#crowdfunding - Silent Forests
SILENT FORESTS is a character-driven and cinematic look at the fight to stop forest elephant poaching and other wildlife trafficking in Africa’s Congo Basin. The film features a grassroots wildlife law enforcement group, Cameroon’s first female eco-guard, a Congolese biologist studying elephant communication, a former elephant poacher, and a team of anti-poaching sniffer dogs led by a Czech conservationist.
Interview with Director/Producer Mariah Wilson
Watch Silent Forests on Prime Video, Kanopy and Journeyman Pictures’ website
Congratulations! Why are you crowdfunding your film?
So the next phase of our documentary involves going to the Republic of Congo-Brazzaville in January. We’ll be filming with a Congolese biologist who studies forest elephant "language" and communication, and an intrepid sniffer dog team that tracks criminals down who are illegally trafficking endangered species products. While we've received great support from places like the Rogovy Foundation and Telluride Mountainfilm, we are still short of our funding goal for this upcoming shoot, so we’ve launched a Kickstarter to help get us there!
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You have probably already heard that we are in the midst of an elephant poaching epidemic across the African continent. These iconic and intelligent mammals are being slaughtered for their ivory tusks at an alarming rate -- experts say that if this trend continues, we may be living in a world without wild elephants by 2025!
While there has been a lot of media focus on savannah elephants in eastern and southern Africa, very little light has been shed on the forest elephant crisis in central Africa. After a 2011 forest survey revealed that more than half the forest elephant population has been lost to poaching in just the last decade, there has been a concerted attempt to try and save those that remain. SILENT FORESTS is documenting the battle that is playing out on multiple fronts for the future of the elusive forest elephant. The eventual goal of this project is to educate the public about this oftentimes overlooked elephant subspecies, and engage audiences to support groups dedicated to ending the Congo Basin poaching epidemic before it’s too late.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Our focus is an intimate portrait of conservationists at the frontlines of the war against poaching. So we explore the larger universal theme of how human demand for endangered species products are driving animals like the forest elephant towards extinction; but we really dig deeper into the personal side of our characters daily lives as they struggle to fight corruption, organized criminal syndicates, and well-armed poaching groups. One common theme we’ve noticed from everyone we’ve spoken to is that they have a shared desire to preserve these creatures for future generations to see in person, and not just in photographs.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development and production?
Originally we were planning to film in Cameroon and Gabon, but we had so much trouble getting the permits and visas necessary for filming in Gabon, due to a potent mixture of bureaucracy and corruption. So I dug deeper and found some incredible ‘characters’ in Congo-Brazzaville, and they actually have more of a connection to some of what we are filming in Cameroon. So that seemed like the way to go. When making a documentary you have to remain flexible at all times, because the unexpected can and will most likely happen. But it’s important to remember that sometimes those changes – while stressful in the moment – can make your film better in the long run.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Most of the feedback we’ve received in meetings with decision makers at various conferences and film markets have been very positive. People have responded well to our trailer, especially to Sidonie, the female eco-guard. She’s really captivating and dynamic on-camera.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
One thing we’ve become quite aware of is that there are a lot of other projects out there about poaching, either already released or coming down the pipeline. It’s great that there’s so much awareness being raised about this issue, but it’s also made us really dial in on what is unique about SILENT FORESTS. I think in addition to covering a species that is less known (the forest elephant), and a region that receives less media coverage (Central Africa), another unique thing about this film is that four of the five main “characters” are from either Cameroon or Congo. So this isn't just a story about figures from the international conservationist community going to save Africa's wildlife. This is about African activists, scientists, and eco-guards and who care deeply about what is happening in their own backyards. The very nature of their work can oftentimes put them at odds with their fellow countrymen, and the risks they assume to protect the animals of the Congo Basin are significant.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I am hoping to get the word out as far as possible about this project and Kickstarter campaign, as well as bring attention to groups like EAGLE (http://eagle-enforcement.org/), World Wildlife Foundation, and Wildlife Conservation Society who all do great conservation work in this part of Africa.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We’ve had some great meetings with distributors, sales agents, festival directors, and other potential outlets for the film. Right now we’re still trying to fundraise enough to be able to get the film to rough cut so we can re-approach people we’ve spoken with.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
My “dream” target audience would be Chinese middle and upper classes, since that is where a lot of the ivory demand is coming from. If consumers of endangered species products could learn more about the harm their purchasing choices inflict, they may be encouraged to stop buying those items. And if there is enough of a populist groundswell against people who are buying ivory status symbols, there might finally be enough pressure for the government to establish and enforce stricter ivory anti-trade laws. In order to reach this audience, I would partner with a distributor with strong international ties about possible sales of a subtitled version of SILENT FORESTS in China. I would also work with conservation NGOs and other media groups that are active within China to organize public screenings.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I think there are two key questions that have come up – how much does corruption play a role at upper echelons of the governments of the countries involved in this illegal trade? Because from what we’ve been hearing, entrenched corruption is playing a huge role at allowing this poaching to continue. When the same people who are supposed to protect these animals are in on the take, you have a real problem.
And then the other big question is: are we human beings going to be able to turn the tide of this poaching epidemic in time to save any wild elephants? Or will they all be gone?
Would you like to add anything else?
SILENT FORESTS will be my third film that has to do with wildlife crime and illegal trade; it is a subject I am both passionate about and familiar with. My hope is that this documentary will shed light on the severity of the situation in this under-reported region of Africa.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Right now I am working on Silent Forests full time, so I can get the film out as soon as possible since the issue is pressing and urgent. I am also going around to festivals and distributing my last film, KAZIRANGA, a short documentary about rhino poaching in Northeast India. (www.kazirangafilm.com)
Interview: November 2016
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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SILENT FORESTS
SILENT FORESTS is a character-driven and cinematic look at the fight to stop forest elephant poaching and other wildlife trafficking in Africa’s Congo Basin. The film features a grassroots wildlife law enforcement group, Cameroon’s first female eco-guard, a Congolese biologist studying elephant communication, a former elephant poacher, and a team of anti-poaching sniffer dogs led by a Czech conservationist.
Length: Anticipated: 90 minutes
Director: Mariah Wilson
Producer: Mariah Wilson
Director of Photography: Zebediah Smith
About the writer, director and producer:
For over ten years Mariah Wilson has produced content for PBS (Nature, History Detectives), National Geographic (Doomsday Preppers, Lockdown), A&E (Intervention), Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery (Hate in America), History Channel, Discovery, Weather Channel, MSNBC, VICE Media, Vocativ, and The Smithsonian Institution. In 2009 she completed her first documentary REVEALING HATE about the white supremacist movement in America. The film played at film festivals across the country and received a “Courageous Filmmaking” award at the 2010 Durango Film Festival. It was distributed by Cactus Three Films and Dark Hollow Films, and has aired on PBS, LINK TV, and Russia Today. I
n 2011 she completed VOLUNTEER (Honolulu Film Award recipient) a film about eco-volunteering experiences in Uganda and Fiji that touch on worldwide poaching issues. It was distributed by Optimum TV and Dark Hollow Films and has aired on First HDTV. She recently co-produced Andrew Berends’ film MADINA’S DREAM about conflict in Sudan’s Nuba Mountains, which premiered at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival. Her most recent film is KAZIRANGA (Humane Society ACE Award/Grant) about the rhino poaching crisis in India. She is currently in production on SILENT FORESTS (Telluride Mountainfilm Commitment Grant, Rogovy Fund recipient, Eastman Fund recipient, IFP Spotlight on Docs), about forest elephant poaching in central Africa.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):
Kickstarter campaign coverage, film festival directors, sales agents
Funders: Rogovy Foundation, NYSCA, Telluride Mountainfilm, Eastman Fund
Made in association with: Independent Feature Project (fiscal sponsor and part of IFP Film Week 2016)
Release date: Anticipated: Early 2018