MOUNTAIN GORILLA
THE MAKING OF THE IMAX FILM

by Adrian Warren (Director)

Mountain Gorilla (Gorilla g. beringei), Virunga Volcanoes, Rwanda

The plan was to make four filming trips, each lasting 6-7 weeks, over a period of a year to give a good cross section of seasons and gorilla behaviour. Working in the Virunga volcanoes which, although arduous, must be one of the most beautiful areas in the world, and with such peaceful animals as the gorillas, the last thing we expected was an invasion by rebels from Uganda. Sitting hour after hour with the gorillas, the rest of the world with all its selfish problems seemed so far away. The first time we were evacuated, in September 1990, we were well ahead of the problems; the second time, in late January 1991, it was a little too close for comfort - we were woken at dawn by automatic gunfire around our house in Ruhengeri and were forced to spend seven hours huddled on the floor while mortars and grenades exploded outside and bullets ricocheted off our walls and roof. Three members of our party, in another building, were kidnapped by rebels and had to run across an open field under machine gun fire. When we were forced to leave that second time, we knew it would be the last.

The day we had set off to Rwanda to begin the IMAX filming project had been an important one for me. IMAX projects are demanding but the rewards are great. I wanted our film to be the first of a library of wide screen films about endangered species and the environment, not only to promote an awareness in our natural heritage but to document it before it is too late.