CAPTAIN BANANA is a documentary about bananas. It is also the story of a Finnish sea captain.

CAPTAIN BANANA is a documentary about bananas. It is also the story of a Finnish sea captain.

Centered on the life and tropical expeditions of former sea captain and self-taught botanist, Markku Häkkinen, CAPTAIN BANANA celebrates the personal, cultural and environmental significance of bananas. Taking the viewer on a unique journey to Southeast Asian banana festivals, a banana expedition in the mountain forests of China and to the wintery city of Helsinki, the film explores one man’s undying passion for a very misunderstood fruit, and explains why bananas matter to all of us.

While sailing through the tropics as a young sea captain, worlds away from his native Finland, Markku Häkkinen became fascinated with the dense jungles and botanical wonders of Asia. In 1976, although he had no formal scientific training, Marrku embarked on a second career as a specialist in wild banana species. Soon, he was bringing seeds from unusual and little-researched bananas home to Finland, and over the years he transformed his apartment into a lush greenhouse for some of the world’s rarest plants.

Over the past 30 years, Markku has discovered countless new banana species and is regarded as a major player in the world of banana botany. Now in his 60’s, he tirelessly continues adventuring to remote corners of Asia questing after new species of wild bananas.

In April 2010, Markku will search for an unnamed banana species that he suspects might be hiding in the mountainous forests of China’s Yunnan Province, somewhere near Tibet…

Bananas are one of the world’s most important food crops. Aside from the common export banana (the Cavendish), there are about 1000 other varieties of bananas. Some bananas are blue, others are orange or red, some are round, and a few are as big as your arm. In the tropics, bananas aren’t only eaten fresh, they’re barbecued, they’re deep-fried, they’re sun-dried, their flowers are used in salads – instead of lettuce, they’re even made into beer and wine! Bananas are always in season, providing a continuous source of food in developing nations, and more than 400 million people depend on them as a staple food source.

In our rapidly changing world, both cultivated and wild bananas are highly threatened by climate change, deforestation, and a nasty banana-killing fungus. Scientists predict that the banana industry will collapse within 5-20 years, and many wild bananas are facing extinction… But, Markku might be able to help!