Chris Scarffe is an environmental filmmaker who has been lucky enough to work in some of Earth’s most unique and diverse locations, both on land and underwater. In 2019, Synchronicity Earth worked with Chris to produce a film to celebrate our tenth anniversary and showcase the brilliant work being done by some of the partners we support through our conservation Programmes. Chris visited four of our partners, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Vietnam and the Philippines.
We spoke to Chris about what he found most challenging and most rewarding when making this film. And we asked him about conservation, particularly in his adopted home country of Madagascar, a hotspot for biodiversity, but also one of the poorest countries on Earth where species and ecosystems face extraordinary threats.
What were some of the challenges when shooting this film?
Photo by Leah Glass
Wilderness areas are disappearing globally, which typically means that you now have to travel further and further to reach these remote areas.
One of my trips for Synchronicity Earth included filming and photographing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This involved a lot of travel across this vast country: two days in a small wooden boat up the Congo River; hiking through thick forest with heavy camera gear to film bonobos; and flying in a cramped 8-seater plane where my fellow passengers included 6 juvenile crocodiles unfortunately destined for the pot in Kinshasa. For the last leg of the journey, we careered along sodden mud tracks on the back of antiquated and heavily laden motorbikes. Our destination was a remote Pygmy community, but the torrential rain storm made what was already a difficult journey especially tricky. Despite several falls from our bikes in the rain, I will never forget the genuine heartfelt gratitude and warm welcome we received on arrival as the entire village serenaded us with songs and welcomed us to their remote home.
Drone videography is one way I eased some of the challenges associated with travelling through dense forest. It really is a game-changer, as it removes the need to travel on foot to film large areas and aerial imagery offers such a different perspective. It provides breathtaking views of the natural beauty of an area, but also of the threats facing it and the difficulties in implementing the solutions to protect it.