(Un)Trapped from KLEFF
Day 3: 8 July 2023 (Saturday)
Helping Hands Penan, 4th Floor
8 - 9:45 pm
Cloud Kingdom
Amidst larger issues like climate change, the Cloud Forest of Mount Brinchang, Cameron Highlands, Malaysia is facing attacks from within its environment by the very people living under its shelter. Excessive use of pesticides by farmers pollute its microclimate and water reserves, while expansion into the forest for commercial purposes damages its ecological structure.
Nady Afiqah
Nady Afiqah is a documentarian and cinematographer with a keen interest in nature, animals and its connection to humanity. She believes in bridging the gap through awareness via multimedia. Cloud Kingdom is her first foray into directing, winning three awards at the Asian Cinematography Awards and two awards at KLEFF 2019.
Stolen Apes
The only gorilla in Thailand was trafficked and has been enclosed in a concrete cage on top of a shopping mall for the last 33 years. Recently the singer Cher has come on board our team working to free Buanoi and shut down Pata Zoo.
Colin Systma
For the last nine years the focus of Colin Sytsma’s work has been documentary filmmaking that contributes to the universal good and conservation. His short film Stolen Apes won several awards at EkoFilm, the Ireland Wildlife Film Festival, and the Zagreb Tour Film Festival. Sytsma is currently an advisor for the Freeland Film Festival, a film festival trying to rid the world of wildlife trafficking and human slavery.
Hunting the Helmeted Hornbill
Helmeted Hornbills are poached for their casques, which are carved into luxury objects similar to elephant ivory. But these birds are treasures of avian biology – risking their lives to raise their young, and denizens of the wildest rainforests left in Southeast Asia. Conservationist Yoki Hadiprakarsa and photographer Tim Laman are on a mission to tell the story of this ancient bird before it is too late.
Tim Laman
Tim Laman is a field biologist, wildlife photojournalist, and filmmaker. His credits include twenty-three feature stories in National Geographic magazine, cinematography credits on BBC’s Planet Earth II and multiple programs for NatGeo Wild, as well as director and producer credits on award-winning short films. Other awards include Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016, World Press Photo, and Nature’s Best.
Tom Swartwout is an editor, producer, and director of feature films, documentaries, and television shows. He has edited documentaries and series documentaries for PBS, HBO, Discovery, The New York Times, and the History Channel, including A CITY ON FIRE: THE STORY OF THE ’68 DETROIT TIGERS, MOST EVIL, ARCTIC RUSH, and EVOLVE. He currently works at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology as part of the team that produces conservation media.
Tom Swartwout
