Tuesday, December 08, 2009

Sabah national treasures - Michelle Yeoh's documentary

YOU may be familiar with seeing Datuk Michelle Yeoh on the silver screen in many guises, from a Bond girl to a martial arts expert to a geisha. The Ipoh-born actress’ next starring role, however, will be something much more personal and poignant – a documentary where she returns home to Malaysia and journeys to Sabah to discover what is being done to save our orang utans from extinction.

Right off the bat, Yeoh was determined to be as involved as possible.

“During my first meeting (with the producers), I told them I didn’t just want to be dolled up on screen and function as a bookend to the show,” Yeoh said during a recent phone interview from Songjiang, China, where she is currently filming a movie. “You learn so much when you’re involved in projects like this. You’re not just a tourist who’s there for half a day, rather, you’re really out there seeing how it really is. I wanted to be up close and personal with the orang utans. Think Dian Fossey, think Gorillas In The Mist!”

True to her words, the documentary, Among The Great Apes With Michelle Yeoh, sees her doing everything from feeding and caring for orang utans, to rescuing an orphaned orang utan, to trekking through the forests to collect seeds. Filmed in high-definition, the production was made by National Geographic in partnership with the National Film Development Corporation Malaysia (Finas) under the Malaysia To The World 2 initiative. Yeoh began her two-and-a-half-week journey at the Sepilok Rehabilitation Centre, a facility for orphaned and injured orang utans in Sandakan, Sabah.

Continue reading (Incl. Pic) at: Sabah national treasures - Michelle Yeoh's documentary
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