THE KOALAS
Australia, 2024, 91 minutes, Colour.
Directed by George Wallace-Crabbe, Gregory Miller.
Koalas, a great Australian favourite in the past, the genial character, Blinky Bill, were declared an endangered species on 12th of February 2022. Previously they had been classified as “vulnerable” and “threatened”. Australians became conscious of so many koalas being destroyed in the vast bushfires of 2019-2020.
This significant documentary opens with people gathering on the side of a road in at the National Park to view a koala on a tree. Admiration, curiosity, cameras. but also officials coming for rescue.to the. This is a film about the status of koalas, the destruction of their habitat, so often in the name of “development”, the need for rescue, veterinarian care, and a safety and survival campaign.
There is a particular focus here on Campbelltown and its surroundings, south of Sydney, an area with increasing ice and housing development, the clearing of land, cutting down trees. the clearing of forests. Throughout the film, there are visits to other parts of New South Wales, the focus on the survival of koalas in Victoria, and action in south-eastern Queensland.
The makers of the film have drawn on quite a number of concerned contributors, 30 to 40 making their appearance and voicing their concerns. They highlight the wide concern of the issues, range of volunteers, many belonging to organisations for protection of wildlife, scientists, politicians, engineers, all combining to make a 90 minute impact on the concerned audience.
There are quite a lot of images of the koalas themselves, time to look at them closely, their size, their ever-appealing faces, climbing the trees, squatting in the trees, continually munching (and some explanations about their love for gum trees, the toxins, their coping with them, effect on the environment). And throughout, quite a number of them are shown in close-up, and information given about their origins, their health, their survival in the bush. And, many statistics indicating how numbers are diminishing, the fires, so many becoming roadkill as they try to cross the highways, some diseases.
Which means there is quite some urgency behind the making of this film, an appeal to the Australian public to become aware of the situation, threatened species, endangered species, the threats from deforestation, logging, housing developments. Many of the advocates encourage dialogue between those concerned and governments, planners, scientists, experts on wildlife, protests and demonstrations, combat, but the possibilities of dialogue, especially with development companies, logging companies for positive outcomes.
While most of the campaigners are middle-aged and older, this film is also an appeal to younger audiences who are concerned about the environment, climate change, a better world.
