Dr. Lawrence Blair is the writer, presenter, and co-producer of several internationally acclaimed documentary films.
This includes the Emmy-winning series, Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey, as well as more recent works like Bali: Island of the Dogs and Behind the Seen, continuing his lifelong journey of uncovering the wonders of Indonesia's people, wildlife, and landscapes.
Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey
A five-part documentary series following the Blair brothers on their wild ride through the archipelago of Indonesia in the 1970s/80s. The Indonesian islands form a chain of active volcanos around into the Pacific to form the “ring of fire”. The Blair Brothers sailed with pirates aboard their black-sailed schooners in search of the Bird of Paradise, struggled through rapids and deep jungle searching for elusive nomadic tribes, witnessed veiled forms of human sacrifice and found themselves drawn into ten years of danger and discovery in a magic land where myths still flourish. Their intimate encounters with the vanishing masters of tribal wisdom were to lead them from a physical adventure into a deeper, more personal quest of self-discovery.
Originally cut from 80 hours of 16mm film in co-production with WGBH Boston, Ring of Fire was produced, directed and photographed by Lorne Blair and co-produced and written by Lawrence Blair. Executive producer was Frontline’s David Fanning. The digital remaster is powered by impact media company SAVEarth studios.
REVIEWS FOR RING OF FIRE
“This is a documentary like none you’ve ever seen. Lorne and Lawrence Blair show us wow-inspiring highlights from their 10-year exploration of the Indonesian islands… Many things make this series special: the brothers treat their hosts in these strange lands as humans, not curiosity items… most of all, they show you phenomenal scenes you’ve never seen before and couldn’t see without them.. and you will be treated to one truly magnificent adventure. Grade A.”
“Thoroughly fascinating nearly every harrowing step of the way.”
“As close as anyone could come to the perfect PBS show.”
“In another age the Blair brothers might have been Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Thor Heyerdahl, Lewis and Clark, Stanley and Livingstone… Hypnotically into four one-hour documentaries that are part eye-popping travelogue, part living record of people and places untouched by the last 50,000 years of technological development, and part incomparable adventure teeming with thrills, chills, mystery and the bizarre…
But perhaps the real value of the work is etched in the faces of the adventurers themselves, whose Indiana Jones-like real lives are as much a part of the films as are the lives of the native peoples and lands they visited. Not only will the audience see the brothers age over the course of 10 years, but it also will watch them become a part of the strange places they set out to capture on film. And the integration of these two white, English brothers into some of the most foreign societies imaginable does, after awhile, begin to resonate with the possibilities afforded to humankind when individuals are willing to open their minds to the unfathomable.”
Behind the Seen
In this documentary, Behind The Seen looks into the relationship between intelligence and nature as Blair closely investigates the ecosystems living in the islands of Indonesia. Discover an abundance of beauty within this environment's natural luminosities: synchronous gregarious fireflies, glowing vines in Borneo, incandescent mushrooms, and meet the brightest bioluminescent creature in nature.
Bali: Island of the Dogs
A 55 minute wide-screen documentary about the semi-feral dogs of Bali, and our changing attitudes towards conquering nature and bending her to our will.
The film’s locations include Bali, Australia and the United States, and features interviews with Balinese high priests on the ancient roles of dogs and man, current world experts on dog genetics, ecology and rabies control, and owners of the remarkable dogs which, largely unrecognized, have such high scientific value and yet face immanent extinction. We ask the question: if we can’t get on with the dog, our closest of natural companions, what hope have we with nature herself?
“It turns out that Bali’s dogs are the richest pool of genetic diversity of all dogs in the world. The two types of Balinese dogs, the Balinese street dog and the Highland Kintamani, have been living on the island, virtually unaltered, for at least five thousand years. Whereas our ‘breed’ dogs are only a couple of centuries old. Genetic research further reveals that their ancestry can be traced back some 15.000 years to before the last Ice Age.
Dr. Pederson from the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at U.C Davis, California: ‘The true pure breeds are these indigenous Bali-dogs. Their lineage goes all the way back to the first proto-dog that evolved from the wolves. Their genes are highly valuable for further research as they are a window on the ancestral dog.’
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Myths, Magic & Mosters
A series of four one-hour adventure documentaries written and presented by Dr. Lawrence Blair (of Myths Monsters and Hobbits) – an explorer/anthropologist who is a long-time resident and expert on Indonesia. Originally produced for Sky TV, the series is a startling weave of vivid high definition contemporary film, rare historical footage of trance and tribal rites, together with linking animation. They are true fairy stories, for children of all ages, as well as real adventures, shot under duress, in often hazardous circumstances, which still manage to bear witness to a number of creatures and human events never previously filmed or even seen before.