This is a story of exploration and discovery; where going somewhere with one goal is interrupted by curiosity and the spirit of adventure. Plans and ambitions are uprooted as a bigger picture comes into view.
On Papua New Guinea’s remote island province of New Britain, British climbers Waldo Etherington, Leo Houlding and Tom Winterton travel into the mysterious depths of the Lamo Auru Caldera – an extinct volcano containing a dense, untouched rainforest and a wealth of spectacular biodiversity.
Entering the rainforest with guides from the indigenous Nakanai communities, Waldo and the team are on a mission to find and climb enormous “giant strangler” fig trees that are endemic to this region. Their mission is a simple one: Ground up, first accents of these inspiring living structures, in a completely unexplored area of the world.
While spending time in the caldera the team form close bonds with the local guides and feel compelled to explore the surrounding region and learn about the threats New Britain’s forests, and the communities dependent on them, are facing.
The ‘Lamo Auru’ Caldera is truly extraordinary. Biologically it’s a landscape of incredible natural beauty and unparalleled biodiversity. Culturally it’s a place of profound cultural significance to the local indigenous communities, who claim it as their ancestral home and a place to be with the spirits of the forest – the heartbeat of their community.
But the Caldera is also in the crosshairs of agribusiness development, resource extraction and global trade, forces that move in from all sides. This film hears from the voices that wish to stand up against and speak truth to those powerful global forces.
As young boy Ross wanted to be one of those wildlife camera operators from the television, the ones out on adventures, shooting amazing animals with the big cameras. Now in his 30’s Ross is a wildlife cameraman and documentary film maker based in Cornwall, UK.
Ross’s love of the natural world has had an inevitable cross over with film making. Not only fulfilling a personal love for observing wildlife through a camera, but providing the platform to capture and tell stories that are important. Ross believes story telling through film is one of our most powerful tools for change in conservation and welfare.
Nick spent his early career as a director in London until migrating to Vancouver in 2020. Here he’s found his found new passion in long form editing, both in scripted pieces and documentary.
Nick has a great knowledge of all aspects of filmmaking. This gives him a keen nose to sniff out a narrative or impactful sequence, either on shoot or when building an edit.
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