THEATRICAL RELEASE DECEMBER 1970
Shot over a period of seven years,
this European wildlife documentary aims to make the spectator a secret observer of another way of life. Humans, age-old enemies of the natural world, have no choice but to sit, watch and wait. An extraordinary demonstration of patience and talent, this film is more than a documentary – it is an unadulterated visual delight. Poetic and intensely moving, the animal world is shown in all its natural dignity.
The Territory of Others is the first 35mm feature film about European wildlife. Its originality also marked the history of nature and animal films.
‘We had to remember how to be patient and still, to blend into our surroundings so that our subjects would come out, unafraid and unperturbed. It was a matter of mindset, first and foremost. The technical solutions would come later.’
‘The making of the first 35mm feature film about the natural behaviour of animals required flexibility and creativity. We had to design and make special equipment, quieter cameras, new lenses, hunting hides, we had to use our imagination.’
François Bel and Gérard Vienne
‘At the time, everyone was photographing and filming giraffes and elephants on African reserves. We wanted to show that you could discover new worlds as near as Seville, the Netherlands and Iceland.’
François Bel and Gérard Vienne
They wanted to show nature as it is, and in order to do this, they forewent all special effects. They don’t claim to be scientific – they are not makers of educational films. They made the first 35mm feature film about Europe’s wildlife, in which they offer an intimate perspective of the animal world.
The focus is solely on the animal in front of the camera. There is no commentary.
All the spectator has to do is watch and listen.
‘The Territory of Others is a treasure that must be cherished by future generations of cinephiles just as it is by those of the current generation, who identifies with the film. Future viewers will find themselves deeply affected by the film and recognise the magic it holds.’
Orson Welles
‘For us, this film is a kind of meditation, a special encounter with actors from another world, and a journey to an unexplored planet. We wanted to leave all the talking to the animals, and their speech then became the film’s music.’
François Bel and Gérard Vienne
‘This film is my most exciting musical experience. I composed something of a symphony informed by real images and sounds of nature and animals. These sounds were electroacoustically reworked and became what I see as the musical phrasing of the film.’
Images from
the film / 18”
In 1970, a journalist who had watched the film had this to say:
‘A group of French filmmakers bring us never-before-seen images of nature – unadulterated, raw beauty in an unnarrated film. A wildlife symphony, underpinned by musique concrète and the sounds of nature.
Only the shadow of human life can be seen at the very end of the film, as a symbol of destruction: a bloodstain on pack ice, an oil spill.
A phenomenal film, a work of art, just remarkable!’
Born in 1929, Michel Fano studied under Olivier Messiaen and was a friend of Pierre Boulez. In order to carry out fundamental research on audiovisual perception problems he built his own studio laboratory where he dreams up and produces his ‘sound-scores’.
In 1968, he met François Bel and Gérard Vienne, who would offer a unique field of application for his research. It was at that point that he would définit alors un montage à partir d’une conception musicale that allowed images and sounds to interact freely, which was to be used in The Territory of Others.
He was [S1]the Head of the Sound Department at FEMIS, and a lecturer at the Paris Conservatory, IRCAM and ENSCI.
Photographer and wildlife filmmaker Gérard Vienne was born in 1935 in Normandy. He passed away in Paris in October 2004. At sixteen, fascinated by everything related to wildlife, he began working on a series of five films about high-mountain animals for the French Ministry of Education, a process that would take three years.
In 1955, he met François Bel, with whom he would go on to make several short films about French, Canadian and Northern European wildlife.
In 1963, François Bel and Gérard Vienne began shooting The Territory of Others, their first 35mm feature film about European wildlife, made in collaboration with Michel Fano.
Video excerpt
25”
François Bel Interview - 1998 / About The Territory of Others
