Jim and Jean Thomas are returning to the Yarra Valley … on the big screen at The Memo in Healesville.
The couple who worked at Healesville Sanctuary and Melbourne Zoo, lived in Don Valley until recently.
They have been recognized throughout the world for their conservation work, particularly in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. The feature documentary ‘Into The Jungle’ is the inspirational story of their ground-breaking work.
Set deep in the steamy jungle of Papua New Guinea, the film follows the couple’s extraordinary journey as, newly married, they packed up their safe suburban life to try and save one of the world’s rarest animals—the Tenkile, a species of tree kangaroo.
Over the next eight years they endured cultural clashes, physical attacks and many frustrations with an indigenous population conflicted over changing their traditional ways, despite the rapidly growing number of mouths to feed.
What Jim and Jean have achieved is truly amazing, an inspiration to anyone wanting to make a difference in the world.
The film, co-funded with the United Nations Development Fund and with insights from Sir David Attenborough, Dr Jane Goodall and climate council chief Professor Tim Flannery, is scheduled to be screened at the world leaders APEC summit in Port Moresby later this year.
Feature-length documentaries set in Papua New Guinea are seldom made. The wild locations, un-predictable climate and political circumstances present considerable challenges.
Into the Jungle provides a unique opportunity not only to profile the amazing environmental work of Jim and Jean Thomas, but to get a rare insight into how life is for the people who live in one of the most remote parts of the world.
The film will screen at The Memo in Healesville on Saturday, 1 September with a Q&A, lucky door prizes and silent auction. Proceeds to Tenkile Conservation Alliance.
Visit https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/into-the-jungle-tickets-47292781984 for tickets, or call in at The Memo.
The film will also screen at ACMI in Melbourne on Friday, 31 August. Visit https://www.acmi.net.au/events/jungle/ for tickets.
