Press release from Green Films:
Green Films Pty (Ltd) have announced the licensing of the first season of the 13-part TV series Frontier Vets to SABC 3, South Africa.
The reality/documentary series follows eight soon to be qualified vet students who have to take on the responsibility of running a rural animal clinic in a community on the border of the Kruger National Park.
Jonty Acton, producer and director, credits the NFVF production loan for being instrumental in the completion of the first series. “The NFVF really got behind the project and helped make it a reality. Their support for local film and TV production is invaluable.”
Frontier Vets is a coming of age story of personal and professional growth. The students come from a variety of backgrounds and are thrown into the deep end. Some adapt naturally to this resource limited setting, but for others this is a new world which is hard to understand and come to terms with.
Under the guidance of Dr Greg, the student’s patients will range from wild rhino, lion, and elephant to cute puppies, aggressive cattle and a mix of other animals. The student’s patients provide important livelihoods for their owners and so the pressure is on the young students to diagnose their ailments and keep them alive.
They are out of their depth and it is a steep learning curve where they are far from sophisticated diagnostics and have to use their hands and their heads, while negotiating the cultural and language gaps. They also need to learn how to deal with colleagues with different backgrounds from themselves.
Acton says they are delighted with the sale as although it has already sold internationally, one of the main reasons for making the series was to get the local profession of veterinary science and animal husbandry into the homes of all South Africans.
South Africa is desperately short of veterinarians in certain areas and according to Acton and Dr Greg the series will highlight the exciting and rewarding nature of the profession in the hope that it will inspire young people to consider becoming veterinarians.
The series will air weekly on Saturdays at 11.30AM starting on the 9th of July 2016 and repeat on Thursdays at 9.30AM on SABC3.
More information can be found on the Facebook page: