Australia: The Wild Top End is an educational documentary directed by Nick Robinson and narrated by the late Aboriginal Elder, Balang T E Lewis about Australia’s northern lands. The film is entertaining and will take you to a fun journey and will introduce you personally with some interesting wild creatures.
Growing up in Colombia and watching ‘The Crocodile Hunter’, Steve Irwin, I’ve always been fascinated by Australia and its exclusive flora and fauna. So naturally, I was pretty excited to attend the premiere of this beautiful film. For starters, the fact that it was filmed using with IMAX technology and available in glorious 3D at IMAX Melbourne on the world’s larges screen, made the experience quite fun.
I was lucky enough to listen to the director talk before it started and also attend a Q&A afterwards which gave me an even better experience. In the Q&A the director talked about how much IMAX Melbourne contributed to the making of the documentary and how they plan to show the film overseas showcasing Australia’s land, culture and giving an Aboriginal voice. Also, from the Q&A, I’ve learnt that it takes a lot more effort to shoot with IMAX cameras as they’re quite heavy and costly. The project took years and the team had to put themselves in some risky situations around the wild animals to get the incredible footage as shown in the film, but it paid off beautifully.
The film is basically aimed for younger audiences as the narrative and music makes the film fun and interesting with some funny takes and how they named the crocodile, as well as the shot of the frog’s jump (you’ll understand when you watch it). I was smiling and chuckling throughout the film, not to mention I found it captivating as I learnt of the Indigenous Australian culture and their role in Native Australian history and Australia’s land. I was particularly glad that their traditions (which have been passed down through generations for literally thousands of years) were strongly talked about unapologetically, as the rightful owners of the land they’re a culture that truly cares deeply for it.
The only complaint I have is that the film is really short. I could watch for hours the footage of Australia’s natures capes. Needless to say, I wanted more and would definitely recommend seeing Australia: The Wild Top End, which opens at IMAX Melbourne on the 5th of September 2019.