Australian all stars team up for Orangutan aid
Australian musician Sallie Campbell has contributed to an all star Australian creative team to launch a combined musical/audio-visual work for World Orangutan day in August.
Campbell has composed the music for a short film featuring vocalist Kate Miller-Heidke, actor Sarah Snook and writers and directors David Barker & Daniel Denholm. Soloist John Rodgers features in the finished film.
"The situation is urgent, it's right now,” Campbell said.
“The last wild orangutans on the earth live in Malaysia and Indonesia. If people knew the food and products they were consuming were wiping out forests and all the beautiful creatures that live there, they wouldn't buy them.
"As consumers we can do so much. We must demand proper labeling on palm oil products and tell companies that use unsustainable palm oil that we won't buy them. With our partner, The Orangutan Land Trust, we support their work in providing sustainable solutions for the long-term survival of the orangutan in the wild.
“As a musician I wanted to help but I didn't know where to take it further. This project has brought that depth of meaning and significance I've been searching for creatively.
"The forests really are our lungs and I feel moved to help them through the national release of Nightingale Floor."
Director Barker said: “The natural wonder, which draws the protagonist forward in the video, is analogous to the orangutan. We want people to believe in the idea of natural wonders; we want to create a sense of hope, while at the same time creating an emotive artistic statement that people will want to purchase.
"The idea of hope was always in the forefront of our minds. It's important that we see hope not only presented in the music and the video, but understood in the wider context of their plight."