Their new documentary, Okavango: River of Dreams, is one of the 19 films from 17 countries, including Australia, showing at the annual Tasmanian Breath of Fresh Air Festival, which marks its 10th anniversary this year.
For obvious reasons the festival could not go ahead in the normal fashion, but in a generous show of support for the filmmakers, and for our cultural community, the organisers have decided to make all the films available for free via the festival website (breath-of-fresh-air.com.au) until May 17.
I have chosen Okavango: River of Dreams for this review because I love animals and documentaries about them. The festival list is diverse and exciting, so there should be something there for every viewer. I have also seen Adam, a MeToo drama from Morocco, brought to Australia by Sharmill Films, and I recommend it.
Okavango opens with a shimmering shot of a line of elephants. Then we see zebras and lions. It’s so hot that it almost looks like we are seeing the animals through distorted glass.
Dereck Joubert, who wrote the script, does the narration. He explains, briefly, where we are: on the edge of the Okavango River in southwest Africa. The river starts in Angola, flows through Namibia and ends in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.
Joubert’s narration has a touch of anthropomorphism about it, which makes it more fun. When he tells us that bush babies urinate on their hands (the stickiness helps them catch prey) he adds that this is “frowned upon in our culture”. That is true and funny.
I know Attenborough has said in recent times that it’s misguided to attribute human qualities to animals. He’s right, ethically speaking, but that doesn’t mean we all don’t still do it.
Joubert informs us that there are two kinds of rivers, male and female. The Okavango is female: curvaceous, nurturing, powerful and unpredictable. I’m not going to argue with that.
This 94-minute movie is billed as a director’s cut. It started life as a three-part television series on National Geographic Wild last year. The Jouberts are the co-directors and they have created an absorbing documentary with a cast of thousands and a main narrative drive.
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The animals aim to follow the river, but be one step ahead, as it dries up during the drought season. If there is a main character it is a lioness that breaks an ankle in a hunt and is left behind by her pride. She has two cubs and is determined to survive.
We meet enough animals to fill 100 zoos, which is where they should not be. The Jouberts do not appear on screen, nor does any other human. This is the animal kingdom as it should be, which means there is love and affection and red teeth and claws.
I’d say it’s hard to pick a favourite, except I watched it with my 14-year-old son. Hyenas are his favourite wild animals and they do not disappoint. I’d probably go for the bull hippos, mainly because they remind me of myself: uncomfortable with anyone encroaching on their space, and that’s pre-coronavirus.
When we see hyena cubs, Joubert reassures us that they will “soon grow out of cuteness”. Each to their own, I suppose. Even Attenborough has confessed he’s unfond of rats.
The hyena cubs go to an important part of what we see on screen: animals caring for their babies. The tiny warthogs — or wartlets as I want to call them — are charming. Their charm, however, is no defence when a leopard is looking for food for her cubs.
The camerawork, by Dereck Joubert and Taylor Turner, shows the animals — on land, in the water and in the air — in all their muscular, unthinking beauty, sometimes in slow motion.
Indeed, sometimes the screen goes still, which I first thought was a glitch but soon realised was deliberate. These stills, showing animals temporarily frozen in motion, go to the great strength of Beverly Joubert, who is an award-winning photographer.
The scenes that had me shaking my head in wonder include rain teeming on belligerent bull hippos (who don’t care, of course); lions and their cubs cautiously crossing the river; close-ups of elephants’ feet as they walk; grumpy elephants chasing off, for no particular reason, a group of lions; and monkeys tiptoeing through frigid water. The last reminded me of George Orwell’s great account of a condemned man stepping around a puddle on the way to the gallows.
There is one magnificent beast that does not appear on camera: the rhinoceros. The Jouberts, along with National Geographic and other conservation groups, are working on a program called Rhinos Without Borders.
The aim is to move rhinos out of South Africa, where poaching is a problem, and into reserves in Botswana. Airlifting one rhino costs about $70,000, but to date more than 80 have made the trip, and some have since produced calves. I hope the Jouberts make a film about this.
Okavango: River of Dreams
Tasmanian Breath of Fresh Air Festival
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