The molecular biologist who climbed Mount Kinabalu

kinabalu — Tue, 8 Sep 2015 04:17:17 GMT

My name is Marta and I’m a biology PhD student specializing in entomology at Gdansk University. I got involved in filmmaking nearly two years ago. A known filmmaker was searching for a field assistant. After an interview I got the job. When I left my hometown and headed to the swamps where Paolo Volponi’s film “Biebrza – at the brink of a dream” was being shot, little did I know about what lies ahead. During 6 months in the field (and more in post-production) I was a filming assistant, both on land and underwater, a biologist taking care of animals filmed in aquariums, the editor’s and scriptwriter’s assistant and, finally, I took my first steps as a cameraman.
For four years now I have been traveling to the Malaysian jungle to study insects. I felt it would be great to combine my research with filming. So, I involved Paolo and we realized a short series (“Marta in the jungle”) about the Taman Negara jungle in which I am the leading presenter, an entomologist looking for insects. That’s how I gained experience in front of the camera. As I would discover later, a very useful skill while filming people.
I have travelled around Southeast Asia (Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Singapore, Thailand) and other places like Mauritius, Gran Canaria, Iceland. I’ve seen how much involvement it takes to make a good film but I learned mostly how to help a filmmaker. A scholarship in Colombia under the eye of a professional would be a great opportunity to start a filming adventure of my own.

My Dad

The molecular biologist who climbed Mount Kinabalu