The natural beauty of Borneo unravels in the biggest co-production between Malaysia and Singapore, writes Tahir Alhamzah
MANY experts and researchers have long documented the wonders in the deep forest of Borneo, for academic research and for the benefit of TV viewers.
The latest TV programme to unravel the natural beauty of the vast island, simply called Borneo, claims to be the biggest co-production between Malaysia and Singapore for a factual programme.
“While the money is significant, the scale is not just in reference to cost, but also factors such as equipment, and time spent as well as the involvement of experts such as scientists from across the globe,” says Michael Lim, the managing director of Kynite TV.
PARTIES ONBOARD
A landmark co-production between Kynite and the multi-award winning production house Beach House Pictures (BHP), Borneo is a 10-episode documentary, with a focus beyond just flora and fauna. It’s also about the land and its people, uncovering stories of wildlife protection, exceptional scientific research and conservation from the unsung heroes of Borneo.
“As Asia’s largest independent production company, BHP always wanted Borneo as a subject. We find that it has incredible stories. We felt that the stories need to be told on a global platform. The stories of the land, the wildlife and the people protecting both the land and its inhabitants,” says BHP’s managing director Jocelyn Little.
“In order to realise this dream, and since it’s a Malaysian story, it was apt to bring on board a Malaysian company as partner for the project,” she adds.
The representatives from the two production houses discussed and agreed to embark on the project when they met at last year’s KL Converge!. It is an annual digital and social event that brings together leading experts from multimedia, applications, Internet and creative content.
The two production houses also joined forces with Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific, Britain’s UKTV, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), and the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas).
“Finas has always encouraged filmmakers to take advantage of the diversity in Malaysia as a backdrop to their storytelling, not only about the people, but also the flora and fauna. Thus, it is with great pleasure that we see a documentary of this nature and magnitude such as Borneo, pushing the boundaries of storytelling,” says Finas director-general Datuk Kamil Othman.
With unprecedented access to the most remote regions of Borneo, the documentary will explore its stunning tropical landscape, rich bio-diversity and follow the colourful cast of human characters from various backgrounds, nationalities and cultures, united in a battle to uncover, understand and protect one of the world’s icons.
Crew members spent the last six months in the field for the 10-episode half hour series, applying the latest in filmmaking technology, from aerial photography to underwater cameras, to capture never-seen-before images of Borneo. It reveals not only its beauty but also frontier living.
“Borneo is one of the world’s last true frontiers so it’s a privilege to be able to tell its story. It took team effort to get this off the ground,” Little proudly explains.
RESEARCH TEAM
With an area covering 743,330 square kilometres, Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is the largest island in Asia. Its highest point is Mount Kinabalu at 4,095 m.
Its rainforest is 140 million years old, making it one of the oldest rainforests in the world. There are about 15,000 species of flowering plants with 3,000 species of trees (267 species are dipterocarps), 221 species of terrestrial mammals and 420 species of resident birds in Borneo.
There are about 440 freshwater fish species in Borneo (about the same as Sumatra and Java combined).
As the centre of the evolution and distribution of many endemic species of plants and animals, Borneo’s rainforest is one of the few remaining natural habitats for the endangered Bornean orangutan. It is an important refuge for many endemic forest species, including the Borneo elephant, the eastern Sumatran rhinoceros, the Bornean clouded leopard, the Hose’s palm civet and the dayak fruit bat.
“When we began the project, I thought shooting could be wrapped up within three weeks,” says Lim. At one point, the team took more than a fortnight to film a particular subject, he adds.
The TV research team is made up of seven individuals. The entire team meanwhile comprises close to 100 people, including representatives from a wide range of local organisations such as Sabah Parks, Sarawak Forest Department and scientists.
“We are still in the process of filming. Now we are editing some of the episodes,” says Little, adding that viewers can expect the show to air in the middle of next year.
Little says that the team was lucky to have been invited to join several expeditions to observe how the people of Borneo protect their land and its inhabitants. and to tag along on exclusive excursions such as a military “scoping” exercise.
He concludes the interview, saying: “It’s interesting capturing the passion of the people of Borneo in protecting their land. We’re excited to present Borneo to the world, unscripted. Viewers can expect to see its beautiful flora and fauna, and the land, from an authentic voice and points of view of its very own people, other than the experts flown in from many parts of the world.”