SECESSION FILMS presents
A poetic interweave of narration and restored film and video from two eras of Sarawak’s forests and its people.
Drawing on footage from two eras KNOW ME is an intimate portrait of Sarawak’s fragile biomass and the relationship its unique indigenous cultures have to it.
Linguist and WWII veteran, Ian Urquhart, was sent to Sarawak in 1947 where he served as a British civil service officer. In 1955 Ian began filming his visits to indigenous communities in the ‘ulu’ – the near inaccessible forests of the Baram, Tutoh and Tinjar rivers and the Kelabit highlands.
In 1993, Australian filmmaker Andrew Garton made his first of many visits to Sarawak filming in some of the same regions.
A poetic interweave of Ian’s restored footage with Andrew’s video, narration and sound design KNOW ME is an appeal from Sarawak’s forests and its peoples who yearn to be known before no one is left to tell their story.
Two eras on film and video
Ian Urquhart
Ian Urquhart was a decorated British soldier, posted to Sarawak, where he served from 1947 to 1965. A brilliant linguist with an abiding interest in learning about other people and their cultures, he was a natural fit to be a civil service officer.
In addition to his administrative duties, he studied the indigenous communities he encountered focusing on their varied languages. From 1951 to 1959, Ian published several articles published by the Sarawak Museum Journal.
It was during this period that he conducted many trips into the jungles of Sarawak, in particular the Kelabit highlands and the Ulu Baram. In 1957 his wife, Bunty, began to accompany him. It was these trips that he documented on 8 mm colour film leaving his family with not only a detailed account of his life in Sarawak, but he also annotated each of the 30 remaining reels.
Andrew Garton
Andrew first learnt about Sarawak when providing low-cost internet access to native customary rights lawyers there. After his first visit in 1993 he returned for many years after working on furthering low-cost internet access. In 1999 he began filming there and had not stopped since.
In 2009 Andrew was working on documentary series when he was handed a DVD. On it was dim, low-resolution footage clearly shot in Sarawak a long time ago. Every shot was incredible. It turned out to be poorly digitised film shot by Ian 40 years or more prior to Andrew’s first visit there.
Regardless of the quality, this was astounding footage of jungle villages that no longer existed, of rivers and forests that have since been inundated or logged. It would take over a decade before Andrew could work with Ian’s footage when he made contact with his daughter, Alexa, and his two sons, Neil and Murdo. It is with their support that we have been able have Ian’s footage professionally scanned.
Context
 In 2010, East Malaysia (Sarawak and Sabah) had 20.3Mha of natural forest, extending over 87% of its land area. In 2021, it lost 123kha of natural forest, equivalent to 87.2Mt of CO₂ emissions. An area 7 times the size of Paris was razed in Sarawak in 2022 mainly for timber and oil palm plantations supplying international markets.
Tree cover loss –Â Global Forest Watch, 2022 and Human Rights Watch, 2024
Rainforests once covered 14% of the planet. Since 1947, when industrial-scale logging commenced, less than 6% remains. We lost an estimated 11.1 million hectares of tree cover in 2021 alone, of which 3.75 million hectares included tropical rainforests, the equivalent of 10 football fields a minute being razed to the ground.
This includes the diminishing rainforests in Sarawak which has resulted in not only extensive habitat loss, but it has also displaced thousands of indigenous communities who once lived and thrived in these forests.
When we lose trees we increase carbon emissions, accelerate species extinction, and biodiversity losses. We also increase the spread of zoonotic diseases – 75% of new human diseases are zoonotic.
Upcoming Screenings
Screenings throughout 2025 to be confirmed. For up to date screening announcements subscribe to Andrew’s mailing list or BlueSky. Alternatively, follow KNOW ME on Facebook or Instagram.
Book a screening
Booked screenings will be available post-premiere and festival screenings. If you have a special, private event write to Andrew here.
Funding partners
Financed with the assistance of Documentary Australia and the Australian Cultural Fund.
