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Patagonia , which follows Heraldo Rial, an 80-year-old cattle rancher living in the South American wilderness. Told from Rial’s perspective, it highlights the ecological threat of human civilisation. “ Gaucho gave me the idea to push the boundaries of cinematography in documentaries,” explains Martienssen. These are the projects he wanted to make with Dustoff, to both entertain and inspire. “Everything we’ve done is a proper movie production,” says Martienssen, “but in an undirected way.” This occasionally poses a challenge with the crew using equipment that ‘shouldn’t necessarily be in the environments we’re filming’, he admits. For instance, Martienssen used anamorphic prime lenses to shoot Rhino , a heavier, more expensive set-up than a traditional documentary might use. CVP has supplied all of Martienssen’s equipment, allowing him to continue his environmental action without worrying too much about budget. “They’ve been
amazingly supportive,” he enthuses. Given his line of work, he breaks gear – and goes to CVP to replace it – somewhat regularly, but Martienssen can rest assured as ‘they have been incredible at making sure we have what we need when we need it’. Though Martienssen’s gear tends to require slightly more TLC, CVP does offer product fixes via its ProRepairs service. As such, it is the only European Authorised Service Centre for brands such as Sony, RED and SmallHD. Making change Though the studio’s now seeing success, it had a slightly rocky start, in large part due to poor timing. “We founded the company in 2019, had a couple commissions and then Covid-19 hit,” Martienssen shares. Since that point, Dustoff has released Gaucho , with Rhino slated for autumn in 2024 and Ambrose and the Black Leopard currently in production. “That’s the next
thing – well, to be honest, there are about four next things,” Martienssen laughs. The latter title, meant to be a spinoff of Rhino , is also set in the African savannah. “We’re at that stage where we don’t know if we can tell it in the same way that we told Rhino ,” details Martienssen. “We don’t know if it’ll be a movie or a series.” This will largely depend on Rhino ’s reception, though Martienssen remains assured of the studio’s mission. He sees a light at the end of the tunnel – a path paved by these solutions-focused films, or ‘hopeful eco-thrillers’ as he calls them. “Environmental journalism and filmmaking are in a rut,” reads the studio’s website. “Dustoff was founded to change the status quo, to collectively understand and protect the most important places. Our stories don’t end with credits; when they roll, the change begins.”
OUR STORIES DON’T END WITH THE CREDITS: the change begins ”
dustoff.com
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ON LOCATION Working closely with local communities, Tom Martienssen aims to bring fresh hope to the future with his solutions-focused documentaries
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