joshua yeldham - fertility owl
  

JOSHUA YELDHAM
Sydney Australia

 

 

  
 
 
   
 

Back-ground

 

   
   

In 1989, eighteen year old Australian Joshua Yeldham, attempted to Climb Mount Hunboldt, a remote 15,000 foot peak in the Venezuelan Andes. Without knowledge of the dense winter fog, he soon became lost. Two days later, a Guide, Jesus Zambrano happened to pass by.

Attracted by Josh's eagerness to climb the mountain, Jesus agreed to take him to the summit. As they had no common language, Joshua began to develop the idea of a film to express their shared experience. This was further spurred by Jesus' agreement to act the character Chucho.

Over the next two years, Joshua and close friend Stephan de Kwiatkowski, raised $20,000 to begin filming. Fourteen crew and cast members from Australia, The Untied States and Venezuela, made their own way to the base village of Pueblo Nuevo.

For six weeks, they climbed Mount Humboldt, carrying all their food and equipment by pack.

In response to the low budget and unique shooting environment, much of the equipment and setup was developed on location.

The original sound-track to the film took one year to complete. It includes the unique sounds of the Didgeridoo by an Australian musician Adam Plack, and ambient songs by music ethnologists Chris Turner and Rachel Maloney.