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Secret Lives of Orangutans

Project Summary

Watch on Netflix
Secret Lives of Orangutans Poster
Genre
Documentary
Featured Content
Behavior, Forest, Orangutans, Remote Wilderness, Wildlife
Islands
Sumatra
Regions
Aceh
Narrator

David Attenborough

Talent

Producers

Huw Cordey

Keith Scholey

Director

Huw Cordey

Camera Operators

Tom Rowland

Zaid Abdulah

Matthew Aeberhard

Other Crew

Yano (Ariyano Bonny Alberto)

Djuna Bewley

Eleanor Roosevelt

Rebecca Coombs

Created By

Huw Cordey

Secret Lives of Orangutans Poster

FORMAT

Movie

RELEASED

2024

Overview

From Silverback Films and narrated by Sir David Attenborough, Secret Lives of Orangutans is the world’s first feature length film about wild orangutans, revealing an intimate and never-before-seen perspective of one of our closest relatives.

Following the success of Our Planet, produced by Silverback Films, and Netflix’s most-watched natural history documentary series of all time, Secret Lives of Orangutans picks up the story of two of the Sumatran orangutans from Our Planet Jungles six years later. In 2019, audiences were captivated by eighteen-year-old Ellie and her three-year-old daughter Eden and now we rejoin them as Eden embarks on the most challenging period of her life.

Secret Lives shares an intimate look of Ellie with her new one-day-old baby boy, Emen. As Ellie focuses on her newborn, nine-year-old Eden must begin to navigate the jungle on her own using the skills she’s learned from her mother. We also introduce several other orangutans, including Eden’s cousin Pepito, who is also starting his journey to independence; Friska, Eden’s grandmother and the world’s oldest known wild orangutan; Suli the Unflanged, a determined yet subordinate male; Split Lip Otto, a once-dominant flanged male; Titan, the newly crowned flanged male; and Rakus, an orangutan who recently gained global attention as scientists observed him treating a battle wound with a medicinal plant (the first time a creature in the wild has been recorded doing this behaviour).

Behind the scenes with director Huw Cordey

View clips on Netflix

Jungle Run Production Services

Jungle Run provided access, permitting and intensive coordination throughout the 5-phase, 2-year filming window of Secret Lives of Orangutans.

Access was particularly challenging as the shoot took place throughout the Covid pandemic as well as at the height of political sensitivities concerning filming in Indonesia's protected areas. Thankfully, the tireless work of Bince Mulyono and Yano Alberto secured filming and conservation area special use permits (SIMAKSI), thus cementing Jungle Run's position with Indonesia's Film Department as their go-to referal for wrangling permissions on similar shoots.

Filming at the Suaq Balimbing Research Center offered first-ever insights into a truly wild orangutan population. This contrasts with orangutan sites near rehabiliation centers where populations are mixed with rescued and released orangutans from outside their regions. Another plus was the experience and support of local monitoring crew that have helped carry out research over the last 20 years. Monitors not only have good leads on finding orangutans (though this can remain a challenge!), they know the back stories of each individual.

Most critcally, Suaq is renowned for observations of orangutan culture, as evidenced by learned behavious passed down through generations. Examples include the use of medicinal plants and specialized tools to conquer spiny fruits -- technologies unknown to orangutans outside Suaq. Complex behaviours and the time needed to learn them were of special interest to veteran producer Huw Cordey when undertaking this unique feature production.

Of course, Suaq presented challenges, too. Access entails a 10-hour bone-jarring drive followed by an overnight stay and a dawn patrol by river boat. Outside communications are a challenge, despite all the fancy antennas we brought. And... the swamps! Working with locals to hew lumber and repair decaying boardwalks was a mission, but greatly aided research as well as the film crew. Hats off to Silverback Films for working those improvements into their budget!

Reconnaissance and filming ops were yet further improved with Jungle Run-sourced drone pilot Zaid Abdulah, who's stunning work found its way into Huw's script for David Attenborough. New lightweight drones offered novel views of orangutan behavior in the far reaches of the forest canopy.

All in, the payoffs of Secret Lives fit the monumental efforts. Never before has a film taken the time (both behind the scenes and on screen) to explore the complex life histories of orangutans. Huw and team were fortunate to capture the drama of cheekpadder succession in gripping battles for dominance. And viewers can't come away without sensing we humans reshape the world faster than orangutans get a grip on it. Of young Emen, who grew from newborn to toddler on-screen, we're left to wonder: What world will he inherit in the 8 more years it takes him to master his forest?

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