For centuries, the Maroon communities in Suriname’s rainforest lived apart from the capitalist world. Descendants of enslaved Africans who escaped the plantations, they built societies grounded in ancestral values and harmony with nature. Yet today, the forest faces profound change.
Monikondee follows Boogie, a Maroon boatman navigating the Marowijne River, the border between Suriname and French Guiana. He transports vital goods to remote villages that grow increasingly dependent on the river. Climate-related floods and droughts destroy crops, while gold mining poisons the water. When Boogie is summoned by his clan leaders to attend his cousin’s court case, his work and traditional obligations begin to collide.
Directed by Tolin Alexander, Lonnie van Brummelen, and Siebren de Haan, Monikondee is a poetic collective narrative about tradition, resilience, and transformation. The rainforest is not merely a backdrop: it’s a living presence intertwined with the fate of its people. A cinematic journey that captures the beauty and fragility of a world in transition.
