First to shoot, last to air

The vulnerable online debut of Remixing Madagascar, a film by Ben Mirin (Safina Center) and Drew Fulton

By Ben Mirin, Safina Center Fellow

Golden Bamboo Lemur in Ranomafana National Park. Photo: Drew Fulton

I’ve been afraid to show you this film. I was worried you wouldn’t like it, or that it wouldn’t live up to your expectations. I’ve made other films since, with more accolades than this film has received. But it is my first film, my starting point, and one of the greatest learning experiences of my career.

Remixing Madagascar is a nine-minute piece that tells the story of my journey to the “Eighth Continent.” Madagascar is a massive island that broke from mainland Africa 90 million years ago and has since become home to some of the most unique and extraordinary wildlife on earth. Our film was shot there in 2016, when I led a crew to record wildlife sounds across six of the country’s most stunning locations: the rainforests near Andasibe and Ranomafana, the dry forests near Anja, Zombitse and Isalo, and the spiny thickets of Ifaty. In each location we collected sound recordings, footage and photographs of lemurs, birds, frogs, insects, and the environment in a race to absorb the natural phenomena we encountered almost every day. I would then return to camp with sounds from these ecosystems, chop them up and sample them to create electronic music that I performed with local artists on location.

Ahay An’Ala, a band based in Ranomafana and Fianarantsoa that writes music about protecting the rainforest. Photo: Drew Fulton

This film tells the story of our journey, and of the music we created along the way. It features the musicians who were central to my creative process, and tries to show what happens when you apply your passions to the world. But it also represents the art of learning from mistakes. I had never been to Madagascar; none of my crew had. Nor had we worked together in the past. When we showed up we weren’t sure what our story was going to be, and it kept changing while we were in the field. At the time this felt like committing a cardinal sin of filmmaking. It was one I had tried to avoid by preparing story ideas months in advance, imagining narrative arcs that unified each of the parks we would visit or imagining a film about my process as a musician. And yet, when we were working in Madagascar, our plans had to change constantly as we adjusted to the realities of a country we did not fully understand. With funding from National Geographic and The Safina Center, the pressure was on to make something amazing, and it wasn’t always easy to see the learning opportunities in front of us when things went wrong.

The art of sharing stories and experiences is to let them unfold naturally, and make space for new ideas as those experiences evolve. I didn’t understand that when I was making this film, I had to learn it. That’s why I want to show you Remixing Madagascar. It represents a starting point in a lesson I am still exploring today. In the three years since this film’s completion, I have produced three more films, led new expeditions, and started graduate school. My research is still taking shape, but at the moment I am studying how educational media (including art, music and film) can create a dialogue between local culture and conservation. I am inspired by the idea of connecting more deeply with a community or communities, and using that mutual understanding to co-create better solutions for saving wildlife. Watching the film now helps me remember—and maybe even convince myself—that we are all finding our paths in life, filled with inspiration and uncertainty, and we must never give up. If we are truly successful, those journeys will be lifelong.

Performing at World Lemur Day in Ranomafana National Park. Photo: Drew Fulton

When I came home from Madagascar, there was one question at the front of my mind: when can I go back? I had learned so much about this country, its people, its nature, and about filmmaking, teamwork, and my own skills and weaknesses that I wished I could do the entire expedition over again. Instead, the lessons from that experience have shaped the next steps in my career, and helped me appreciate most the intangible gains in knowledge, experience, and understanding of myself. To anyone watching, I hope you feel encouraged to follow the paths your passions provide. There may not be a map, but if it inspires you, I can personally vouch for the fulfillment of a life dedicated to nature and conservation. We all share the same planet, with one future, and each of us has a role to play in shaping it for the better. The only way to find that role is to get out and start living in it.

For making Remixing Madagascar possible, I must first thank Drew Fulton, Craig Bundy, Spencer Ward, Dina Andrianoely, and all our guides, as well as our supporters in Madagascar and the United States: Patricia Wright and Centre ValBio, the Malagasy Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments (MICET), The Safina Center, and National Geographic. Thank you to all my fellow musicians in Madagascar, especially Ahay An’Ala for their contributions to the film. Thank you also to the organizers and judges of the New York Wild film festival for screening our film for audiences in New York, Portugal, Shanghai, and other locations around the world. Lastly, thank you to all the friends, family, and colleagues who listened to my doubts about this film, restored my faith, and helped me see it through. You saw potential in this project when I did not, and it exists today because of your love and support.

For more information about the film, and to make donations to support Ahay An’Ala’s music, please visit remixingmadagascar.com. Watch Remixing Madagascar, below!

The film and music crew. (L to R) Rinah Ramorasata, Ben Mirin, Solo Ramorasata, Benja Arivelo, Craig Bundy, and Drew Fulton. Photo courtesy: Ben Mirin