This highly stylised short film was shot & edited by Artis International Fellow Emiliano Dean Atran during a visit to Buff Bay, Jamaica (25km North of Kingston), during which he followed Pastor Michael Aiken conducting his youth outreach work.

Michael Aiken is currently the Director of Communication, Research & Evaluation in the National Transformation Program at the Office of the Prime Minister, Jamaica House. In this capacity, he is responsible for the understanding of human behavior and social patterns as it relates to political violence within Jamaica. This understanding is a core element of the Prime Minister’s approach to transformative policy that will reduce overall violence in the country. Prior to his advisory role for the Prime Minister, he served as an Alderman in Portland, Jamaica and served as the Executive Director of North Eastern Educational Development (NEED), where he was superintendent of schools and a community organizer. Mr. Aiken holds Master’s Degrees from Harvard and National University and a Baccalaureate Degree from San Diego Christian College.

Emiliano Dean Atran graduated from the City College of New York. After studying engineering at the University of Michigan he move to the New York music scene and received a B.A. in music. He has accompanied Artis teams to Central America, the Caribbean and Europe, filming field research and providing interpretative documentaries of the Artis mission to reduce youth violence. He received his Masters Degree in Composition for Soundtracks and Music for Audiovisual Media in 2021 from the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC, Barcelona). He now works out of Barcelona, continuing studies in classical piano.