A brand new film has been created that lets viewers enter a whole new world, barely seen before by the average citizen. Island of Lemurs: Madagascar is a new iMAX documentary by renowned filmmaker David Douglas. It explores the endangered species of lemurs and viewers can get up close and personal with them thanks to the intimate technology of iMAX.I was fortunate enough to sit down and have a talk with Mr. Douglas himself.
THE MAG: When did you decide to go into filmmaking? Who or what inspired you to do so?
I have been in this all my life. I first got interested in filmmaking when I went to a World’s Fair which was in Montreal when I was in high school! It was Expo ’67 and it was an exposition which had new fascinating techniques in cinema being experimented with. Everyone’s pavilion wanted to outdo each other- it was a time of experimental technology and I was completely absorbed with that. Up until that point I wanted to grow up to be a painter so I was already doing art that way. But when I saw this I became diverted in this. I made films in high school and I was looking for advice. There wasn’t a lot of advice in my small hometown but when I finally found someone, it turned out to be people who I thought were so interesting at the Expo ’67. They were the guys inventing a new film process called iMAX- so I went to work for them. I just became one of their first converts and I’m still being converted today, making films that allow people to be involved with the giant screen that takes them away to another place.
What’s the biggest difference between creating an iMAX film and a traditional film?
For the filmmaker, if you want to create an iMAX film, you have to first find a subject which lets you use that medium to its best advantage. Or else you might as well be using a small screen system. iMAX transports the audience to that place. You need a place where people are interested in. Also a place they haven’t been to before is useful. Novelty is always good, and hardly anybody has ever visited Madagascar. It’s a great medium for a storyteller… or an artist of any kind to work in because it’s so complete . With good audio as well, it takes over the mind of the viewers. You have the tools you need to capture somebody and transport them to another world. It gives them something new to see and move them emotionally, physically and psychologically.
How did you come across Dr. Patricia Wright’s story and what inspired you to tell it?
When the producer Drew Fellman and I made our previous film, Born to be Wild, we had been looking for people who were engaged in saving endangered species. We wanted to tell their stories and support their efforts. We met a number of people as we searched for the right stories to tell in that film. One of the people we thought was intriguing was Pat Wright. She offered the promise of actually doing something in Madagascar.Madagascar is such an exotic, far-away place- there’s hardly anybody who works there. It’s unusual to find somebody with long experience working there so we gravitated to her.
What I really want to hear about is your first hand experience with the lemurs! Tell us- what was your most memorable experience with them?
I think every experience you have close up to a wild lemur is a memorable experience. There were endless moments of surprise. The first time we heard an Indri sing, we were so shocked. We’re walking through a quiet, quiet rainforest. You can hear the water dripping on the leaves. Total silence, and you see these strange creatures leaping around, coming down to look at you. They’re so delicate, the way they move through the trees. You can barely hear them, just the sound of their hands hitting the tree trunks. They come down and they look so strange, with their eyeballs bugging out of their heads. Suddenly, one of them opens their mouths and a blaring sound comes out! It knocked me off my feet! It’s so loud and it just rings through the forest like a car horn or something. So we were determined at that point to surprise the audience with what we experienced as well.
I just wanted to let you know that my favourite lemurs were the dancing ones!
That’s the Sifaka lemurs! They don’t have much of a voice but they’ve got great mobility.
What was one of the greatest challenges of filming on-location?
Definitely getting everything to the place you want to be. It’s a very poor country and it was a French colony for a long time. Nobody ever built a road system, so it’s hard to make arrangements and move around. They’re just getting some hotels now but it’s been off the charts and maps for such a long time. It’s hard to prepare- you don’t know if you can get there, or if anybody else can get there. You don’t know if the animals will still be there when you get back. They’re at such risks because they’re being hunted for food. You’ve got to find people to protect them until you come back. That’s one of the things we did in preparation- to find science students from the University ofAntananarivo and send them off to different parts of the country to watch the animals we wanted to work with. It’s just to make sure somebody’s keeping an eye on the animals, making sure they’re alright. It’s so unpredictable out there. There’s not a great deal of administration or government you can rely on to enforce laws. As the country is becoming more mobile, people move around and can hunt in the forest when they shouldn’t be.
Any new projects you’re embarking on in the future?
We have a number of projects planned for the future, with one of them involving bears. We can’t be certain yet but we think we can start that in the not-too-distant future. There’s a number of positive stories around the world with people finding solutions for long-term survival for some of these species. I think they deserve to be told, so everyone can understand that they can make a difference.
Do you have any final words or advice for young filmmakers or filmmakers interested in documentaries?
My advice is to find a compelling story and tell it. Don’t worry so much about the techniques or anything- just find the stories. The techniques will come as you progress, but the main thing about these wildlife stories is that they need to be told now since wildlife is being threatened right now. I mean, anyone who wants to be a filmmaker should decide what they’re interested in! Be able to commit yourself to the story.
Do your research! Click here for more information about the documentaryand for the complete list of participating theatres.