A documentary about Martin and Osa Johnson has been proposed, along with the announcement of a new gallery to present the couple’s photos and films. This announcement comes from the Sabah Museum in northern Borneo and other Malaysian partners according to Conrad Froehlich of the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum.
The State Tourism, Culture and Environment Ministry in Sabah has approved development funding for a new gallery set to be built this year according to a press release from the Sabah Museum. This facility will be near the existing Agnes Keith House. Keith was a journalist for the San Francisco Examiner and met the Johnsons while she was in Borneo, accompanying her husband, Harry Keith while he worked as the conservator of forests.
“The development of the Johnsons Gallery will not only provide visitors with the opportunity to learn about the couple’s cinematic feats in Borneo, the South Seas, and Africa from 1920 until the second World War, but also complement the existing tourism offering in the area, the Agnes Keith House, which receives about 21,000 visitors yearly,” said Minister Datuk Seri Christina Liew.
According to Liew, the new gallery is part of a broad strategy to promote tourism to the Sabah area, by capitalizing on its Borneo identity, ahead of the planned Visit Malaysia Year in 2026.
Plans for documentaries about the Johnsons are underway, with RYE Productions offering to produce a documentary titled “Borneo’s Lost Film.” RYE Productions previously produced a History Channel documentary, “Saudin: The Orangutan Whisperer.”
This documentary tells the story of Saudin’s 1935 journey to New York City. He is also tied to the Johnsons. The Keith household recommended Saudin take a journey from Borneo to New York with the Johnsons. Saudin at that time was serving the Keith household.
“There are several documentary programs about the Johnsons in various stages of development,” Froehlich said in a recent museum newsletter. “The challenge for these filmmakers is, of course, finding backers willing to support these efforts. Martin and Osa faced this same reality – ensuring sufficient resources to continue their pioneering documentary work.”
Froelich describes “Borneo’s Lost Film” as important, and said museum staff was working with RYE Productions on the documentary, which will highlight the Johnsons, and their 1920 film, “Jungle Adventure.”
To learn more about Martin and Osa Johnson, visit the Martin and Osa Johnson Safari Museum, at 111 N. Lincoln Ave., between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday or call 620-431-2730, visit SafariMuseum.
