Gorongosa, the park of reconciliation

Once upon a time, Gorongosa was the richest and the most diverse ecosystem in Southern Africa. Until the late 1970s, it was a jewel of the national parks. Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner and many other stars used to frequent it. But 16 years of a brutal civil war destroyed this haven of life. By 1992, Gorongosa Park was a graveyard of bleached bones. It had lost 95% of its fauna, leaving a deserted landscape and a wounded population. Today, thirty years later, the park's wildlife has returned to its pre-war numbers and the inhabitants on the periphery are able to live. By which miracle was Gorongosa able to rise from its ashes? How did this wilderness area become a human rights park, able to support the surrounding population socially, economically and morally? It is this achievement in one of the world's poorest countries, an example of successful reconciliation between people and nature, this positive, hopeful and inspiring story that our documentary will bring to the screen. As a photographer and journalist who loves above all to immerse ourselves in the wilderness, we discovered Gorongosa National Park in Mozambique in 2017. Love at first sight! In 35 years of travelling, it was the first time we had the opportunity to follow and photograph such a positive story in defence of biodiversity and the well-being of the inhabitants. In less than thirty years, the initiatives launched for the renaissance of Gorongosa have already achieved the double challenge of reinforcing biodiversity and supporting the populations living nearby. We have published press reports and organised an exhibition. But only a film would make it possible to show the effervescence of new life, the dynamism of the ecosystems, the tireless commitment of the teams, the originality of the actions and their benefits. To reveal the Gorongosa miracle. In the distance, a sacred mountain, kingdom of the rainforest. Rivers flow down from it and spread out into an immense flood plain, criss-crossed by the incessant flight of pelicans, egrets, saddle-billed storks and tens of thousands of antelopes. The heart of the park empties and fills with the rhythm of the seasons. Around the bushy palm forests where elephants come to gorge themselves, blond savannahs, kingdom of buffalos and wildebeests, dry and fragrant forests, sprawling baobabs, meanders bordered by acacias and crocodiles on the lookout... Bird calls, cooing, at dawn, the roar of a lion, the leaps of impalas, the song of frogs and crickets at night, or the crunch of dry grass when the rains have stopped... At the end of the civil conflict in 1992, Gorongosa had lost 95% of its fauna and Mozambique was the poorest country in the world. The President of the Republic at the time had the idea, after the war had destroyed his country, to make this national park a motor for social development. Charmed by the beauty of the park, Greg Carr, an American philanthropist with a long-standing commitment to human rights, answered his call and took up the challenge. In 2008, he signed a contract with the Mozambican government, which has since been extended to 2043. Since then, the park's dedicated team of scientists, agronomists, conservationists, veterinarians and social managers have been working to bring life back to this war-damaged area, which has been looted for too long for its natural resources, but which is still of major importance. Involved from the beginning of the project, the local communities have decided to take care of their park and seal their destiny in it. The challenge is significant. Scientists, students, youth club leaders, ecologists, agronomists, farmers, veterinarians, caregivers, educators, rangers, are on our screen. We follow each of them invested in their mission in the field, at school, in the villages. They tell us about the permanent evolution of the park, which they are witnesses to. We will see them : In a first shoot last July, we started to film the diversity of the park's ecosystems and to capture the wildlife scenes during the wet season : . the dynamic populations of elephants and lions, excellent signs of the park's good health, . the scientific and veterinary teams in the field monitoring animal populations, . agroforestry projects, rehabilitation of pangolins recovered from black market networks... . following a mobile clinic And we began to register the story of Gorongosa Our association "Aux Origines du Monde" aims to promote the knowledge, protection and development of sensitive natural sites or sites of great heritage value, through research and scientific exploration. To its credit: - The organisation of scientific missions on the hydrothermal site of Dallol in Ethiopia and the production of a film on this mission on the never explored salt lakes of the Danakil depression (Ethiopia). - The realization of the exhibition ORIGINES on the gates of the Luxembourg garden in Paris, a photographic fresco telling the birth of the Earth and the emergence of life - The reopening of an inaccessible cave church in Eastern Tigray. This was done before war broke out in this region of Ethiopia... A light team, reduced to two people. A lightness that we believe in, in order to be coherent with the project and its values; to sneak into the daily life of the park and the people. We want to do this even if it means engaging in lengthy work, respectful of those who welcome us. Olivier Grunewald is a fiercely independent photographer. He has been doing this for 30 years. He has a passion for nature and travels the wilderness of the planet in search of exceptional landscapes and light. He is a laureate of the Fondation de la Vocation. His various reports have earned him four World Press Photo awards and several Wildlife Photographer of the Year awards. He is the author of more than 15 beautiful books and numerous reports dedicated to nature. He has also directed three documentaries Kawah Ijen, the mystery of the blue flames,Nyiragongo, journeys to the centre of the earth and Dallol, at the frontiers of life. Bernadette Gilbertas is a freelance journalist. Her favourite subjects? Wilderness and biodiversity. She has been travelling the world with Olivier Grunewald for almost 30 years. Her passion for discovery was first cultivated on the benches of the University where she studied geography before teaching it. For 10 years she directed the nature protection association FNE-Rhône in Lyon, before devoting herself to journalism. Her writings, articles, books, documentaries, exhibitions, plead in favour of the protection of natural environments and of these men and women with a big heart, scientists or convinced militants, who devote their life to it. Audrey Kessendjian started playing the piano and singing at a very young age. After graduating from the Royal College of Music in London and the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, she embarked on a career as an opera singer for several years, performing on prestigious stages such as the Paris Opera, the Opéra Comique, the Théâtre des Champs Elysées, the Chorégies d'Orange, La Monnaie in Brussels, etc. She then opened up to contemporary music and worked for three years with André Manoukian. At the same time, Audrey wrote and composed her first EP and then broadened her skills to include composing music for the image. Agathe Cauvin has over 20 years of experience in editing documentary and fiction films. She has edited several feature films, the latest of which, Spaccaossa by Vincenzo Pirrotta, has been selected for the 2022 Venice Film Festival. She has worked on television documentaries such as Les dernières heures de Pompéi, a 90' docu-drama for France télévision or Le portrait retrouvé de Leonard de Vinci, 90' for Arte. Agathe is once again ready to bring the necessary adventure and storytelling intentions to the Bernadette and Olivier project, the first films of which she edited. Before founding her company, pop'films, in 2021, Sylvie Gautier worked on more than 250 television programmes, first at Gédéon Programmes (1997-2002) and then at Camera lucida (2002-2021). She produced the three documentaries by Olivier Grunewald. She works with all the channels, including France Télévisions, Arte France, Histoire TV, Ushuaïa, Voyages, LCP, Public Sénat, KTO TV, TV5 Monde and Planète + in France and abroad for Discovery US, RTBF, RTS, etc. Her career in the audiovisual sector, which began in 1988, has led her to believe in supporting projects by authors and directors who are committed and passionate about delivering quality programmes that allow the public to form their own opinions. Via Productions film chooses to put its production work at the service of the major issues that will shape the world of tomorrow. It attaches the utmost importance to the quality of its productions, the relevance of its content and its treatment. Jean Jouzel, la bataille du climat, Vers un monde altruiste?, Le goût de l'eau, Paroles d'animaux... Via Découvertes films is proud to deal with subjects as sensitive as climate change, ocean pollution, the financialisation of life The Ushuaia channel was seduced by the project. A regular partner of Olivier Grunewald and Bernadette Gilbertas' projects, it will be the first channel to broadcast his new film. Ushuaïa TV is the only channel 100% dedicated to protecting the planet, a theme that is more than ever at the heart of French people's concerns. It is aimed at all curious minds through a rich and varied documentary and magazine offering. It explores our magnificent planet and meets all those who are working to protect it. Distributed in more than 30 French-speaking countries to 17 million subscriber households, Ushuaïa TV is watched by more than 3.1 million viewers each month in France. BECAUSE WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT TO CONTINUE OUR FILM AND TO ECHO SUCH A POSITIVE AND INSPIRING EXPERIENCE !! We still have a lot of filming to do: a second filming before the end of the year is therefore essential to give an overview of the diversity of actions by a park that has become a real tool for social and economic development : The "girls club", ranger brigades on their field trip, the scientific projects that make Gorongosa an incredible natural laboratory for Mozambican students, the 'beehives fences' to prevent elephants from entering the fields growing near the park... And of course the beauty of the park, the richness of the ecosystems, the wildlife that crowds the waterholes during the dry season. Our returning to Mozambique will also allow us to work with and record local musicians who will be used to compose original music.