Lak Wak Tu Neng (Tracking Love)

 

CAST

Roslan Carang
Azam Carang
Marisan Pandak
Dedi Roslan
Yeap Chin Aik

WORLDWIDE AND MALAYSIA PREMIERE

The documentary film will premiere on Monday March 21 at 8:30pm (8:30 a.m. EDT, 12:30 p.m. GMT) in conjunction with the United Nation’s International Day of Forests. It will repeat on 22/3 3:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

A Q&A Session

A Q&A session will follow the premiere screening with the Filmmaker, three members of the Malaysian Nature Society’s (MNS) Orang Asli Hornbill Guardians and Mr Yeap Chin Aik, co-founder of the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project who is also a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Hornbill Specialist Group and Helmeted Hornbill Working Group. The audience may type questions in Cloud Theatre’s live chat or on Zoom. The Q&A session will be recorded for subsequent screenings.

In aid of the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project 

Ticket sales from March 21 and 22 will benefit the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project, less the platform’s fees. 

There are two tiers - the Ara Tier and the Tualang Tier. 

The Tualang Tier will reward an Orang Asli who finds a new hornbill nest in the Belum-Temenggor Forest Complex that includes the Temenggor Forest Reserve. 

The Ara Tier is contribution to other expenses such as boat fuel, food and equipment for the MNS Orang Asli Hornbill Guardians in monitoring hornbill populations in this forest complex.

About the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project 

At 17-years-old, the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project is the longest running hornbill conservation project in Malaysia. Below is an excerpt of an interview session recorded between the Filmmaker and Mr Yeap Chin Aik (YCA) about the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project at the beginning of preliminary research.
 
Filmmaker: Please introduce yourself
 
YCA: My name is Yeap Chin Aik and I work for the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS). I've worked in MNS for almost two decades to date. I'm also one of the co-founders of the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project based in the Belum-Temenggor Forest Complex.
 
Filmmaker: What is the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project, and how did you first get involved?
 
YCA: In 2003, I joined a scientific expedition with Madam Glenda Noramly, senior member of MNS, and in that expedition we revisited Belum-Temenggor to see if the mass movement of Plain-pouched Hornbills still occurs in 2003. It was last recorded in 1993 and 1998 during the MNS-led scientific expeditions. And to my astonishment, and wonder, in two evenings during the expedition, we saw and counted close to about 2,000 Plain-pouched Hornbills fly over the skies of Pos Chiong (in Temenggor).
 
We really didn't know much about hornbills in our forests, you know, we see them, we hear them, but we know very little about where they nest, what kind of nest trees they use, what they eat, during the breeding season, and outside the breeding season. And at the same time, where Plain-pouched Hornbills are concerned, you know, no one was also monitoring them year after year to see if the numbers remained the same or fluctuated. So with all that in mind, we established the MNS Hornbill Conservation Project in Belum-Temenggor in 2004
 
Now to find hornbills in the forest is worse than looking for a needle in the haystack. And through our good fortune, we were able, eventually to work and establish a field base at Kampung Chuweh in Temenggor. So this is where we work with four Orang Asli, and we slowly train them to become what is known today as Hornbill Guardians, and for the Royal Belum side of Belum-Temenggor we now have two new members. Doing hornbill conservation is very challenging. We bring in the modern conservation techniques in conserving hornbills, but at the same time, we also marry the traditional ecological knowledge of what the Jahai and Temiars know about the forest here and the hornbills that live in this forest.
 
Filmmaker: Why is nest monitoring important?
 
YCA: Every single nest is important. Each hornbill species will have its own preferences. It is an important opportunity for us to uncover more of their lives to understand more of their needs. So that can be translated into conservation actions. By understanding their breeding ecology and behaviour, we also understand more of what kind of food plants and nest tree species they need. This information can then be used to influence how we manage our forests for example.
 
Filmmaker: But by now, after 17 years you would have discovered enough for a forest and hornbill conservation strategy?
 
YCA: Now we know a little bit more about the hornbills and how they live in Belum-Temenggor, that is the foundation we have after 17 years of work here. There's still so much that we have yet to uncover. The project will continue to work in Belum-Temenggor Forest Complex as a demonstration of the society's commitment to the conservation and protection of this amazing landscape even though finding grants to keep the project running leaves me with sleepless nights. Finding donor(s) that believe in the project’s vision and work is a constant challenge. 

In running a field conservation project, one of the largest expenses is the Hornbill Guardians’ pay. Then comes food, boat petrol and boat repairs. We also have a reward scheme, a token and food basket are given to any Orang Asli in this landscape who discovers a new hornbill nest tree. So far we have found over 200 nests in the last 17 years. There are so many other places within the vastness of Belum-Temenggor that we have not investigated.

Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC)

This is the filmmaker’s first documentary filmed in Jahai and Temiar, the native languages of the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia. 

The documentary is made with the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of the indigenous people of Kampung Chuweh, Temenggor Forest Reserve, Hulu Perak, Malaysia.

Rainforest Journalism Fund
 

This documentary film was produced with support from the Rainforest Journalism Fund in partnership with the Pulitzer Center.

HonYuen Leong, Roslan Carang, Azam Carang, Marisan Pandak, Dedi Roslan, Noordin Asu and Mustapa Ramlee are Southeast Asia Rainforest Journalism Fund Grantees.

Official Film Website

This film is part of the Public Programme of the Safeguarding the Central Forest Spine: Trees for the Future Project. There is also an Indigenous Rain Forest at Rimbun Dahan Guided Walk by Angela Hijjas, the virtual Arboretum of Genting Tea Estate Guided Walk by Henry S. Barlow and the Hep Ka-Wot Enggang Le-Wei (Forest, Hornbills & Honey) Photography Exhibition by the indigenous people of Belum-Temenggor Forest Complex. More information here: www.PokokHutan.my

TRAILER CREDITS

Filming by
Syaiful Adzwan Hashim bin Shuib
HonYuen Leong

Sound Recordist
Nor Azmi bin Jaafar

Translators (Jahai and Temiar to Bahasa Melayu)
Marisan Pandak
Azam Carang

Offline Editor & Translator (Bahasa Melayu to English)
HonYuen Leong

Online Editor & Gradist
Haseena Zol Azlan

Sound Engineer (Audio Post)
Syahreez Redza