"This is the home of the snow leopard, a unique wilderness." The story of the snow leopard unfolds slowly with Zhu Yawen's voice. In the next 85 minutes, we will leave the current hot summer and enter the snow-capped "hometown of snow leopards" - a snow-covered plateau at an altitude of 4,700 meters. homes.

"Snow Leopard and Her Friends" poster

On August 4, "Snow Leopard and Her Friends" was released in theaters across the country. This film panorama shows the beauty of life intertwined with wildness and agility on the top of the plateau, and also outlines a moving picture of the harmonious coexistence of man and nature.

Taking the "King of Snow Mountain" snow leopard and a series of plateau wild animals such as Tibetan fox, pika, marmot, brown bear, and bar-headed goose as the protagonists, "Snow Leopard and Her Friends" shows these plateau elves with a large number of close-range images taken over six years The wildness and agility: In Angsai, a beautiful land favored by creatures, wild animals play and play, the suitors of female snow leopards compete to show their charm, and Tibetan fox fathers are not stage-frightened in front of the little photographer's camera. The 18-month-old brown bear cub is still playing with its mother, but the bar-headed goose cub is already practicing to spread its wings and fly high, and the snow leopard cub in the cave is also ready to move, wanting to take the first step to explore the world...

Nature is ever-changing, with both the beautiful picture of endless life and the cruel side of the jungle. The harsh environment, the difficulty of survival, and the law of survival of the fittest are all tests that plateau animals must face. The hunting snow leopard is as quick and agile as an assassin, the vultures fight for food, and the fleeing yaks roll up smoke and dust... The other side of the snow-covered plateau is also full of power and wildness, which makes people feel awe all the time.

"Snow Leopard and Her Friends" Stills

"Snow Leopard and Her Friends" sorts out the main story of the growth of Snow Leopard and her twin children and the encounters of the elderly Snow Leopard from the vast material, and at the same time tells how the Snow Leopard should deal with itself when it encounters humans and its natural neighbors . The film is directed by Chinese photographer Xi Zhinong. The photography team includes herdsmen Ciding, Dajie, and Gengqiu Qupeng. They spent 6 years looking for snow leopard tracks.

Making China's own snow leopard movie

"The biggest challenge in tracking snow leopards is to find them everywhere. It may appear anywhere." This narration reveals the difficulty of photographing snow leopards. Due to its small number and secretive whereabouts, the "Snow Mountain Hermit" snow leopard can be called the "ceiling" of wild animal photography.

Engaged in wildlife photography for 40 years, the famous photographer Xi Zhinong led three herdsman photographers Ciding, Dajie and Gengqiu Qupeng to pursue unremittingly on the plateau at an altitude of 4,700 meters. These extremely rare images are all brought together in the movie "Snow Leopard and Her Friends".

The famous photographer Xi Zhinong led three herdsman photographers, Ciding, Dajie and Gengqiu Qupeng, on the plateau at an altitude of 4,700 meters to pursue

It is understood that the "Snow Leopard and Her Friends" team started filming as early as 2016, and there are many local herdsmen in the filming team. Herdsmen in Tibetan areas have rich experience in plateau and snow-capped mountains, astonishing physical strength and sharp "eagle eyes". The three nomad photographers Ciding, Dajie and Gengqiu Qupeng are the first batch of members of the "Hidden Photographer Growth Plan" initiated by Xi Zhinong. Taking advantage of the shooting opportunity of "Snow Leopard and Her Friends" this time, Xi Zhinong also set up a local training camp for herdsman photographers to provide them with more technical and equipment assistance. Many herdsman photographers have trained from only using one gear of the camera in the past to being able to skillfully use it to shoot exquisite animal images. Xi Zhinong hopes that more enthusiasts will participate, present more rare Chinese wild animals to the public through the lens, and raise people's awareness and actions to protect nature.

Tibetan shooting team

"Snow Leopard and Her Friends" is one of the few films with naturalistic themes. The filming team also cleverly integrated the beautiful scenery of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau into their pursuit of the snow leopard, allowing the audience to feel the vastness of the beautiful China. , presenting the daily life of rare wild animals. The photographers pointed their lenses at the Sanjiangyuan area, the nature reserve with the highest concentration of biodiversity in high-altitude areas in the world. "Snow Leopard and Her Friends" also went deep into the hinterland of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to capture the scenes of the lovely creatures bred by nature. The elves take pictures.

Talking about the original intention of participating in the creation of "Snow Leopard and Her Friends", Li Wei, co-producer of the film and chairman of 1905 Film Network, said, "This is the first snow leopard movie shot by a Chinese photographer himself. Film variety is an important addition."

"Snow Leopard and Her Friends" Stills

Hope wild animals keep being seen

The forehead is high, the head shape is slightly round, the irises of the eyes are yellow-green, the whole body is covered with bright off-white fur, accompanied by black spots and irregular black rings, the tail is long and thick, and the snow leopard has a unique protective color sitting in the rock pile. Known as the king of the snow-capped mountains, it will not be angry when it encounters a long-awaited attractive prey; when it meets an animal friend who can share happiness, it will show its lively and enthusiastic side under its cold and arrogant face.

"Snow Leopard and Her Friends" Stills

Xi Zhinong and the filming team searched for wild snow leopards step by step, and continued to follow and observe. "I saw it in a flash, and I said oh my god, I was so lucky!" Recalling the first time he photographed a snow leopard mother and child, Xi Zhinong couldn't hide his excitement and excitement. At that time, they discovered the den where the snow leopard gave birth, so they set up a hidden tent on the steep canyon, 70 to 80 meters away, across the flowstone beach, and waited silently. When the snow leopard mother and babies showed up in surprise, it became Xi Zhinong's most memorable scene.

The fascination of the snow leopard lies in its mystery and sense of strength, its eyes are fascinating, and its movement is light and vigorous. In Xi Zhinong's view, the snow leopard is the ceiling of wild animals on this planet.

Western Sichuan pika

The world's first wild snow leopard photo appeared in 1971. The snow leopard, a hermit on the top of the hidden plateau, really entered the field of vision of human scientific research and became a high-profile animal star. Today, the movie "Snow Leopard and Her Friends" will further introduce the charm of Snow Leopard to more people through the big screen. This year marks the 40th year of Xi Zhinong's career. From the first time he came into contact with wildlife photography to the release of "Snow Leopard and Her Friends", he has been committed to the shooting and protection of China's wild animals, practicing the belief of using the power of images to promote nature protection.

"At first, it was because I couldn't get used to film crews taking pictures of bird specimens and tied the birds with ropes. I wanted to learn photography, and I wanted to shoot free-flying birds." Xi Zhinong said that after he learned photography, he found that many domestic None of the wild animals have been photographed, and he has to work hard for it.

Short-bellied little owl

Xi Zhinong once showed the little-known Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys to the public, and thus protected a virgin forest where they live; he reported the endangered situation of Tibetan antelopes for the first time, and promoted the public's protection and attention to Tibetan antelopes; he also created the first China's first wildlife photography training camp, to strengthen the professional team of protecting nature with images. "I have spent forty years hoping that our wild animals in China will continue to be seen, by our own people, and by the world, so as to understand the beauty of our land in China."

Tibetan fox

In the story of "Snow Leopard and Her Friends", the snow leopard's mysterious and elegant figure, the funny and cute playful Tibetan fox and pika, and rare species such as the sharp-eyed golden eagle and alpine vulture appear in sequence. The top of the snow-capped plateau is very lively.

"Come on with me on this journey. I want to tell you a story. This is not only a story about snow leopards, but also a story about people and animals in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau."