Producer/director Richard Hearman calls on ad community to help raise $15,000 to finish doco about orphaned orangutans in the Borneo jungle

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Jojo.jpgAfter years in the Borneo jungle, TVC producer/director Richard Hearman and his film crew are calling on the advertising industry to help raise $15,000 to finish his feature documentary ‘Rise of the Eco-Warriors’ and help provide orangutans like Jojo (pictured) somewhere safe to live.

 

For the past several years, Hearman has begged and borrowed to make a film aimed at saving young orangutans orphaned as their rainforest habitat is swallowed by palm oil plantations. Go to the DAF website or email Hearman at hearman@optusnet.com.au for the DAF grant form.

Now he needs to urgently raise $15,000 to send a film crew back to Borneo to shoot the final scene of the film, later this week. The good news is that contributions made can be 100% tax deductible – see below re DAF grants.

 

Rise of the Eco-Warriors tells the story of 11 young people from eight countries who spent 100 days in Borneo helping local Dayak villagers rebuild a rainforest haven for homeless orangutans. Eventually, as these 2,000 hectares of degraded land are re-established, they will act as corridors between areas of unspoiled forest habitat.

 

In 2011, led by scientist Dr Willie Smits, these ‘eco-warriors’ rescued baby Jojo. This month, three of the original team and the film crew have been recalled to Borneo to oversee the next phase of Jojo’s rehabilitation. (An orangutan’s ‘babyhood’ lasts about six years – so Jojo, at two, is still a dependent infant.)

 

While the film proper is in post-production, current funding will not cover the cost of shooting this vital new scene. And that’s where you come in. Hearman is seeking the help of the TVC and advertising fraternity to help fund director Cathy Henkel (The Burning Season) and a small crew, to go back to Borneo and film this significant event. The team would also welcome suitable sponsors.

 

Not only will the ad industry’s generosity be acknowledged with a film credit, every donation will be fully tax-deductible if it’s made through the Documentary Australia Foundation. Go to the DAF website or email Richard on hearman@optusnet.com.au for the DAF grant form.

 

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