HOTSPOTS US television premiere on KQED
09/09/08 17:41 Filed in: Media
releases
KQED
San Francisco - In the late 1980s, scientists coined a word, " hotspots " that referred to those areas on the planet which were populated by the largest number of unique plant, animal and insect species at risk of going extinct, a definition that pivots upon the number of flowering plants (at least 1500 different species) and the amount of habitat already lost (at least 70%). Since the 1980’s, the number of areas characterized as "hotspots" has increased to 35, encompassing approximately 2.3 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface area. The book, Hotspots, and its updated version, Hotspots Revisited, were authored by Dr. Russell Mittermeier and several colleagues. Their work, and that of many hundreds of scientific collaborators throughout the world, has demonstrated that human beings have what it takes to resolve ecological conflict and restore balance to those unique habitats most at risk, thus saving literally hundreds of millions, if not billions of individual lives.
The film, “Hotspots” chronicles the work of Dr. Mittermeier and colleagues as Mittermeier journeys throughout the world to assess several of those representative hotspots; on Easter Island, in Madagascar, Brazil, Peru, the United States and New Zealand. What the audience discovers is that the issues confronting these iconic locations for the film are symptomatic of the promise and peril affecting wildlife and ecosystems everywhere. The film is a sobering, yet up-beat view from the frontlines of conservation biology: the incredible challenges, subtle policy decisions, delicate negotiating requirements between opposing stakeholders, and the very real creatures whose lives -often seen in this film for the first time in recorded history- hang in the balance.
Shot with multiple teams on numerous continents over the course of three years, “Hotspots” is a unique work that explores many of the most endangered creatures in the world, and celebrates our innate connections to nature. This rousing, elegant epic brings to the viewer good reasons to be hopeful, while being reminded of the precious array of life, the very creation that is at stake in this generation as never before.
“Hotspots” is also a, sensitive portrait of one of the last great explorers of this, or any century, the scientist, Dr. Russell Mittermeier. Family man, primatologist, herpetologist, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest living field biologists, as well as the President of one of the most successful international environmental organizations. When he is not negotiating deals to save millions of acres in countries like Brazil, Suriname, or Madagascar, Dr. Mittermeier is much of the year in the wild, discovering new species, and finding ever more effective methods to save habitat as well as helping the millions of indigenous tribal people whose direct livelihoods stem from those wild regions of the earth.
We also meet Dr. Mittermeier’s wife and partner, Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, a superb conservationist, biologist and wildlife photographer, as well as the three Mittermeier children, each of them budding ecologists. Three years in the making, “Hotspots” is an uplifting, emotional experience. The film provides reasonable, grounded solutions, hope, and inspiration at a time when the planet is in turmoil, and the politics, rancor and uncertainty embedding environmental debates never more acutely felt.
From the award-winning writer/director/ecologist Michael Tobias, President of Dancing Star Foundation, and creator of such films as the ten-hour epic docu-drama, VOICE OF THE PLANET for TBS, starring William Shatner and Faye Dunaway; the highly acclaimed Discovery Channel special, BLACK TIDE (about the Exxon Valdez disaster), the PBS special from KQED, "ANTARCTICA -THE LAST CONTINENT" which, at the time was the 4th highest rated documentary in PBS history; the PBS film WORLD WAR III, based upon Tobias' book by the same title; the ABC Movie-of-the-Week, THE SKY'S ON FIRE, starring John Corbett and based upon Tobias' novel regarding ozone depletion; and more recent feature documentaries with KQED, MAD COWBOY and NO VACANCY. Produced by Jane Gray Morrison, Executive Vice President of Dancing Star Foundation, whose work and field research have taken her to well over thirty countries. Associate Producer, Karine Dinev. Editor, Marc Griffith. Co-Executive Producer, Don Cannon.
San Francisco - In the late 1980s, scientists coined a word, " hotspots " that referred to those areas on the planet which were populated by the largest number of unique plant, animal and insect species at risk of going extinct, a definition that pivots upon the number of flowering plants (at least 1500 different species) and the amount of habitat already lost (at least 70%). Since the 1980’s, the number of areas characterized as "hotspots" has increased to 35, encompassing approximately 2.3 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface area. The book, Hotspots, and its updated version, Hotspots Revisited, were authored by Dr. Russell Mittermeier and several colleagues. Their work, and that of many hundreds of scientific collaborators throughout the world, has demonstrated that human beings have what it takes to resolve ecological conflict and restore balance to those unique habitats most at risk, thus saving literally hundreds of millions, if not billions of individual lives.
The film, “Hotspots” chronicles the work of Dr. Mittermeier and colleagues as Mittermeier journeys throughout the world to assess several of those representative hotspots; on Easter Island, in Madagascar, Brazil, Peru, the United States and New Zealand. What the audience discovers is that the issues confronting these iconic locations for the film are symptomatic of the promise and peril affecting wildlife and ecosystems everywhere. The film is a sobering, yet up-beat view from the frontlines of conservation biology: the incredible challenges, subtle policy decisions, delicate negotiating requirements between opposing stakeholders, and the very real creatures whose lives -often seen in this film for the first time in recorded history- hang in the balance.
Shot with multiple teams on numerous continents over the course of three years, “Hotspots” is a unique work that explores many of the most endangered creatures in the world, and celebrates our innate connections to nature. This rousing, elegant epic brings to the viewer good reasons to be hopeful, while being reminded of the precious array of life, the very creation that is at stake in this generation as never before.
“Hotspots” is also a, sensitive portrait of one of the last great explorers of this, or any century, the scientist, Dr. Russell Mittermeier. Family man, primatologist, herpetologist, he is widely considered to be one of the greatest living field biologists, as well as the President of one of the most successful international environmental organizations. When he is not negotiating deals to save millions of acres in countries like Brazil, Suriname, or Madagascar, Dr. Mittermeier is much of the year in the wild, discovering new species, and finding ever more effective methods to save habitat as well as helping the millions of indigenous tribal people whose direct livelihoods stem from those wild regions of the earth.
We also meet Dr. Mittermeier’s wife and partner, Cristina Goettsch Mittermeier, a superb conservationist, biologist and wildlife photographer, as well as the three Mittermeier children, each of them budding ecologists. Three years in the making, “Hotspots” is an uplifting, emotional experience. The film provides reasonable, grounded solutions, hope, and inspiration at a time when the planet is in turmoil, and the politics, rancor and uncertainty embedding environmental debates never more acutely felt.
From the award-winning writer/director/ecologist Michael Tobias, President of Dancing Star Foundation, and creator of such films as the ten-hour epic docu-drama, VOICE OF THE PLANET for TBS, starring William Shatner and Faye Dunaway; the highly acclaimed Discovery Channel special, BLACK TIDE (about the Exxon Valdez disaster), the PBS special from KQED, "ANTARCTICA -THE LAST CONTINENT" which, at the time was the 4th highest rated documentary in PBS history; the PBS film WORLD WAR III, based upon Tobias' book by the same title; the ABC Movie-of-the-Week, THE SKY'S ON FIRE, starring John Corbett and based upon Tobias' novel regarding ozone depletion; and more recent feature documentaries with KQED, MAD COWBOY and NO VACANCY. Produced by Jane Gray Morrison, Executive Vice President of Dancing Star Foundation, whose work and field research have taken her to well over thirty countries. Associate Producer, Karine Dinev. Editor, Marc Griffith. Co-Executive Producer, Don Cannon.
