Bradbury's most recent film, THE LAST WHALE, exposed to audiences
around the world the Japanese buyoff of votes with aid money
around the world to try and defeat a proposed sanctuary for whales
in the Antarctic. It combined politics with powerful images set to
music generously donated by musicians like Peter Gabriel, Brian
Adams, Midnight Oil, Olivia Newton John etc. to get through to a
mainstream audience. So successful was the film in doing this that
it was a major factor in turning the tide in favour of the
sanctuary for what looked like certain defeat by the pro-whaling
lobby 12 months ago. Bradbury and his team then took the film to
Mexico for the deciding vote of the International Whaling
Commission and staged a huge human whale sculpture involving 4,000
Mexicans on the beach in front of the five-star hotel where the
IWC was about to meet behind closed doors. This action stole the
media attention and suddenly focused the eyes of the world on that
vital decision.
"We showed in Mexico that people do have a voice, that carefully
thought out actions by a small group of dedicated individuals do
count. Now we want to move that energy on to help save the
rainforests from total destruction in the South Pacific," Bradbury
said.
Bradbury, like many other conservationists in the know, is
concerned at the unabated pace of felling that is occurring in
these, the last great rainforests left in Asia. It is happening in
this remote region of the globe, far away from prying eyes. "The
rate of destruction of vast tracts of forest which present and
future generations will pay for dearly is frightening", he said.
"On the east New Britain (PNG) Province alone, there are 1,000
bulldozers just going for it. That's a small island. In areas of
the Solomons the loggers moor their huge ships at the edge of the
rainforest far from prying eyes and fill up ship after ship with
logs that burden the ships down to two feet below the Plimsol
line. They give the local Customs officer a carton of beer and
send him off home for the afternoon. The people are made promises
of roads, schools, hospitals and houses etc. that never
materialise. All they get is an eroded hillside and muddy red soil
in their river systems,"Bradburysaid.
"People know about and are working to stop the destruction of the
Amazon. This is an untold and as yet unseen story. The Japanese,
Australian, Malaysian, Indonesian and Korean loggers know they are
living on borrowed time and they're just going for it. Theya re
helped by corrupt local politicians. We have to stop it, that's
why I want to make thsi film". he said.
The aim of the film is to have it shown on televisions around the
world, particularly in countries that have enough influence to
bring an end to the destruction.
B has two Academy Award nominations to his credit: FRONTLINE
(1979) about Austraslian News cameraman Neil Davis's coverage of
the Vietnam War and CHILE: HASTA CUANDO? (1986) shot clandestinely
in Chile, exposing the nature of the Pinochet military
dictatorship.
His other films have won numerous international film festival
prizes in his 16 years as an independent producer and have been
shown around the world on all major networks, Discovery Channel,
TBS and PBS in the United States, the BBC and Channel 4 in
Britain, TFL and Antenne 2 in France, WDR in Germany, Belgium
Dutch tv, Israel, Canada, South Africa, Mexico, Australia, New
Zealans, Korea, the former Soviet Union and the Carribean
islands.
He is looking for sponsors and investment to make the film
happen. His international phone and fax number is +61-66-840015
(Australian office hours only, seven days a week). Mailing
address FRONTLINE Films, Wilson's Creek, Australia 2482.