SINGAPORE — Portraying the life that is lost while protecting nature, Earth Defender is a haunting new music film that brings awareness to the plight of Indigenous People’s struggle to protect Earth’s vanishing wilderness – every 48 hours, an Earth Defender goes missing or is murdered while protecting our life support system.
Centered on the story of a father and son who defend their rainforest home in the Sungai Utik community of West Kalimantan, Indonesia, Earth Defender is directed by Studio Birthplace and 19-year-old Indigenous filmmaker Kynan Tegar. Carried by Novo Amor’s hauntingly beautiful score, Heckler Singapore joined forces as VFX partner on the striking film.
Led by Heckler Singapore Creative Director Cody Amos, the Heckler Singapore VFX team got to work on the technically challenging job of recreating the forest’s destruction, including a mesmerising battle scene, a starry night sky, and a detailed sequence where trees fold into themselves as the earth opens up to invite the father into the afterlife.
Enlisting drone plates shot on location, 3D/2D extensions, and a combination of props and CG elements, VFX played an important role in the film’s convincing and powerful portrayal of forest destruction. In one aerial shot, viewers are introduced to the enormous scale of deforestation; in another, CG birds fall directly from the sky. The hero Earth Defender’s transitions into the afterlife was another detailed component of the post-production.
Cody shared, “This was the sort of project I wish I could work on every single day. Firstly, the technical VFX challenges were huge! Building a forest in CG is one thing, but getting the whole forest to fall over is completely another. We built a cool system to destroy huge trees and then duplicated them, so we had thousands of trees falling and breaking.
“We also did some sad dead bird simulations and splashes, some epic matte painting work, along with creating a really abstract depiction of our hero moving on to the next life. To be doing such interesting work is already exciting, but to be doing it for a project that is addressing probably the most important issue of our time, the destruction of our natural world, felt like such an honor. Of course, working with the legends at Studio Birthplace is always delightful.”
On the philosophy behind the film, Studio Birthplace Co-directors Jorik Dozy and Sil van der Woerd explained that Indigenous and Earth Defender voices must be amplified because they lead some of the most important work on the front line of climate and human rights crises.
Jorik said, “We went through a really intense process with the community, holding multiple community meetings where the whole project was openly discussed.
“As filmmakers, we’re used to having a certain degree of control, but working outdoors with a large community taught us to let go and flow with the moment. When it rained or the river flooded, we adapted. Everything given by the actors – who are all people from the Sungai Utik community – we considered a gift. It brought a beautiful unpredictability.”
Sil added, “A full month we spent mostly disconnected from the internet, taking our morning showers in the river and spending our evenings on the comfortable wooden floors of the longhouse, amidst the community. We learned so much, not just as filmmakers, but spiritually too, as we started to see how incredibly far our individualistic Western culture has drifted away from living in harmony with the natural world. In a way, we became students, learning what it means to be Indigenous.”
Kynan Tegar commented, “This film is about the very real problems that exist within our world, the criminalization and the murder of Earth Defenders. Indigenous Peoples that fought for their land, their forests, their rivers, and gave the biggest sacrifice, which is their life. There are communities whose whole livelihood was taken from them.
“The very part of their identity, which is the nature surrounding them, taken from them, ripped away. That’s a story that rang very close to home for me. That’s the story that we want to convey.”
Indigenous Peoples’ lands include more than one-third of the world’s intact forest landscapes. Adopt the Indigenous Peoples Act in Indonesia. We must protect the rights of our protectors. Sign the pledge here.
CREDITS:
Production Company: Studio Birthplace
Film Directors/Writers: Jorik Dozy, Sil van der Woerd & Kynan Tegar
Executive Producer: Alea Rahim
Producer: Sara Kong
Line Producer: Agustina Merdekawaty (Tina)
Researcher & Production Assistant: Theresa Cellona
Researcher & Social Media Manager – Marsya Mohd Johari
Strategic Partnerships: Liv Merry
Director of Photography: Nicholas Chin
1st AC: Kiefer Daniel Yu
2nd AC: Tim Chan
Camera Assist: Sandra Cai En
Art Director: Pawadi Jihad
Assistant Art Director: Ricky
Production & Art Dept Assistant: Pinki
Production & Art Dept Assistant: Topik
Music Artist: Novo Amor
Commissioner: Believe
Casting & Community Organiser: Indai Flora
Community Coordinator: Apai Salem
Community Support: Herkulanus Sutomo Manna
BTS & Stills Photographer: Jakub Chlouba
Editors: Jorik Dozy & Sil van der Woerd
Visual Effects Company: Heckler Singapore
Visual Effects Creative Director: Cody Amos
Executive Producer: Charu Menon
Head of Production: Xinhui Zheng
FX Artists: Cody Amos, Yong Soon Ong & Sen Ree Ooi
Lead Compositor: Davor Zec
Compositors: Azreena Ahmad & Johnson Lim
CG Artist: Mohammed Nizam Abdul Khaliff
IO: Craig Woo
Grading Company: Harbor Picture Company
Head of Colour Production, UK: Charlie Morris
Executive Creative Director, UK: Charlie Morris
Colourist: Alex Gregory
Sound Designer: Joe Wills
