workers, and the Ugandan government for their survival. The story is a powerful, educational and moving account of a people and a land, which lies at the very heart of creation, while at the edge of extinction.