A 200-year code war, academic backstabbing, and the language nobody thought could be cracked.
The complex and beautiful hieroglyphic script of the ancient Maya was until recently one of the last great undeciphered writing systems. Based on the best-selling book by Michael Coe, called by the New York Times "one of the great stories of 20th century scientific discovery", Breaking the Maya Code traces the epic quest to unlock the secrets of the script across 200 years, nine countries and three continents.
Direction
Lebrun turns philology into genuine suspense.
Production
Gorgeous codex recreations and site photography.
Writing
Coe's narrative structure: genius as antagonist.
Director
David Lebrun
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 1960s 'phoneticism' breakthrough was nearly suppressed when a prominent Mayanist tried to bury a graduate student's findings. Academic drama is real.
Modern Maya communities are now reclaiming these decodings for their own cultural revitalization—something the original codebreakers never imagined.
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