understorey
Capturing the passion of Sarawak's driven conservation community, understorey explores the adversity and hope in this field. The short documentary encapsulates the constant uphill battle to preserve the magnificent rainforests of Malaysia and its array of creatures, big and small, which inhabit them.
Renowned for its rainforests, Sarawak's lush environment is home to a unique community of wildlife nestled in the jungle's treetops. Hidden behind the biodiverse beauty of the nature sanctuaries, there's a passionate team of individuals, organisations, and the state government, dedicated to nurturing, safeguarding, and conserving the canopies.
Five unique perspectives on the conservation fight emerge from different areas of conservation. From the crux of Sarawak’s conservation comes our keystone character, Bob, the senior guide of Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC). Bob embodies the local community members of the rainforest - whose connection is ingrained in their way of life. In conjunction with other guide’s stories of adversity and expert voices from WWF and WCS - Bob’s solution’s illuminated; the way to rekindle our lost connection by fostering love of nature from youth and planting seeds of sustainable practices from an early age.
Whilst conservation is a broad concept, the consistent message is simple. Society must band together to preserve the land we live on and the creatures we share it with, the call for action extends beyond the organisations working to introduce sustainable change.
Understory centralises on the stories of those working at the heart of conservation efforts, whom all share a deep bond with the natural environment, have shouldered the emotional burden, and, yet continue to prevail, knowing there is hope.
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Claire RiverlandDirector
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Lily NewcombeDirector
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Claire RiverlandProducer
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Lily NewcombeProducer
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Bob ZakariaKey Cast
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Mr IsmadiKey Cast
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Cynthia ChinKey Cast
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Joshua PandongKey Cast
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Lucien Eng HiangKey Cast
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Isabella SandersonDirector of Photography
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Spencer CameronCreative Producer
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Spencer CameronEditors
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Isabella SandersonEditors
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Isabella SandersonCamera Operators
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Spencer CameronCamera Operators
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Claire RiverlandColourist
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Spencer CameronSound
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Project Type:Documentary, Short, Student
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Genres:Conservation, Nature, Animal, Documentary, Malaysian, Australian
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Runtime:7 minutes 6 seconds
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Completion Date:January 20, 2024
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Production Budget:300 USD
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Country of Origin:Australia
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Country of Filming:Malaysia
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:Yes
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Student Project:Yes - Swinburne University of Technology
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Melbourne Documentary Film FestivalMelbourne
Australia
July 28, 2024
Australian Premiere
Official Selection -
Earth Stories Film FestivalStaffordshire
United Kingdom
European Premiere
Best Documentary
First-time documentary director-producers, Claire Riverland and Lily Newcombe, were thrown into an intense learning experience of having a month to plan, shoot and edit the project. 2 weeks were spent in Melbourne at Swinburne University, planning interviews with conservationists, finding subjects, arranging permits to film in national parks, and hunting down a story. Then, the team of 4 filmmakers (Claire Riverland, Lily Newcombe, Isabella Sanderson, Spencer Cameron) flew out to Malaysia to film at 4 national parks and interview 8 subjects in 10 days followed by a hectic 5 days of editing. However, the exhaustion from the project was greatly outweighed by how rewarding it was.
All filmmakers were Australian students studying a Bachelor of Film and Television at Swinburne University. Claire, Lily, and Isabella were in their second year of study whilst Spencer was in his final year. The group plans to return to Malaysia in 2024 to develop a feature incorporating subjects who did not feature in “understorey”.
Claire Riverland has always had a passion for all things film-related and a deep love of storytelling. She pursues a mix of acting, directing, writing and producing, with interests particularly in documentaries regarding nature and travel, and in fiction film and TV regarding the horror, romance and drama genres. Claire has acted in numerous student films for Swinburne, VCA, RMIT and independent plays as well as directing her original 16mm horror short, “Hard to Swallow” in the latter half of 2023. In 2024, Claire will continue to pursue both acting and filmmaking, and will travel to Bangladesh to make a film on local folklore.
With an unmoving passion for storytelling, Lily Newcombe is heavily interested in the realm of directing and writing both fiction and non-fiction filmmaking. Her milestones as of recent include filming her first documentary, ‘understorey’, beneath the canopies of the Malaysian rainforest and achieving her first festival selection (MINA) for her poetic experimental film, ‘if i knew this was the last time i’d see you’. In addition to film, she adores everything theatre, co-producing/directing, writing plot and acting in Swinburne university’s first musical production, ‘Meddling with Time’. In the future, she hopes to combine all her interests, pushing further into the entertainment industry.
Our short but heart-filled documentary, “understorey”, was conceived from a university-led study tour from our home city, Melbourne, to the vibrant and lush city of Kuching. The assignment we were given by our tour leaders was to make a short documentary showcasing an aspect of Malaysian culture, particularly something unique to Sarawak, the region where Kuching is located.
Each member of our group immediately gravitated towards the topic of conservation as we all shared an appreciation of nature, a fascination with wildlife and are proud animal lovers. Being able to immerse ourselves in Sarawak’s beautiful rainforests and see their precious creatures under the guidance of locals was a dream come true. Our film shares the lessons we learnt, friendships we made, and wonders we saw with international audiences and Australians back home.
Through “understorey”, we hope to promote public awareness about the beautiful wildlife in the treetops of Sarawak and how individuals, government bodies, such as Sarawak Forestry, and conservation organizations (WCS and WWF Malaysia) are working to protect them. Our story seeks to inspire passion for wildlife conservation in global audiences and demonstrate the importance of protecting nature sanctuaries by showcasing the magnificent creatures that inhabit them and their relationship to Malaysian culture.
More importantly, this film explores how the future of conservation relies on the education of youth about the importance of protecting wildlife, preserving nature and developing an appreciation for the environment at a young age is crucial to ensuring conservation efforts proceed. The first step in conservation is making people care about our planet’s health and we hope “understorey” inspires its audiences by showing them what we still have left to protect.