VICTORIA, BC,
Oct. 26
/CNW/ - Darwin's Brave New World, a controversial three-part drama-documentary series, recounts the extraordinary and often harrowing story of Charles Darwin's thirty-year struggle to piece together the mystifying puzzle he saw in nature. It all started with a voyage around the world aboard HMS Beagle. It was under Southern skies that Darwin's eyes were opened.
His masterpiece On The Origin of Species expounded a theory about the evolution of life on earth, but it would never have been published were it not for the help of three young scientists -
Joseph Hooker
,
Thomas Huxley
and
Alfred Russel Wallace
, each of whom had transformative voyages to the Southern hemisphere. The series explodes many of the myths surrounding Darwin. Received wisdom has it that Darwin experienced his `eureka' moment on the Galapagos Islands, but nothing could be further from the truth.
Based on Darwin's Armada by Iain McCalman, the series stars Australia's Socratis Otto as
Charles Darwin
and Canada's Rick
Jon Egan
as
Thomas Huxley
. Following a big-screen world premiere at The Ridge Cinema in
Vancouver
on Wednesday, Darwin's Brave New World, narrated by
David Suzuki
, host of The Nature of Things, launches on CBC television at 9.00pm on
Sunday November 1st 2009
. Episode One, Origins, is followed on
November 8th
by Evolutions, with the final episode Publish and Be Damned on
November 15th
. The 150th anniversary of the publication is
November 22nd
.
"The road to making Darwin's Brave New World was full of twists and turns", says Producer
Andrew Ferns
, "from hunting obscure locations to shooting high-profile interview subjects around the globe. The result is lush, poignant, and looks fantastic in HD, which is the best reward after a challenging and hard-fought campaign."
Certainly this quality was something the producers demanded as Executive Producer
Pat Ferns
comments, "The integration of drama and documentary elements is seamless and innovative. What excites me about Darwin's Brave New World is its freshness and originality, both in content and style."
Darwin's Brave New World is a Ferns Productions, Screenworld, Screen
Australia
co-production in association with ABC, CBC and ZDF-Arte with the support of BC Film, the Canadian Television Fund and Screen New South Wales.
A state-of-the art website will launch on
November 1st
.
/NOTE TO PHOTO EDITORS: A photo accompanying this release is available at http://photos.newswire.ca. Images are free to accredited members of the media/
For further information: For further information: Andrew Ferns, (250) 744-6517, www.fernsproductions.com
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