The Movie.
Kawí: Mountains of the Soul is a contemplative journey into the highlands of the Tarahumara territory in Mexico. Guided by classical composer and pianist Romayne Wheeler. The film unfolds as an ascent—both physical and inner—into a world where time is not measured, but felt, and where life follows the cyclical rhythm of the sun’s passage through the arch of the sky.
Through Rarámuri wisdom, daily rituals, music, and landscape, the film reveals a worldview in which life and death are not opposites, but movements within an eternal loop. As Romayne’s life lessons intertwine with ancestral knowledge, the mountains become teachers, inviting the viewer to abandon linear thinking and return to a state of presence, balance, and inner listening. What emerges is not a portrait of a place, but a sensorial encounter with a way of being—one that reminds us that the human spirit is not lost, only forgotten.
Production Notes.
The intention was never to explain Rarámuri culture, but to approach it through proximity, patience, and respect—allowing meaning to surface through rhythm, repetition, and presence. Filming took place over extended periods of immersion, following Romayne Wheeler not as a subject, but as a companion whose life has been shaped by decades of shared existence with the Rarámuri people.
At its core, Kawí carries a heartfelt intention: to honor and extend Romayne Wheeler’s legacy and to contribute, in tangible ways, to the ongoing medical, educational, and supplemental support of the Rarámuri communities he has stood beside for decades. The film understands cinema not only as artistic expression, but as responsibility. Every image was shaped by the awareness that filming is a form of relationship—one that must give back as much as it receives.
Cinematically, the work embraces a pensive, almost visual-anthropological approach, not to document from a distance, but to enter a shared emotional space. Sound—especially silence and music—functions as a guide, echoing the circular harmonics of Rarámuri violins and the inward pull of the mountains themselves. Rather than instructing the viewer on what to think, the film invites them to feel: to pause, to sense their own inner landscape, and to remember that we were once part of nature too—beings attuned to the whispers of the Sun, the Morning Star, and the Moon.
Kawí is ultimately an invitation to stop striving and begin listening. To feel the ascent of a mountain so luminous it blinds the intellect, allowing the heart to take its place. A reminder that transcendence is not elsewhere—it lives quietly within us all.
Private Premiere.
Special thank you to @percy.duran for the documenting this special night,
@barrilesycervezas for brewing a special beer with Tarahumaran ingredients!
And a special mention to Instituto de México en Costa Rica for hosting the event.
Press
& Interviews.
Press
& Interviews.
Radio Interview "Un Ratico en México" (in Spanish)
to Writer Juancho Otalvaro
"The traditions of these cultures guard a secret that isn't actually a secret—it is simply there for us to find, so that we may live a calmer, fuller life."
TV Channel "Quince UCR" Interviews Juancho Otalvaro & Paula Mora.
The Heart of the Encounter: A Conversation on Presence and Myth
The Heart of
the Production
This vision was made possible through the dedicated support of Music Making a Difference, a nonprofit organization devoted to elevating the human experience through the healing and transformative power of sound.
While The Rover’s Quest provided the lens and the narrative, Music Making a Difference provided the pulse. Their commitment to exploring the crossroads of music and cultural preservation allowed us to document Romayne Wheeler’s journey—not just as a pianist, but as a bridge between worlds. Together, we have crafted a tribute to the universal language of music and its ability to restore the soul.