Tierschutz (3) | Australischer Kulturraum (4): Ungezähmte Gefahr durch den Rotfuchs in Tasmanien — ein Doku-Noir im Stile der 40er-Jahre

Film-Nr.: 622
Vorführungstermin: Montag, 17. August 2009, 14.45 Uhr (Zweiter Film) [VN62]
Themenschwerpunkt: Australischer Kulturraum (4) | Tierschutz (3)

Englischer Titel: Feral Peril
Originaltitel: Feral Peril
Deutscher Titel: Ungezähmte Gefahr
Herkunft: Australien 2008
Laufzeit: 53 min.
Sprachfassung: Englische Originalfassung

Regie: Andrew Sully
Produzent: Gina Twyble, Ian Walker, Penny Robins
Drehbuch: Alex Barry, Andrew Sully, Ian Walker
Schnitt: Henry Dangar, Michael Gissing (sound)
Kamera: John Biggins
Musik: Caitlin Yeo
Sprecher: William McInnes
Produktion: Magic Real Picture Company, Camperdown (North South Wales), Luminous Films Pty Ltd, Bundeena (North South Wales)

URL Film-Homepage: www.magicreal.com.au
Premierenstatus: Europäische Erstaufführung
Bisherige Aufführungen: Reel Earth - Aotearoa Environmental Film Festival, Palmerston North, Neuseeland; International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula (Montana) USA;

Kurzinhalt: Die Invasion von Vulpes Vulpes, dem europäischen Rotfuchs, bedroht die Tierwelt auf der tasmanischen Insel; eine rätselhafte Krankheit dezimiert auf Tasmanien zusätzlich den einzigen natürlichen Feind des extrem anpassungsfähigen Rotfuches: die des Tasmanischen Teufels. Ein Doku-Noir im Stil der 40er-Jahre.

Trailervideo: http://blip.tv/file/2253197 + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwUJQhYTbmM

Englische Synopsis: Tasmania is one of the world’s last great wildlife havens but its struggling native species are under threat from a feral fox invasion. Or are they? There’s some nasty business going down in Australia’s island state. A feral intruder is on the loose. He's cunning, deadly and a master of stealth, so expert at flying under the radar that some believe he doesn’t even exist. He’s Vulpes Vulpes, the elusive and adaptable European red fox, and the hunt is on to destroy him before he destroys Tasmania’s struggling native fauna. Feral Peril follows the “Fox Squad”, a team employed under the Tasmanian Government's fox eradication program, as they chase down sightings, gather evidence and battle public skepticism in a bid to avert ecological disaster. The squad draws on the latest technology including DNA sampling, satellite mapping and photography, but it's not enough to convince the “super skeptics”, who will be convinced only by the discovery of a fox, dead or alive. But time is running out. While evidence suggests fox numbers are on the rise, Tasmania's top native predator, the Tasmanian Devil, is being decimated by a mysterious disease. And as Devil numbers decline, foxes are on the rise. Feral Peril introduces the stakeholders – the Fox Squad, the skeptics, the hunters, the scientists, the zoo-keepers and the graziers – as each battles to solve a problem that threatens not only Tasmania’s pristine ecology, but its agriculture, its tourism and the strength of its economy.



Englische Werkbeschreibung: Production Story Feral Peril was conceived in late 2007 after executive producer Ian Walker and director Andrew Sully saw media reports about the growing fox problem in Tasmania and the government’s attempt to tackle it with a well-funded eradication branch or “Fox Squad”. “I was intrigued by the idea that there was a lot of money being spent in Tasmania to set up a very high-tech bunch of people who were dedicated to eradicating foxes, but their dilemma was that they couldn’t find one,” Walker says. “My instinct was that this was a very funny and curious kind of problem.” But behind this amusing dillemma lay a serious issue – the real and imminent threat to a struggling iconic Australian species, the Tasmanian devil, by growing numbers of feral foxes. “I’d never heard the link between foxes and devils. More of one means less of the other. The loss of the Tasmanian devil would be an absolute tragedy for Tassie, which is one of the last great pristine wilderness areas on the planet and one of Australia’s most saleable eco destinations.” Walker, along with Sully and producer Gina Twyble set about telling the story, assembling the characters and making a film, which they hoped would deliver a serious educational message in an entertaining way. “We were in luck with our timing,” Walker says. “We were unsure that we would get an unfolding investigation, but we got a very good sighting by grazier Tina Taylor and then a follow-up investigation that found evidence of a fox. It was one of the days when the documentary goddess smiles upon you.” Twyble concurs. “Our schedule didn’t allow us to wait for days for the animals to do what we wanted them to do. Fortunately we did find some Tasmanian devils and we got some extremely good footage of them.” The passion with which the subject has been embraced in Tasmania made it easy to assemble the “cast”, including sceptic Ian Rist, wildlife biologist Nick Mooney, investigator John McConnell, hunter Peter Darke, environmental philosopher Professor Andrew Brennan and shearer Jacko Flood. “There’s no one in Tasmania who doesn’t have an opinion on this, they’re really passionate about it,” Walker says. “Everyone will tell you a story about someone who knows someone, some other part of the conspiracy that you may not have heard.” When first approached to participate in Feral Peril, former Film Australia (now Screen Australia) was looking to increase its collection of science programs under the National Interest Program, says Screen Australia executive producer Penny Robins. Robins was drawn to this contemporary treatment of serious scientific/natural history subject matter, using a hybrid of drama, science and wildlife filmmaking techniques. Here was an opportunity to support a team of filmmakers to break into a new area of filmmaking. “It’s an Australian story about an ecosystem under serious threat,” Robins says. “There aren’t many pristine wilderness areas left in the world and this gave us the chance to study the potential impact of the invasion of an intruder into an ecosystem.” The filmmakers hope their film will make people consider the role that humans play in the environment and to recognise their place in the wider ecosystem. “Feral Peril shows how we’re all connected,” Twyble says. “If you take one piece of the jigsaw away the rest becomes particularly vulnerable.”

Inseln bieten als geographische Topologie bio-ökologisch enorme Vorzüge für das Entstehen von Artenvielfalt; Inseln besitzen allerdings auch durch ihre Abgeschiedenheit einen gravierenden und entscheidenden Nachteil: Beim Eindringen von fremden, dominanten Tierarten sind heimische Populationen extrem gefährdert. An den beiden Beispielen des Grauen Eichhörnchens und seinem Eindringen aus Amerika auf die britischen Inseln sowie im Falle Tasmaniens beim europäischen Rotfuchs wird dies in den beiden Filmen dieser Vorstellung deutlich. Die Art damit umzugehen unterscheidet sich jedoch drastisch von jener Anvanciertheit, wie in Afrika Tierschutz auf dem Stand des heutigen Wissens betrieben wird. Daher lohnt der filmische Vergleich mit dem dritten zum Programmschwerpunkt Tierschutz beim diesjährigen Globians Doc Fest gezeigten Dokfilm : "Milking The Rhino" (Film Nr. 451, Vorstellung am Sa., 15. August 2009, 19.30 h, [VN45]).



Director's Bio: ANDREW SULLY is an award-winning writer and director, working in both drama and documentary. He recently completed Feral Peril for ABC TV, an ecological detective story about the threat of introduced feral carnivores in Tasmania. He first got to know Tasmania in 2005, through work on the acclaimed four-part ABC TV series The Shearers. Andrew’s earlier documentary work includes the Film Australia and ABC TV series East Timor - Birth of a Nation, Once Were Monks (Film Australia/SBS TV) and the theatrically released Hell Bento!!, Uncovering the Japanese Underground (SBS TV). He was also a director on the documentary series Suspicious Minds, Forensic Stories from the Coroner’s Office (Channel Nine) and The Two of Us (SBS TV). Black Dogs, his short drama, won numerous local and international awards. He is currently directing Anatomy of a Massacre, Unearthing the Truth of Santa Cruz. He holds degrees from the University of Sydney and VCA Film and Television School.

ANDREW SULLY - FILMOGRAPHY
DOCUMENTARY
2009 ANATOMY OF A MASSACRE
2008 FERAL PERIL
2006 KEVIN AND ALLAN
2006 SUSPICIOUS MINDS (series)
2005 THE SHEARERS (series)
2003 EAST TIMOR BIRTH OF A NATION, LUOLO’S STORY
1999 ONCE WERE MONKS (series)
HELL BENTO, UNCOVERING THE JAPANESE UNDERGROUND

DRAMA SHORTS
1994 DANCING FOOT AND A PRAYING KNEE
1992 BLACK DOGS

GLOBIANS DOC FEST BERLIN
August 12 - 17, 2009
Kino Toni, Antonplatz