- In Slovenia, in the southeast of Europe, in the heart of the raw and mostly untouched nature of the Triglav National Park, is the source of one of world's most beautiful rivers, the Socca River.
- The Socca River is a paradise for people like me, who see fly-fishing as much more than just a hobby or a sport. Fly-fishing is what we build our lives around. Similar to a religion, it is a guideline for how to live, in harmony with the natural circle of water and the creatures living in and around it, and in search of enlightenment by catching the fish of a lifetime. The art of fly-fishing is the art of paying attention to all of the details. By practicing catch and release, our aim is to cause the least possible harm to our prey which is much more a reward for our skills than food for our needs. Our utmost goal is that the fish live and thrive to be caught again later by another fisherman skilled enough to outsmart it. There is still so much we don't know about the interconnections of wildlife and the human influence on the natural circle of life and, besides that, there are so many beautiful places left to explore. Research and strict conservation of the environment need to be given precedence over making profits. In order to increase awareness around efforts to preserve the precious water resources of our planet and wetlands in general, it was important to me that this documentary is produced in the highest standards available to us today. Therefore, I have upgraded the movie resolution to UHD and the color depth to HDR. Combined with Dolby Surround, this will give viewers the feeling of being out there with us on the rivers, in the wild mountain gorges, in summer, in winter, in spring and fall.—Laurens Bubendorfer
- My passion for the awe-inspiring beauty and wilderness of the Socca River and my fascination for the challenging and elegant game of fly-fishing began more than 20 years ago. When I was only twelve years old, my mother took me to Slovenia, and I immediately fell in love with the raw, untouched nature of the Triglav National Park and the crystal clear, pristine waters of the Socca River.
It wasn't long until I was spending every spare minute fishing, which my family and friends found hard to understand. So I started taking pictures and recording videos to explain and share my passion with them. I soon discovered that this early and of course rather amateur work never really captured the fascination of the fly-fishing game, nor was I able to show the beauty of the fascinating landscape and the incredible changes in nature that come with every season. Still, as the saying goes, he who wants to learn will find a teacher, and thanks to a chance meeting with professional film makers, I did learn, step by single step.
As I learned more about video making, an idea began to take shape in my mind. I wanted to create a state-of-the-art documentary about fly-fishing, the marble trout, the Triglav National Park, as well as the work that needs to be done in order to save the fish populations and to preserve the quality of the precious waters of the Socca River.
It soon became clear that I could not make the documentary as a visitor coming from Austria. I needed to be there year-round in order to be able to capture the varying light and "mood" of the seasons. That's why I moved to live by the border of the Triglav National Park. It also became clear to me that I needed a team to realize my video dream, and that I needed to invest all of my money (and more, thanks to the help of friends who believed in me and my project) and time.
Thanks to EU funding I have now put all the pieces together to finish a feature documentary that I hope will inspire fly-fishers and nature lovers around the world and that simultaneously raises awareness for the need to preserve the very rare and precious landscapes and species we still have.
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