Maxi the turtle pops up in IMAX Reef film
A SEA turtle named Maxi with a square piece of metal lodged in her stomach will be a star in a new documentary to be shown on the biggest screens in the world.
Cairns-based production house Biopixel and IMAX film agency December Media have started principal photography on their giant-screen film Great Barrier Reef 3D.
The documentary will feature scenes focusing on citizen science, including the work of the Cairns Turtle Rehabilitation Centre.
Scenes at Fitzroy Island and Portsmith were shot this week on the IMAX 70mm motion picture film format.
Crews also filmed one of the turtle hospital’s patients, a 20year-old green sea turtle named Maxi, undergoing a CT scan at Queensland X-Ray in Cairns.
Rehabilitation centre co-ordinator Jennie Gilbert said they had suspected the reptile had a foreign object stuck inside its stomach.
“What the CT scan showed was it actually had a piece of metal stuck in its gut,” she said. “It’s now a waiting game. “We’re going to have to wait until it passes the metal through (its system), because you can’t operate on turtles.”
Maxi, who arrived in Cairns after becoming stranded at Midge Point in the Whitsundays, has been a patient at the hospital for eight months.
The animal was also diagnosed with fibropapilloma, a turtle-specific disease which causes tumours.
“We wanted to see whether she had any fibropapillomas inside her as well, through the CT scan, and she didn’t which was great – she just had a piece of metal in there,” Ms Gilbert said.
“It’s quite rare for turtles to eat metal, unless it’s a fish hook or sinker, but this seems to be a square piece of metal, so we don’t know what it is.”
Great Barrier Reef 3D, which will be screened globally, will showcase the beauty of the Reef, along with the challenges it faces as a living entity that serves as home to many marine inhabitants.
Screen Queensland chief executive Tracey Vieira said the IMAX feature would also highlight the many Queensland reef warriors whose daily lives connected to the World Heritage-listed asset.
Underwater filming is being led by Cairns-based underwater director and cinematographer Richard Fitzpatrick.
“Great Barrier Reef 3D will deliver valuable opportunities for Cairns locals and businesses, engaging crew and providing training in the technical demands of filming for the giant screen,” Ms Vieira said.
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