James Borrell is a biodiversity scientist and science communicator researching how people and nature can adapt to environmental change.
Film Premiere: Life on the Edge
Of all the adventures that working in conservation has brought my way, premiering a film has to be the one that I least expected. I’ve never been to a premiere before, I don’t know anything about films – in essence, I really have no idea what I’m doing!
Yet thanks to the amazing work of cameraman Duncan Parker, I have every confidence that ‘Life on the Edge‘, is going to be brilliant. Conservation in Madagascar is a cause that we’re all passionate about, and if you work hard at work worth doing, then the result is always something to be proud of.
Many of you will know that last year we embarked on Expedition Angano. I was keen from the start that a big research expedition such as this should have good solid research outputs – that is, all the graphs and papers that help us learn about nature – but also something more accessible, and dare I say engaging. So last year, whilst Law, Mark, Thom and the rest of our team were traipsing up and down forest covered hills catching and counting chameleons, Duncan was never far away armed with cameras, tripods and all manner of odd paraphernalia.
Life on the edge is the product of that challenging expedition and nine months of editing and production here in the UK. It is with great pleasure that this Saturday (19th November, 5pm), coinciding with the historic 40th Anniversary Explore Weekend, that we get to take a room full of people, in a small corner of London, to the hot steamy rain forests of Madagascar.
In the last few years, I’ve seen more and more conservation documentary/adventure films bubble up to the surface. Most recently there was Before the flood, but there are others in the pipeline too, like Racing Extinction, Save the Devil and They Call me Pest. I hope that we continue to see more and more!
If you can’t make the premiere (info here), then don’t worry. It will be freely available, online, in the next few weeks. If you’re coming, I can’t wait to meet you!
Lastly, a special thanks to everyone who sponsored, supported or advised – especially the Royal Geographical Society for hosting us, the Zoological Society of London and Scientific Exploration Society – we couldn’t have done it without you.
