Greenpeace film in line for prestigious film festival award

Posted by admin — 27 September 2004 at 8:00am - Comments

The Ancient Forests is a short film commissioned by Greenpeace, directed by Julien Temple and narrated by Ewan McGregor and Sir David Attenborough. In 2003 it appeared in selected cinemas and was also on general release accompanying 'About a Boy'.

Featuring a soundtrack by Angelo Badalamenti (from David Lynch's Twin Peaks) and the neo-classical group Dead Can Dance, the film takes its cue from Klaus Toepfer, head of the United Nations Environment Programme, who has warned governments that: "The clock is standing at one minute to midnight for the great apes. Some experts estimate that in as little as 10 years, the apes could be extinct across most of their range."

Ewan McGregor, (star of Moulin Rouge, Star Wars - The Phantom Menace and Black Hawk Down), speaks as a gorilla voicing the threats facing not just the great apes, but all the plants, animals and people living in ancient forests whose home is threatened by destructive and illegal logging.

The film is the second collaboration between Greenpeace and British film director, Julien Temple, whose films include 'The Great Rock and Roll Swindle', 'Absolute Beginners', 'Pandaemonium', and a feature documentary about the Sex Pistols, 'The Filth and the Fury', as well as award winning videos for the Rolling Stones, David Bowie and many others.

Julien Temple's first collaboration with Greenpeace was on a film called 'The Wind' which featured commentary by John Hurt and Rachel Weisz and music by Primal Scream. 'The Wind' celebrates the massive, but largely untapped, potential of clean, green, renewable energy resources in the 21st Century. It also highlights the very real dangers of climate change and the impact this is already having on people's lives throughout the world.

Ten years ago, at the first Earth Summit in Brazil, world leaders signed up to protecting the world's ancient forests. This film will be a powerful reminder of the action governments need to urgently take.

Wildscreen is the world's largest festival of moving images from the natural world. Established in 1982, Wildscreen is a biennial week long event held in October. Initially it was dedicated to wildlife and natural history programme-making, specifically for television, but today its remit covers all aspects of screen-based natural history communications, including the Internet, interactive media and film formats such as IMAX.

In 2002 Wildscreen was host to over 500 delegates from 40 different countries, offering seminars, screenings, discussions, training workshops, and a trade show. Importantly, it allows the general public to see outstanding natural history films from around the globe on the big screen. Amongst last year's winners was the BBC series The Blue Planet.

About Earth Lady

Coordinator of the North Kent group and a Garden Design student

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