Great Plains founders, filmmakers, conservationists and National Geographic Explorers-at-Large, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, have unveiled a series of new and remastered films in celebration of ‘Big Cat Month’. The epic line-up includes ‘The Way of the Cheetah’, a brand-new film on the majestic cheetah, and remastered versions of six classic Joubert wildlife films: ‘Living with Big Cats’, ‘Big Cat Odyssey’, ‘Eternal Enemies’, ‘Relentless Enemies’, ‘Ultimate Enemies’ and ‘Eye of The Leopard’.
The films will air on Nat Geo Wild throughout the month of February 2022.
Shot at Great Plains’ Mara Nyika and Mara Plains camps by Dereck and Beverly Joubert, and narrated by Jeremy Irons, ‘The Way of the Cheetah’ tells the story of Immani, mother to four new cubs as they navigate the vast plains of the Mara ecosystem. To ensure their survival, Immani must avoid deadly threats from within and outside her own species.
Captured over several years, much of which under the cover of darkness with thermal cameras and state-of-the-art high-speed camera equipment, this is the blockbuster personal story of one family and their will to survive against all odds. Some of the most breathtaking sequences in the film show a cheetah running into a mixed herd of prey, passing smaller, even more, vulnerable prey to catch the chosen subject of its attention.
In addition to the brand-new release, Great Plains will also premiere remastered versions of six of their most beloved films, including:
Living with Big Cats
In ‘Living with Big Cats’, The Jouberts’ incredible journey with big cats portrays their personal lives as explorers and their dedication to protecting these iconic predators.
Big Cat Odyssey
For ‘Big Cat Odyssey’, Dereck and Beverly Joubert dive deeper and lead viewers on an epic journey through the lives of big cats and their most iconic moments filmed over the decades.
Eternal Enemies
The award-winning ‘Eternal Enemies’ is narrated by Jeremy Irons and reveals the age-old conflict between lions and hyenas.
Relentless Enemies
As Okavango floodwaters force buffalo herds into lion territories, ‘Relentless Enemies’ shows how buffalos strategize and the lions adapt in the face of a new challenge.
Ultimate Enemies
In ‘Ultimate Enemies’, Dereck and Beverly Joubert explore how animals are connected by forces of nature and document the unusual behaviour of lions hunting elephants.
Eye of the Leopard
‘Eye of the Leopard’ portrays Dereck and Beverly Joubert as they discover an eight-day-old leopard named Legadema and follow her journey from playful cub to skilled huntress.
Speaking on the project, Dereck said:
“This was by no means an easy feat! The earlier films in particular were tricky because technology has advanced so dramatically in recent years. We re-shot several ‘lead-up’ moments while maintaining the integrity of the originals and updated facts and science, which dictated new scripts and narration. We’ve had such great success working with Jeremy Irons over the years, so we stripped out all of the old narration and had Jeremy come into a secure, locked-down studio and worked through all the voiceovers over a period of a week. We changed all the music, bringing it in line with the more subtle expressions of emotion seen on screen.”
All six re-mastered Joubert wildlife films will premiere on Nat Geo WILD/Nat Geo WILD HD (Sky: 165/839, Virgin Media: 264/265 & BT: 318/374) throughout February 2022. For more information on Great Plains or book your own ‘Big Cat’ safari experience, visit www.greatplainsconservation.com.
