Synopsis

The Macaw Project – Biologists, Ecotourists and Local Communities for the Amazonian Rainforest, is a 26-minute documentary of macaw conservation research filmed in the Peruvian tropical rainforest. The documentary was made with the aim to direct public attention towards the problems that macaws and other creatures face in their natural habitat and the importance of scientific conservation research in this region. This film differs from previous nature documentaries because it is filmed mainly by the researchers themselves; something that is rarely seen on the screen. We explain the newest methods of conservation biology and present up-to-date findings in a comprehensible way in this spectacular movie.

The Macaw Project also seeks to provide an alternative solution for biodiversity conservation: an internationally applicable model that can help to protect highly biodiverse places in many different regions of the Earth. Our model incorporates scientific research, eco-tourism, and the collaboration of local communities to live in their ecosystem in a sustainable way.

This documentary was produced very differently from our other films where we already had a concept before filming. In this case George Olah conducted a mid-term research project in the Peruvian Amazon and they started to film with fellow zoologist and filmmaker Cintia Garai (see timeline below). Living and filming in Tambopata that time we realised that we accumulated more than enough footage to edit a documentary movie about the local conservation issues and certain solutions to them. So the concept of the film was only born after the filming, and a few years after a successful fundraising for the postproduction costs, The Macaw Project documentary was born. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for the kindness of our many supporters that made this film a reality!

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Film Specifications

Title: The Macaw Project
Duration: 26 mins
Languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Hungarian
Filming Locations: Puerto Maldonado, Native Community of Infierno, Tambopata Research Center, Tambopata, Peru
Production: Wildlife Messengers and Filmjungle.eu
Commissioned by: Crowdfunding supporters
Award: 1st prize in Feature Length Film category at the Fish and Wildlife Film Festival (2017)
Crowdfunding: www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-macaw-project#
FilmFreeway: filmfreeway.com/macawmovie
IMDb: www.imdb.com/title/tt6368488
ISAN: 0000-0007-0EA5-0000-W-0000-0000-F

Cast & Crew

I got to know George since he was getting his feet in the Amazon over a decade ago. He was part of a team of scientists studying macaws. A few years later, I met Cintia. They were both making the documentary on the Macaw Project from scratch. They did a great job communicating the conservation issues and solutions in the region and promoting our ecotourism company. All of this is super important because scientists are usually not too great at communications. So George and Cintia are great because they combine a set of skills rarely found in only two people. They genuinely love to be in the bush – in any conditions. The understand and produce science – they both have a PhD. George is super tech savvy and knows his online marketing. And of course, they tell great stories and capture fantastic visuals. And most importantly: they are very easy going and fun to be with.

Kurt Holle

Cofounder, Rainforest Expeditions

Timeline

Extra trailers and videos

Photos from the Premiere in Australia