The world’s greatest story of adventure and innovation Last Paradise, will come to Geraldton on Sunday.

An adventure film based on the evolution of extreme sports and the eternal quest for paradise, the film is the work of physicist-come-filmmaker Clive Neeson.

Filmed over four decades by Neeson and his family the original footage has been restored by Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings technical team who described it as “the most extraordinary footage we have ever seen.”

Speaking of the film, Neeson says, “it is my life’s work and deals with the innovation of extreme sports; specifically sports which engage the wilderness and use natural forces as a source of energy.”

“It began with my mother, who was raised in an orphanage and became a wildlife cinematographer in Africa during the 1950’s. My parents raised four boys remotely and we all became addicted to adventure travel. I began filming at the age of 15 with a broken camera that I bought in a pawn shop, mainly because my parents wouldn’t let me touch theirs,” he continues.

Driven by a passion of exploring new travel frontiers, Neeson and his brothers met likeminded New Zealanders and Australians throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s, and Last Paradise is a culmination of footage sourced over a 45 year period.

The highlight of a lifetime of filmmaking turned out to be Western Australia, which is revealed as the Last Paradise in the film.

“I wanted West Australians to see on the big screen just how amazing and valuable their own wilderness is,” Neeson says.

It is through this unique original footage that a series of stories emerge which will speak to almost anyone, especially those with a thirst for adventure travel and an interest in science and nature. However, it’s not simply an adventure film as there is a deeper message for audiences take away.

Amongst the adrenaline, adventure and nostalgia, Last Paradise addresses issues such as energy development, deforestation, species loss and urbanization.

“I wanted to use original footage to address the world’s biggest problems – in this sense the film is an open letter to a generation inheriting a world vastly different to the one me, my brothers and my friends grew up in, and we were just one generation before the youth of today,” Neeson says.

With a Master’s degree in physics and a career in technology innovation (including the first digital movie camera and climate monitoring system), Neeson skillfully incorporates scientific and educational elements into the storyline and it is hoped Last Paradise will become a reference point for education and a stimulus for cultural and social change amongst the youth of today.

Last Paradise will show at Orana Cinemas on Sunday, May 4th at 6pm and will include a Q&A with filmmaker Clive Neeson.

Call Orana Cinemas box office on 9965 0568 for ticket information.