SARASOTA – Members of the Sarasota Orchid Society got an exclusive look at the premier of the latest film by the Suncoast’s Wild Orchid Man.
Stig Dalstrom, locally known as the Wild Orchid Man, a name given more than 10 years ago because of his love for orchids.
“I’m Stig Dalstrom also known as the Wild Orchid Man, and I’ve come from the other side of the planet all the way here to the wild coast of Tasmania searching for wildlife and orchids,” says Dalstrom in his film trailer found on YouTube.
Dalstrom has dedicated a decade to traveling around the world in search of some of the world’s most beautiful orchids.
“The wild orchid man the actual name is about wild orchids – man. It’s not a wild man with orchids on the contrary.
In his most recent film — The Wild Orchid Man in the Devil’s Realm — Dalstrom travels to Tasmania and Western Australia.
“We hire a guide and we tour around the island and then we see what we can find,” says Dalstrom.
Dalstrom a horticulturist teams up with award-winning filmmaker and composer Darryl Saffer to create the Wild Orchid Man series.
“Let’s do something totally different. Let’s follow David Attenborough and his footprints and do something relaxing, enjoyable and combine art, music, beautiful scenery but also use orchids as a theme,” he says.
Dalstrom and Saffer’s hunt for orchids has taken them to the swamps of South Florida, the mountains of Amazonas, and Machu Picchu.
“The more you learn about something the more fascinating it gets and orchids are the biggest plant family in the world and we know very little about it really,” Dalstrom says.
Dalstrom says no matter if you’re interested in orchids — his films have something new for everyone to learn.
“I really want to emphasis with this particular film is that not all orchids are big and showing flashing – like big and bold. The orchids in Tasmania are often tiny, tiny, tiny but even those tiny little things are fascinating to study,” he says.
Dalfrom says his next project involves going back to Australia to look for the Queen of Sheba orchid and to visit the Lankester Botanical Gardens in Costa Rica for his next two films.
