| | German
filmmaker shoots in Bohol
 | | What?
A film with no dialogue? And for international release at that - for free?
Gogol
Lobmayr, a renowned filmmaker, director, cameraman and producer who has piled
up 30 years of experience in the art has done it before, and he is doing it again
for nature shots in the Philippines - Bohol included. |
His
Fascinating Nature trilogy: The Most Spectacular Landscapes in the World; Colours
of Earth; and Seven Seasons that became bestsellers and are now available in DVDs
have the Lobmayr master stroke - no dialogues, not even narratives - but only
the accompaniment of special original composed music of Michael Hofman de Boer,
he told Bohol Gov. Erico Aumentado and the Provincial Tourism Council (PTC) chaired
by Peter Dejaresco during a meeting at the Bohol Bee Farm in Dao, Dauis town.
To
say that the native Bavarian adores the beauty of nature is an understatement.
He loves nature and have made it the subject of his films that have no narratives.
|
| | "These
[narratives] are just 'intrusive'. In the end, the viewer will recall only a little
of the film. On the other hand, narrative-less films will engulf, awe, mesmerize,
enthrall and captivate the viewers," he explained.
In
his trilogy, Lobmayr captured such scenes as an iguana-shaped iceberg, an arid
red wasteland dwarfing a man - the cliffs already rounded with the action of wind
and sand through the years, an icecap, a lion in all its majesty, lion cubs, a
herd of elephants, and even the intricacy of an orchid's presentation - an irregularly
shaped flower. | Lobmayr
said his supersensitive camera can go as fast as 24 frames per second. This means
a whole sunset can be squeezed into just 10 minutes.
He
brought a lean but mean team - only two men. A local guide, a security escort
and a driver rounded up the team. Lobmayr himself positions the tripod and takes
shots - just requesting a table to put his camera mounted on a tripod for a better
take now and then.
Cristopher
Boncales, the guide and Aumentado's designated protocol officer said Lobmayr intimated
to him that the camera costs the equivalent of P15 million. For this Philippine
trip, he had the equipment insured for 2,500 euros.
Lobmayr's
Bohol trek brought his team also to the tarsier sanctuary in Corella town, a cruise
up the Loboc river, the man-made forest at the boundary of Loboc and Bilar towns,
the powdery white sand beaches of the Bohol Beach Club, the coves and cliffs of
the Panglao Island Nature Resort, old stone churches like those of Baclayon and
Albur towns, and interesting spots like hanging bridges.
The
provincial government tendered some of the team's meals so that the trek was a
gastronomic adventure at the same time: fresh seafoods at the Prawn Farm at the
Island City Mall in Tagbilaran City, salad greens and flowers at the Bee Farm,
Boholano cuisine at the Loboc River Cruise, the Chocolate Hills, and Corella,
and a "taste of home" at the Alona Palm Beach and the Peacock Garden
Luxury Resort and Spa in Baclayon.
It
did not come as a surprise when Lobmayr requested Aumentado to pose at a poolside
table at the Peacock Garden and converse as if entertaining guests with the house's
most colorful drinks as props and with the white crests of the waves and Pamilacan
Island behind as backdrop.
Asked
if they were interested to film the dolphins and whales that pass by Pamilacan
this time of the year, the Lobmayr team declined. Having gone to practically all
corners of the globe, the filmmaker said, "Dolphins are everywhere, but the
Chocolate Hills and the tarsiers are uniquely Bohol's."
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