The Ring of Fire : An Indonesian Odyssey

Have you ever watched an Indonesian Odyssey? TheRing of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey is a series of fivedocumentary films that documented the ten-year voyageof two filmmakers, brothersLorne Blair andLawrence Blair, through the worlds largest and least known archipelago, the exotic, mysterious islands of Indonesia. These islands form a chain of active volcanos that arc down and around into the Pacific to form the Ring of Fire.

The Blair Brothers sailed with pirates aboard their black-sailed schooners in search of the Bird of Paradise, struggled through rapids and deep jungles searching for elusive nomadic tribes, witnessed veiled forms of human sacrifice and found themselves drawn into ten years of danger and discovery in a magical land where ancient myths still flourish.

Their intimate encounters with the vanishing masters of tribal wisdom were to lead them from a physical adventure, into a deeper, more personal quest of self-discovery.

The five films of An Indonesian Odyssey:

Spice Island Saga: The Blair brothers follow the footsteps ofnaturalist Alfred Russell Wallace on aBugis sail boat in search of theBird of Paradise to theAru Islands nearNew Guinea.

Dance of the Warriors: The brothers sail to the islands ofKomodo where they encounter theKomodo Dragon,Sumba where they witnesshuman sacrifice, New Guinese where they meet theAsmat, and finallyBali where they build ahome in a village.

East ofKrakatoa: The Blairs descend into a newly eruptedvolcano, meet alegendary artist and witness thefuneral rites of theking of theToraja people of theCelebes.

Dream Wanderers ofBorneo: The brothers go in search of thenomadic Punan Dyaks.

Beyond the Ring of Fire: Lawrence Blair returns to a lostparadise at the outer edge of the known world eight years later on aretrospective voyage to many of theislands first visited and others never previously filmed.

F! inanced byRingo Starr, the Blair Brothers arrived inIndonesia from England in 1972. TheIndonesian archipelago was still dominated byancient indigenous beliefs and the Blair Brothers spent over two decades documenting theecology of the islands and thespiritual beliefs of its peoples. One major result was the Emmy-nominated BBC/PBS television series Ring of Fire, amasterwork of modern adventure andethnographic film.

Cut from 80 hours of 16mm film in co-production with WGBH, Boston, RING OF FIRE was produced, directed and photographed by Lorne Blair and co-produced and written by Lawrence Blair. Executive producer was Frontlines David Fanning.

It was a form of meditational surrender and possession by a higher form of energy which first drew us to Indonesia. Isolated for long periods amongst little-known peoples, our sole defense lay in a complete vulnerability to our hosts way of being and seeing. Living amongst them, I felt that we were drawing closer to the shadow screen beyond which lay a much subtler and perhaps more dangerous adventure. Trance and possession of every form were all around us. Lawrence Blair, when he was asked about his experienced in making this documentary.

Now this is REAL adventure: no radios, compasses, ice, emergency supplies for months at a time through one of the most hazardous and fascinating regions on earth Sir Richard Branson, commented about the movies.

anyway, the Blair Brothers have also released An Indonesian Odyssey book. check it asap to feel more about their journey!

News Sources : Wikipedia, An Indonesian Odyssey

Photo Source : setterfield.org