How did you come across Rhino Phila and her story?
Oloff Bergh- Executive Producer: Triosphere wanted to contribute to efforts to create global awareness of the rampant increase in rhino poaching in South Africa. Whilst the local news media was carrying almost daily stories of new poaching incidents, the international reach was minimal and the stories were essentially generic i.e. “another rhino slaughtered by poachers”. This was highly unlikely to appeal to international factual programming networks. During the course of our research into rhino poaching, we came across Phila’s story. This presented the perfect opportunity to personalize the war on rhinos in a “Saving Private Ryan” approach. And so “Saving Rhino Phila” was conceived…
What are you hoping to achieve with the production of this film, and where are you hoping it will go?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: What we would like to achieve with this film is an absorbing, emotional, but above all, entertaining hour of television, that cuts through all the crap out there on hundreds of channels. Importantly, we want to reach the audience that doesn’t give a damn about rhino’s, or doesn’t really go out of their way to watch wildlife or conservation films. An immersive cinematic experience is what will draw this audience into Phila’s story. We are not preaching to the converted, nor are we trying to solve the rhino poaching problem here – we just want to create a global awareness of the problem and its surprising complexities. From there it’s out of our hands – but it may affect enough individuals to create a groundswell awareness, and the spin offs from that could help rhinos to survive at least for the next generation to see and experience in the wild. Then it’s up to that generation.
How did you build the back story for this film?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: The back story for this film – Phila’s incredible tale of survival – was built primarily through the scripting of dramatic recreations of the events, presented in a featuresque style. We drew from the evidence of what may have happened to Phila, from ballistics investigations to accounts from people close to Phila (there were no eye-witnesses) and scouting the actual locations where the poaching incidents happened. We also drew from other known poaching incidents, and the modus operandi of the poachers, to piece together our scripted drama of Phila surviving two poaching attempts on her life. We then put together a fantastic team from the feature film and commercials industry, to bring Phila’s story to life in a stylised way. Our lead actor, the ‘Poacher boss” was the bad guy from ‘District 9’ and he brought a beautiful dark side to the poachers who hunted Phila down. 
Of course Phila’s story isn’t over so a large part of her story was documented in the present day, and we drew from actual footage of her shot by her owner just after the attacks as well.
Have you encountered any opposition from any particular parties with regard to interviews, access to locations etc?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: You wouldn’t believe the opposition we’ve encountered to get access to individuals and locations. The rhino poaching problem in South Africa has everyone in the industry really scared, cautious or untrusting – often a combination of all three. We’ve had the most incredible access to alleged poachers, police investigators, ballistics lab reports, special forces, rhino owners and anti-poaching teams but a lot of that was ‘off the record’. As soon as we wanted to take the cameras out for an interview, the barriers went up – from alleged corruption in the police and government to ‘so-called’ kingpins of the poaching crime syndicates. Reasons not to talk on camera varied from landowners fearing the location of their rhinos would be leaked to the poachers, to cops fearing for the lives of their families because they had uncovered too much. It was a really tough shoot with constant obstacles to our progress, but despite all the crazy stuff we learnt behind the scenes, we still managed to get some amazing interviews and footage to build perspective around Phila’s story.
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: Trying to set up interviews with anyone in the police force was possibly the most difficult and frustrating job I have ever encountered on a production. I was passed from pillar to post so many times that I would eventually end up back at the beginning again. In some cases we rejoiced at the eventual permission to interview an individual, only to find out a day later that the permission had been revoked. The upshot is that some of these curve-balls led us to dig deeper to find willing interviewees, most of whom, offered us fantastic insights, which we would never have stumbled upon had we gone with our original choice. These ‘curve-balls-turned-home-runs’, featured a lot in the production of Saving Rhino Phila, and gave us a strong sense of being on the right path. To a certain extent, the production took on its own evolutionary arc – as our network of contacts increased, so the web of information expanded and all the dots started joining up. It was fascinating to be a part of this process.
On location for 'Saving Rhino Phila'
Have there been any encounters with danger with regard to poachers?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: We never embedded ourselves with anti-poaching patrols, hoping to encounter poachers – it wasn’t that kind of film. And although a rhino a day is being killed currently, that is country wide, on massive properties, so it would take months, spending 24 hours a day with anti-poaching patrols to get any ‘action’, and even then it would be a lucky encounter (or unlucky!). We had more important elements of the story we wanted to pursue with our resources. So although we saw freshly poached rhinos, met with alleged poaching syndicate members, cops and ex-cops, we never found ourselves in a gunfight with poachers, or in any danger. Thank goodness – I don’t like guns much.
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: Never mind the guns! I had to play pushy-producer with some seriously powerful and some pretty shady characters along the way in order to get access to some of the scenes and information on our wishlist. I’ll let you know in a couple of months’ time if my phone’s been tapped or my horse’s head lands up in my bed one morning.
We heard you have had to conduct interviews with people who have very different perspectives to you, what was the most difficult and hard-hitting interview you had, and has it affected your view on the topic?
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: It was a hugely enlightening journey to gather up the opinions of such an incredibly diverse group of people. From wealthy businessmen commercially farming rhinos and stockpiling their horns in anticipation of the CITES ban being lifted, to wildlife purists who have devoted their lives to protecting rhinos in the wild. The fascinating realisation is the fact that every contradicting opinion had a very strong argument behind it and it became impossible to subscribe to any one ideal in the end. There is no single solution to the rhino poaching crisis and this is a theme which will present itself very clearly in the narrative of the film. The audience has to make up their own mind. It’s a huge shock to realise how little we all knew when we set out on our ‘Saving Rhino Phila’ journey – and I mean public knowledge here too. The media is not even giving us the tip of the iceberg at present.
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: I enjoy different perspectives, even if the views are polar opposite to mine, so I quite enjoyed the variety of interview subjects we talked to. The hardest part about the interviews was the constant ‘scratching beneath the surface’ to access the information and emotion that normally remains hidden, unless provoked.
How do you feel about the measures being taken to protect the black rhino? Have you met anti-poaching units, what were they like?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: There is a huge amount of effort from many sides trying to protect both the black and white rhino. All the anti-poaching patrols we met with and worked with are incredibly dedicated, and put their lives on the line because the poachers are heavily armed and well funded. But the poaching is so out of control, that the anti-poaching units are not going to be able to stop or slow down the poaching by themselves – we explore other options, efforts and potential solutions in the film, ranging from the unexpected to the bizarre.
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: The public, on the whole have also become an enormous anti-poaching unit, countrywide. There is such a huge awareness out there now that no chopper flies by unnoticed any more. Every hum of propellers in the distance smells of poachers on a mission. During our recreation shoot we blanked out the registration numbers on the chopper (to simulate what the poachers do) and our pilot had genuine fears of being shot out of the sky should he venture over neighbouring properties. We also had an incident when the chopper first arrived on set, where the radios on all the neighbouring farms were ablaze with activity – nobody had been alerted of its planned arrival, the whole area was in a tizz. And then there was the awful road transfer of our lead actor back to Johannesburg, who unfortunately had to travel in the vehicle that was towing our fake rhino carcass, complete with bloody face and sawn-off horn. He said the looks that passing motorists gave him were anything but kind. Luckily he’d just spent four days acting as poacher-boss, so he didn’t take it too personally.
Has this been an emotional film to work on? How has it changed you and your perspectives on this subject?
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: It’s been very emotional. Seeing a dead rhino for the first time struck me to the core. Listening to some of our interviewees, I couldn’t stem my tears. Some, because their accounts were so heart-rending, others because their ideals were so inspiring. It’s also been a rollercoaster of emotions on other levels. We would set out to shoot a scene, only to find that the scenario had changed by the time we got there. Sometimes leading us on a totally different tangent – sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse – frustration and elation all the way. Personally I’ve had my own epiphany through this process, having to swallow my strong opinions on animal rights in order to be able to be the impartial and open-minded producer that the situation called for. It’s been a wonderful mix of personal growth and inner strength that can only be attributed to the fact that it’s such an incredibly worthy cause we’re working on. 
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: Working on this film has opened my eyes to the scale of and nature of the poaching. It is not a simple problem and there are no simple solutions, and as you scratch beneath the surface it becomes a more and more bizarre world complete with unexpected twists and darkly colourful characters. It’s been a fascinating, disturbing journey, challenging our preconceptions every step of the way.
What has been your highlight and most inspiring moment?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: My highlight was seeing the recreations come to life. The teamwork, sleep deprivation, gunshots, laughter, blood and tears were a potent mix to bring Phila’s story of survival onto the screen.
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: I have to agree with Richard (and not just because he’s the director!) I loved being involved in the recreation shoot. It’s about as far from a normal everyday natural history shoot as you can get and it was fascinating and so rewarding to see the final results! The team spirit was phenomenal and every person on the crew felt a personal quest towards the realistic portrayal of Phila’s nightmare ordeal. We had our fair share of curve-balls, as can be expected, but once again they all turned out for the best – our original chopper pilot let us down and instead we got a kick-ass pilot who more than delivered the dynamic visuals we needed, and after much desperate hunting through the normal channels, we finally found, through sheer coincidence, the best actor imaginable to portray our evil poacher boss. Between the two of them, they set our camera’s, and inspiration, alight.
Has there been any really low moments?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: Seeing a dead rhino from gunshot wounds is never pretty.
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: The lowest moment for me would be if I didn’t think this film could make a difference.
Were there any particular scary filming experiences?
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: There were a few moments where I feared for my crew members in choppers and had to dig deep into my faith in the pilot, and a few moments where I feared for the safety for some of the gear. Firing live rounds near excruciatingly expensive cameras is quite an adrenaline rush – you’ve got to pray your marksman’s got a steady hand that day!
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: I think the person who had the most scary experiences was our safety officer. As the person responsible for our safety, he had to undergo a mini-stroke at least a few times a day as he watched our lead actor hanging out the side of a chopper, doing the most daring flying through the tree tops, semi-automatic weapons with live rounds, chainsaws, handguns, crazy off-road driving and the chopper landing on highways.
Can you recall any humorous moments on production?
Richard Slater-Jones – Director: For a film subject that involves death, despair and organised crime, we actually had a good few laughs – it’s inspiring to be surrounded with people who can still laugh, and have hope for the future, despite the onslaught of poaching affecting their lives very personally.
Kira Ivanoff – Producer: Indeed, I almost feel guilty when I say that we had a huge amount of humour going round on this shoot. I think when people are faced with dire circumstances, they do dig deeper to find the humour in a situation. All of our contributors provided us with a healthy dose of laughs, for all sorts of reasons, and I’d like to think they enjoyed working with us as much as we enjoyed working with them. I look forward to seeing them laugh – and cry, when they watch the final product.
The president of India, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil was in South Africa last week, and paid a visit to the Cheetah Outreach centre on Friday. I spoke to NHU producer Alice Clarke about the reasons behind the visit and the connections behind African and Asiatic cheetahs.
