The Lost Colony

De Verloren Kolonie

(Netherlands, 2008, 70 mins)

DigiBeta (PAL)

Selected Filmography:  

EXEC PROD: Frank van den Engel
SCR: Astrid Bussink
CAM: Jackó van't Hof
ED: Katarina Türler
MUS: Sonicville, Hans Helewaut

• www.lostcolony.nl

The Sukhum Primate Research Centre--located in the current hotspot of Abkhazia--was once the pride of the Soviet Union, training primates for the space race and contributing cutting-edge research to the fight against cancer. But Sukhum's glory days have faded. The struggle for independence from Georgia in 1992 resulted in scientists and primates fleeing, and the place falling upon hard times. Upon the occasion of the Centre's 80th anniversary, the former director organizes an international conference designed to raise both funds and to put Sukhum back on the map.

Astrid Bussink's debut feature is a remarkably assured work, a piece of visual poetry that makes interesting use of the juxtaposition between verdant forests, scenes of people at work and archival footage of animal experiments. Although the film does not shy away from Sukhum's darker history, it is the quieter sequences that remain, such as moments of communion between apes and their human keepers. As the international delegates begin to arrive and the centre isn't quite ready yet, the tension mounts, but even the Western visitors seem simply happy to be there. Meanwhile, a lone scientist heads into the woods, still in search of the fabled lost colony, a band of runaway primates, who have made a home for themselves in the surrounding forests. He blows a horn, puts out some food, and stares hopefully into the trees...

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