WildBear completes landmark 4K series Borneo’s Secret Kingdom
First production company to access FIMI (Film in Malaysia Incentive) for doco
Bettina DaltonWildBear Entertainment has wrapped its landmark new 4K series Borneo’s Secret Kingdom ahead of the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (FINAS) announcing the program’s completion and confirming its official support of the series, this at MIPCOM.
Wildbear Entertainment was the first production company to access the FIMI (Film in Malaysia Incentive) for documentary filming and the company spent more than 18 months in Sabah, using both local and international crew members, as well as partnering with Scubazoo, a Malaysian production company based in Kota Kinabalu.
Borneo’s Secret Kingdom is a 3 x 50 blue-chip natural history series, which has been produced for Nat Geo Wild Global and ZDF ARTE.
Bettina Dalton, executive producer/principal at Wildbear Entertainment, comments: “Malaysia is a country rich in wildlife, culture and stories and we are thrilled to be able to promote its breadth in our new series. This is our second production with FINAS, but the first accessing the FIMI rebate, and it has been a great partnership for us. Any producer will tell you that tax breaks and incentives are appealing, but the help we got on the ground in Sabah through Scubazoo and the ongoing support from FINAS have made the creation of this extraordinary series a truly rewarding experience.”
Dato’ Kamil Othman, director general of FINAS, comments: “Wildbear Entertainment has proved the perfect first factual partner for our incentive and has produced an engaging and stunning new series that showcases some of the most beautiful parts of our country, in the most glorious detail. With our strategic location in Asia, our own growing production industry and of course our incredible range and variety of locations and wildlife, Malaysia is increasingly on the destination wishlist for both film and television production companies.”
“With Borneo’s Secret Kingdom, Wildbear Entertainment has successfully combined amazing locations and compelling wildlife with extraordinary cinematography and brilliant storytelling to produce a modern classic of natural history programming,” say Ben Noot, global acquisitions manager for National Geographic Channel Worldwide.
Borneo’s Secret Kingdom will receive its premiere on Nat Geo Wild in January 2017. Meanwhile, a 3 x 45 version filmed alongside and following acclaimed wildlife photographer Cede Prudente, as he strived to capture some of the species, as well as the people – scientists, conservationists and indigenous tribes people – who are touched by this mighty river system, has recently transmitted on ZDF and ARTE, under the title Amazon of the East.