Do you dream of directing the next ground-breaking science TV programme or wildlife documentary?
Explore how the National Film and Television School's 2-year Directing and Producing Science and Natural History MA can train you to make captivating content about our world and beyond!
Don't miss the online open day on Tuesday 16th April from 12-1pm.
Do you dream of directing the next ground-breaking science TV programme or wildlife documentary?
Explore how our 2-year Directing and Producing Science and Natural History MA can train you to make captivating content about our world and beyond!
Don't miss our online open day on Tuesday 16th April from 12-1pm. Book your free place: nfts.co.uk/events
Richard Brock is two people. One is a wildlife film-maker and lives in Somerset in Chew Magna. The other Richard Brock is a detectorist who also lives in Somerset, but suddenly rushed off to Shropshire to get the largest gold nugget yet found in England, worth an estimated £30,000. They're only connected via poo!
One of the biggest stories recently has been about pollution on the River Wye and chicken manure. But both "Richard Brocks" got muddled up by both reporters at ITV and BBC who were interested in the nugget and not the poo problem. On the phone message it sounded like "Poodunnit?" - a wildlife detective story, rather than "gold nugget". It nearly got to the point of a crew turning up in Chew Magna to film one Richard Brock, whilst the other Richard Brock was chasing gold in Shropshire and not poo on the River Wye.
You're not likely going to find a nugget of gold anytime soon, but poo nuggets are everywhere, easy to find!!
You may have seen and heard about the bad conditions on our waterways, rivers, lakes, shores and coasts. Clean water is precious, both to us and wildlife, as Sir David Attenborough has stressed in his major wildlife conservation series on BBC 1, “Wild Isles”. Fixing it will be a massive challenge and costs will be high affecting what we will have to pay. But who is getting richer too? And how? It’s a scandal, involving what amounts to a crime, or rather a number of crimes. So, in addition to the massive media coverage and long-term news campaigns, we offer a film “POODUNNIT?” Different from the inevitable foul examples in what were pristine rivers “POODUNNIT?” tracks down the potential culprits with several Sherlock Holmes logos (+ farts!) in an hour-long hunt for the criminals on one of Britain’s most favourite rivers – the Wye, which flows between England and Wales – 155 miles. The journey follows the threatened Wye, through one year, from source to sea, using that ace fisherman the heron, and the handsome wild duck the mallard, as our guides, revealing whodunit? along the course of the dying Wye.
This is a wildlife detective story, very watchable, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but with a serious intention, plus outstanding wildlife film production values with BBC Natural History Unit experience.
Watch it. Become a Sherlock Holmes and find out! “POODUNNIT?” Whodunnit? Is doing it?
Sky Nature unveils first look at Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough
Brand new, three-part nature series uses world class technology to listen to the animal world like never before. Series will launch on Sky Nature and streaming service NOW on Sunday 25 February.
Sky has today (Tuesday 6 February 2024) announced its brand new, ground-breaking nature series - Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough - will launch on Sunday 25 February on Sky Nature, as well as streaming service NOW.
Sky also unveiled the series trailer providing viewers a first look at this unique, three-part series, which explores how animals use sound to communicate, thrive and survive in the natural world.
Incredible footage captured throughout the documentary series will give viewers an intimate look at how baby caiman communicates with each other from within the egg, how lions and hyaenas battle in the dark using sound, how a strange fish baffled residents with its eerie hum, and how some birds have mastered the art of mimicry to remarkable effect. Packed with insight and new scientific discoveries, Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough will transport viewers into the natural world for an unforgettable experience full of wonder.
Filmed in 4K ultra-high definition, each episode of the series will feature in-depth stories of eight animals, followed by five-minutes of Behind-The-Scenes footage. Unveiling the very latest in audio technology, the series uses specially adapted cameras and laser vibrometers, which allows humans to truly eavesdrop on the animal world for the first time and discover new stories and information that have been hidden until now.
The series incorporates microphones so tiny, they fit on your fingertip, and so precise they can detect the noise of a baby caiman calling from inside the egg. With 360-Dolby Atmos Sound, viewers will experience the breath-taking sounds of the natural world as never heard before.
Sharmila Choudhury, Series Producer said: “We are delighted to be able to reveal a fascinating side to the natural world that is often overlooked, showing the many astonishing ways that animals use sound to survive and thrive.”
Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries and Factual, Sky UK said: “We’re incredibly excited to bring this ground-breaking natural history series to the Sky audience. Offering a surprising and intimate view of the natural world, through the medium of sound, we’re thrilled to have worked with the incomparable Sir David Attenborough and the Humble Bee team on this innovative project.”
Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough was commissioned for Sky Nature by Zai Bennett, MD of Content, Sky UK&I, Poppy Dixon, Director of Documentaries & Factual and Tom Barry, Commissioning Editor. It is produced by Humble Bee Films (UK) and Infield Fly Productions (Canada). Executive producers are Stephen Dunleavy and Dugald Maudsley, series producer is Sharmila Choudhury.
Abacus Media Rights is handling the international sales of the series.
Nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic packaging are thrown away by UK households every year, and just 12% is recycled in the UK.
It’s time the government got serious about tackling the plastic crisis. You can help by taking part in The Big Plastic Count!
JOIN THE UK'S BIGGEST PLASTIC INVESTIGATION
Count your plastic for one week – 11-17 March 2024.
For one week in March, thousands of schools, households, community groups and businesses will be coming together to count their plastic waste. And we want you to join them.
Almost a quarter of a million people took part in The Big Plastic Count in 2022. Together we revealed that almost two billion pieces of plastic packaging are being thrown away a week. This year you can help build even more evidence to convince UK ministers to lead the way at the global talks that could finally phase out plastic pollution for good.
Check out Brock InitiativeWildlife Winners & Losers films on Plastics
AS RICHARD BROCK SAID IN HIS PLANET CRUNCH BOOK (DOWNLOAD A FREE COPY HERE!) "As an ingenious, widespread and increasingly abundant species we excrete a huge variety of stuff."
Some could be useful to other people elsewhere but the “throwaway” lifestyle has now been encouraged and adopted worldwide. That might seem to be good news, the spread of so-called “progress” but the bad news is that there’s now no “away” to throw it to. Because from the sky to the deepest sea, this stuff is being broken up, and is dispersing and is being
absorbed as part of the ecosystem.
These substances, especially plastics, may be poisonous and kill. And that can include us at the end of the food chain with filter feeders like shellfish which concentrate poisons in their bodies. Similarly, with dolphins and whales; they gradually die from chemicals in the oceans, sometimes also trapped in fishing gear, or the young killed by what’s in the mother’s milk. In the English Channel, PCB’s and mercury, banned 40 years ago, have been found at high levels. In humans they have been linked to cancer.
PLASTICS ARE COVERED IN THE ACCOMAPANYING PLANET CRUNCH FILM:
Sir David Attenborough to present BBC Studios Natural History Unit's Mammals
Co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, Youku and France Télévisions, major new for series BBC One and iPlayer will see Attenborough revisit the extraordinary group of animals.
"I’m delighted Sir David is returning to the BBC to present this fascinating new series. Mammals are the most adaptable and – for my money – adorable animals on earth."
— Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, BBC
Mammals are the most successful animal group on earth. Found on every continent and in every ocean, they’ve evolved to master almost every habitat on our planet. But how?
Twenty years after Life of Mammals, Attenborough revisits this extraordinary group of animals in a major new series for BBC One and iPlayer: Mammals. Full of new, never- before-seen behaviours, this series offers fascinating insights into the most successful animal group in the world. From the tiny Etruscan shrew to the giant blue whale, Mammals will reveal the secrets of their success, and how their winning design, incredible adaptability, unrivalled intelligence and unique sociability have all contributed to their remarkable rise.
By weight less than 6% of today’s mammals are wild animals and many species face extinction. As well as giving viewers an exciting new perspective on a remarkable group of animals, the series will also highlight many of the problems faced by mammals in today’s rapidly changing world.
Each episode explores a different environment; Dark, Cold, Heat, Water, Forest and The New Wild – an episode which explores the ingenious ways mammals are adapting to a world dominated by humans, arguably the most successful mammal of all. And each episode covers a range of remarkable mammals – from the miniature tenrecs of Madagascar to the humpback whales of the Indian ocean.
Roger Webb, Executive Producer says: “Being mammals ourselves, the animals featured in the series and the stories told about them are instantly relatable. It’s impossible not to admire a mother capuchin monkey who’s able to provide her baby with a drink in a dry, sun baked forest or a chimpanzee father giving his family a lesson in finding honey buried underground. This connection to us, makes Mammals an incredibly engaging and compelling piece of television – one that will also lead us to question our role in the lives of the wild mammals we share the planet with.”
Scott Alexander, Series Producer says: “Mammals includes animals like the great apes, the big cats, dolphins, whales as well as the mythical wolverine and adorable tenrec – who wouldn’t want to make a series with such a wonderful cast of animals”.
Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual, adds: “Following the enormous success of Wild Isles and Planet Earth III last year, I’m delighted Sir David is returning to the BBC to present this fascinating new series. Mammals are the most adaptable and – for my money – adorable animals on earth, and I can’t wait for viewers to learn more about the remarkable strategies they use to survive in every corner of the planet.”
Mammals, a 6 x 60’ series made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, Youku and France Télévisions. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual and Sreya Biswas, Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning. The Executive Producer is Roger Webb and the Series Producer is Scott Alexander. It will tx on BBC One and iPlayer this spring.
Chimps Are Our Closest Living Animal Relative And For That Fact Alone They Deserve To Be Celebrated
By Pupfish Publishing
16th February 2024
New Book Coming Soon: The Book of Being Chimp by Wildlife Film-maker Adrian Cale with a foreword by Dr Jane Goodall
Inspired by a fascination for chimps ever since he could use his own opposable thumbs, this is Adrian Cale’s warm and witty look at the wonderful but challenging world of simply being a chimpanzee.
The Book of Being Chimp is an entertaining celebration of the chimpanzee. Written with fact-filled, often witty reverence and featuring 100 of the author’s beautiful photographs, it is a fun and informative step-by-step guide to chimpanzee life. The captivating pictures are accompanied by a simple, humorous, and engaging text which tells you all about the contrasting lives of chimps in the wild and those being rehabilitated at rescue centres.
The book is presented across 40 beautifully designed spreads. Each spread starts with the word 'being' as part of a sequential guide to the various stages, characteristics, behaviour, quirks and challenges of chimp life. From being a mum, being a community and being clever, to being bottle-fed, being ticklish and being encouraged etc, this charming and touching book will leave you brimming with knowledge and rooting for chimps everywhere.
"Emotive, informative, inspirational and enchanting, with stunning photographs and clear writing throughout… If chimps themselves could read, this might well be their own how-to-grow-up guide." - Dr Jane Goodall, DBE - Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute & UN Messenger of Peace
"This warm, witty and beautiful book encourages everyone to see how much we share with chimps – and their right to share the planet with us too." - Patrick Barkham - Bestselling natural history author.
"A beautiful book with stunning photographs, this is a wonderfully humorous, informative and personal story all about chimps. Quite simply, a great read for all the family.” - Iolo Williams - BBC Willdife Tv Presenter (Springwatch, Winterwatch)
"Just when you think chimpanzees can't be any more fascinating! This beautiful book shares new insights into the lives of our closest cousins. Written in a funny and engaging way, you are left feeling empowered to conserve them and their wild environment." Megan McCubbin - BBC Wildlife TV Presenter & Zoologist (Animal Park, Springwatch)
Publisher: Pupfish Publishing
Distributed by CBL Distribution.
RRP £19.99
About the Author
Adrian Cale is an award-winning wildlife filmmaker, writer and naturalist who has made acclaimed TV documentaries for broadcasters including BBC, National Geographic, Animal Planet and Sky. Many are also shown on well-known streaming services.
Adrian has contributed work towards ape conservation for the Jane Goodall Institute, Ape Alliance, and International Animal Rescue.
He is a Fellow at the Zoological Society of London, and one of the Presidents of the Young Peoples Trust for the Environment (YPTE).
Publication date: Tuesday 5th March 2024 Available from all good bookshops!
The first Wildlife Filmmaking Course of its kind: Immersed in nature with Too Wild
By Too Wild
7th February 2024
A nature filmmaking masterclass provided by a team that brings international wildlife stories to the screens of National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, BBC, WWF, Disney+, WildEarth, and more.
The bush is humming full of life, and if we are agile enough to witness and read it, we can share its story through film. Nature lovers and storytellers can now merge and master these two worlds through Too Wild.
Meet South Africa’s first immersive wildlife filmmaking course while living and learning directly in the bush.
Be mentored. Get hands-on experience. Build a showreel. All in the bush.
Too Wild is excited to bring industry professionals and eager learners together in their wildlife filmmaking course. Learners can anticipate a life-changing experience in the wild discovering how to ethically film wild animals while living 6 weeks in the heart of the African bush – in the Timbavati Game Reserve of The Greater Kruger National Park.
Throughout the nature cinematography programme, learners utilise industry-standard camera equipment to create stories and build a showreel, all the while enjoying mentorships from experienced naturalists, trackers, cinematographers, and the post-production team.
Candidates will study directly from a team with collective experience working with National Geographic, Nat Geo WILD, BBC, WWF, Disney+, WildEarth, SABC, DSTV and CGTN. Additionally, students are treated to a premium experience: having renowned wildlife filmmakers as our guest speakers for a day.
Together with our four experienced core team members, students focus on four distinct aspects of wildlife documentaries with a generous film set of over 7,000 hectares to hone their craft.
4 Core Components of the Wildlife Filmmaking Course
The programme’s lessons are conducted in an immersive panoramic teaching style in a small group of 8 learners, with dedicated one-on-one mentoring. We will establish the foundations of researching a story through to final development as our team of expert mentors contribute their unique skills from different fields to understand animal behaviour, the natural environment, impact producing, storytelling, and post-production.
1. Filmmaking
This practical course pillar focuses on teaching learners how to:
Shoot to wildlife industry standards while discovering their creative flairUnderstand animal behaviour and the surrounding environment from the experts
Operate safely and ethically in the wild confidently
Build wildlife camera rigs and use specialised equipment
Create captivating and immersive sequences with their technical skills
2. Impact producing
This creative course pillar focuses on teaching learners how to:
Tell captivating stories from the natural world as tools to create social, behavioural and environmental change
Understand the responsibility you have as a filmmaker and how to behave in the wild
Focus on ethics in wildlife filmmaking - how far do you go to get that shot?
3. Post-production
Our partners, Think Lemonade, specialise in natural history and will be hosting the post-production part of our programme.
This technical course pillar focuses on teaching learners how to:
Creatively weave pictures, sounds, words and colour grading to move in harmony and produce a moving picture
Manage your data, the very foundation of starting to put together a documentary
Build sequences and timelines using editing software
Create a soundscape using natural sounds and music
Learn to shoot for the edit
4. Ecology
At Too Wild, we believe in creating an immersive experience that changes the way people walk through the world by inspiring curiosity, wonder and empathy. As such, we enforce a strict non-interference policy through eco-friendly filmmaking so that the well-being of the animals will always come before the shot.
This ethical course pillar focuses on teaching learners how to:
Learn the foundations of animal behaviour
Explore ecological concepts which will change your way of thinking about the natural
world
Learn to read the tracks and signs of the wild for more immersive storytelling.
Dive into the sensory world and challenge the way we look, smell, hear, taste and feel.
This course is open to ANYONE and all skill levels. We aim to be all-inclusive, as long as the student is above the age of 18. We welcome wildlife enthusiasts, documentary hobbyists, and budding filmmakers ready to jumpstart their career and their portfolios.
Plus, our course is ideal for you if you:
Are a wildlife enthusiast and have an inherent respect for nature and animals
Are an adventurous soul who is looking for an authentic experience with wildlife
Have an interest in film and/or photography
Are a filmmaking student who wants to gain field experience in a Big 5 territory
Are starting in your professional journey and want to get some hands-on experience whilst expanding your skills
Want a break from your day-to-day life to focus on your passions.
Committed to Uplifting Local Talent
In addition to sharing our knowledge and love of capturing the bush with the world, we have a special focus on equipping local talent with the skills to become a wildlife filmmaker. Too Wild has partnered with the Timbavati Foundation, Wild Shots Outreach and Ruggedwear to create a community outreach programme.
A percentage of every student’s fee from the course will go towards sponsoring a student from one of the local communities on the edge of the game reserve, to nurture local talent and produce the next generation of South African wildlife filmmakers. Together, we have the power to inspire change and uplift the youth.
More than a course, a community
Additionally, participants also gain access to the exclusive Too Wild community. Learners depart from the programme, but never fully leave the Too Wild experience. Our course participants are supported as part of a larger network of like-minded individuals with resources and more.
Once a participant, alumni become members of the Too Wild community, which includes:
Joining the global Too Wild WhatsApp Group
Access to exclusive content and workshops
Discussions, networking and opportunities
Staying notified of wildlife-focused science
Support from Too Wild, with access to the mentors
Updates on Too Wild’s evolution and future projects
Another side effect from war in Gaza? Animals starving in its besieged zoos ...
Israel's war with Hamas has created a humanitarian crisis for the millions of Palestinians stuck in Gaza. Most of the population has been displaced by Israel's intensifying military campaign – with the United Nations saying nowhere is safe in Gaza as Israeli airstrikes have hit every part of the besieged strip. Israeli bombardment has even destroyed Gaza zoos, killing many of the animals there. The animals that survived are starving alongside their human caretakers.
The United Nations reports that 90% of the population of Gaza regularly goes a whole day without food. Other basic necessities like clean water, fuel, medicine and medical supplies are all scarce. In the face of all this, some zookeepers in Gaza say animals are dying of starvation. .
In retaliation for Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that killed 1,200 people, according to Israel, entire neighborhoods have been leveled and the war has killed more than 27,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials.
Veterinarian Dr. Amir Khalil of Four Paws, an organization dedicated to saving animals from war zones, is trying to coordinate a rescue mission from some of Gaza's remaining zoos. He rescued and treated animals during previous conflicts in Gaza and knows the dire conditions the animals were living in even before the war. He contacted the various parties involved, including the Israeli army, Palestine Authority, and locals in Gaza, to try and facilitate.
As the war in Gaza escalates, hopes for his mission dwindle. While seemingly secondary in the shadow of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Khalil spoke with Morning Edition about the importance of saving any innocent life from the horrors of war. "I think it is the wrong time to say whom to save and whom not to save," said Khalil "Everyone has his function to do. I think if I'm able to help one creature, it's enough for me."
The situation in Gaza presents a unique set of challenges and dangers. Khalil describes the need for "intelligence work" before even embarking on the rescue.
"We are prepared for the unexpected ... but the most important thing is the safety and the security for the team," said . Khalil. "So we cannot enter without coordination with all involved stakeholders... So it's like a military operation, in fact."
NB, Wildlife-film.com does not support the existence of this zoo. We are merely reporting on the even sadder state of the animals kept there following Israel's retaliatory bombardment of the Gaza strip, illustrating that people and animals are suffereing alike. None of it is defensible, nor is it self-defence.
BBC Earth and Minecraft Education return with Planet Earth III World
Inspired by BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s landmark series, Planet Earth III Minecraft World launches 16th January.
"We are delighted to partner with Minecraft Education and that children globally will have the opportunity to interact with stories inspired by the Planet Earth III series.” — Matt Brandon, Planet Earth III series producer, BBC Studios Natural History Unit
Following the record-breaking success of the Frozen Planet II Minecraft Worlds, which achieved the most downloads in a single day for an educational game in Minecraft history, with millions of players across 116 countries, BBC Earth and Minecraft Education are teaming up once again. This collaboration is set to engage fans globally with the launch of the Planet Earth III Minecraft World.
The Planet Earth III Minecraft World features immersive landscapes, animals and game-based learning resources, inspired by stories in the latest landmark series from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, and will be available from 16th January.
Minecraft is the best-selling game of all time and is especially popular with younger players. Minecraft Education provides educational content for schools globally where students can learn about a wide variety of subjects via creative gameplay. The team at Mojang Studios believes it has a responsibility to use Minecraft to build a better world and inspire generations of game changers, especially around themes of global citizenship and sustainability.
Players can step into extraordinary realms of the natural world to experience the struggles and triumphs of survival while playing as a series of incredible creatures, including the great white shark, the Arctic wolf, a leopardess, and more. Exploring the way these animals’ lives are intertwined by playing as both predator and prey, parent and offspring, friend and ally, they will discover the precarious balance of survival.
The adventure begins at the BBC Planet Earth III Field Station. Here, players select their desired biome, study its wildlife, and embark on tailored activities. By assuming the roles of different animals, students learn about various survival strategies. Each challenge unlocks rewards, deepening the educational experience. By alternating perspectives between various animals, students cultivate empathy and gain a deeper understanding of the ecosystem's balance.
The Planet Earth III Minecraft World is available in 29 languages for both Minecraft Education and Bedrock in the Minecraft Marketplace – a unique opportunity to watch, play, and learn together, taking biology and our understanding of biodiversity far beyond the classroom or living room.
Matt Brandon, Planet Earth III series producer from BBC Studios Natural History Unit says: “We are delighted to partner with Minecraft Education and that children globally will have the opportunity to interact with stories inspired by the Planet Earth III series through immersive gameplay while learning more about our fragile natural world and the creatures we share this planet with.”
Justin Edwards, Minecraft Education's Director of Learning Experiences says: "Minecraft Education is delighted to extend our partnership with BBC Earth, building on our work in Frozen Planet II. The new experience of the natural world in Planet Earth III brings us closer to the animals and their surrounding environment. In this world, you will learn about animals from different continents, across sea, sky, and land, and how they survive and thrive."
Planet Earth III Minecraft World will be available on 16th January globally.
The animal sounds in most nature documentaries are made by humans – here’s how they do it and why it matters
Wildlife documentaries like the BBC’s recent series, Planet Earth III, are renowned for offering breathtaking images of animals in their natural habitats. You’d be forgiven for thinking these shows offer an unmediated portrayal of these animals – an objective window into their lives as they hunt, rest and rear their young. But this isn’t quite the case.
While the images we see are filmed on location, many of the sounds are recorded and added to the programmes later. The sounds of animals walking, chewing food and panting, for example, are almost always recorded by human “Foley artists” in a sound studio far away from the filming location, often weeks or months later. Foley artists are specialists who produce bespoke sounds for film and television soundtracks.
This curious fact is an inevitable consequence of modern wildlife filmmaking. A lot of wildlife documentary footage is shot using telephoto lenses that can zoom in on their subjects from a great distance. But sound recordists typically can’t get close enough to capture clear sound without disturbing the animals.
Wildlife documentaries also tend to require large crews. If sound were recorded on location, it would be muddied by background noises such as crew chatter or car engines. In other cases, the animals make sounds of a frequency or volume that most microphones simply can’t capture clearly.
In my research, I’ve talked to Foley artists who specialise in animal sound and observed them at work in their studios.
How Foley artists work
This Foley process generally involves deciding which of the animal’s actions or movements need sounds to be created for them, and then deciding on the specific qualities those sounds should have.
These decisions often involve the broader sound production team and sometimes the show’s director. The Foley artist then uses their creativity and resourcefulness to create the sounds.
So, what sorts of techniques do they use? It might seem cliched, but the professionals I’ve spoken to really do sometimes knock coconut shells against stone slabs to make the sound of horse footsteps. For an elephant, they might use rocks against a straw-covered tub of compacted earth.
Latest Wildlife Winners and Losers film from Richard Brock, "Chuffed to be Back"!
By Jason Peters
14th January 2024
Richard Brock has been making a film about choughs over the past year, following the publishing of his "Planet Crunch" book and films, and the release of his POODUNNIT? film. He's a busy man! If you're lucky enough to be on his Christmas card list, you will have recieved a card featuring the film.
Cornwall was the last place choughs bred in England, in 1947, before becoming extinct in the country.
Now, in an exciting new success story, they’ve been brought back with a lot of help from their friends.
Captive-bred birds from Cornwall are now flying free in Kent, and Jersey in the Channel Isles.
And the aim is to expand the populations further afield over time.
We follow progress of nesting pairs in Cornwall and see how they get on in this wonderful rescue project in beautiful places.
The film marks “The Return” of ”Wildlife Winners and Losers – How to turn losers into winners” ... A revised, updated, increasingly relevant “archive” from Richard Brock of the Brock Initiative and Living Planet Productions, and author of the book “Planet Crunch” with 3,000 copies donated free worldwide.
Richard, who was previously a producer with David Attenborough on the BBC’s “Life on Earth” and an executive producer on the BBC’s “The Living Planet” from the BBC’s Natural History Unit says “Now there is a greater urgency and need, and action, than ever. So I’ve decided to re-launch and refresh the earlier release of the “Wildlife and Winners” series – how to turn losers into winners”. It so happens that much of that previous message is valid today, and into the future. And it’s that which concerns many, especially young people who are frustrated by the lack of political will and decisive action. So the so-called “Brock Archive” of some eighty (80) titles of various lengths (with many short promos); looking back, now, and forward could have a wide appeal with everyone, everywhere. So, please, consider the best use of this free offer and share it too, so we can, perhaps, make a difference. Just maybe?."
So, start by watching (and sharing please!) the full "Chuffed to be Back" film here:
Did you miss BBC’s Autumnwatch, not shown in 2023?
Now is your chance to catch up with rescue, rewilding and recovery instead. You can help! Please do.
View and share a great choice of movies from then, now and next… - with lots of versions from all over the world especially about our Great British Wild Isles, and what is happening to our “State of Nature”, as in the government’s latest 2023 report, which could affect us all and the wildlife that depends on us.
Nature needs you and the Wildlife Winners and Losers film series can be used a a tool to help make change happen. Richard says “Some years ago when I was in the renowned BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol I was getting more and more angry that some programmes were basically “lying”. I even said that to David Attenborough, perhaps not a great career move. But there was a definite reluctance to show much at all about what was really happening to the planet. In fact, any “gloom and doom” was rejected by the commissioners – in their apparent wisdom. Indeed, the series Blue Planet (One) was shown in full on BBC1 but the truth, in the last episode, was hidden away on BBC2. In the USA, where that last episode “Deep Trouble” was not shown at all, a potential donor to charity said he’d seen the series, as shown, with no problems visible in the oceans. Now, years later, David tells it as it really is – plastics and all. What a difference the truth makes.
He explains, “My series “Wildlife Winners and Losers” looks carefully with well-documented evidence at these changes – past, present and particularly the future.“My series “Wildlife Winners and Losers” looks carefully with well-documented evidence at these changes – past, present and particularly the future.
Using previously unseen footage from the recent past we bring the story right up to date and try to look forward as to the winners and the losers we might expect – and why. As far as I know, no one has done this so deliberately around the world with so many species and places. And you can help too…
With films across over eighty subjects, we find many examples of winners, or, at least those trying not to be losers!”
My Wildlife Winners and Losers series shows that films can be made – with basic footage filmed on any device – to help get the word out about conservation.
“There is still time to save the planet. My Wildlife Winners and Losers series is my contribution."
Now it’s your turn. Watch these free films. Choose from these 80+ films of different lengths to inspire you to take action.
They’re free to watch and share with as many people as possible. Use the Series to give you ammunition to help save the planet.”
All this is free for use anywhere around the world in my attempt to help the planet and its wildlife.
The main idea is that social media will enable people to spread the word using these Wildlife Winners and Losers films as “ammunition” at a time when I believe they are particularly needed.
With so many, and such a variety, it is easy to put together a mix-and-match permutation, under various headings and many aspects of conservation e.g marine, plastics, Africa, tourism, wetlands, rainforests, big corporations, human conflict, etc. – how to turn losers into winners.
Get Earthling Ed's latest book How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time)
“An empowering and deeply informative book" – Moby
Challenge their beliefs; change the world
If you are a vegan, you’ll know all too well how provocative it can be – you never know when you’ll be challenged or how. But being able to face down and rebut arguments against veganism is hugely important. Not just because many of the arguments lack substance, but because every interaction provides a pivotal moment to create change.
How to Argue With a Meat Eater will teach you to not only become a skilled debater, sharing the secrets of renowned vegan educator Ed Winters, but it will arm you with powerful facts and insights that will give pause to even the most devout meat eater.
Providing you with the knowledge to become a better conversationalist and critical thinker, and the motivation to create a more ethical, kind and sustainable world, let this book be your guide and inspiration to know that, no matter what the argument, you can win every time.
"An absolute must-read – it shows how we can communicate incredibly emotive topics with confidence and compassion, and provides the reader with indispensable tools to express themselves clearly and persuasively." — Rich Roll
“Ed Winters builds on his groundbreaking debut book with a follow up that couldn’t be more timely or important. How to Argue With a Meat Eater is an empowering and deeply informative book that will leave readers more enriched and knowledgeable about veganism and how to argue effectively about it. Everyone would benefit from reading this book." — Moby
BBC Studios Natural History Unit and global charitable foundation Wellcome, announce #OurPlanetEarth
New digital impact campaign inspired by, Planet Earth III, and focusing on health impacts of the climate crisis, will be hosted by BBC Earth.
"The NHU plays a vital role in telling impactful stories from the natural world." — Jonny Keeling, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit
BBC Studios Natural History Unit and global charitable foundation, Wellcome, today announce #OurPlanetEarth – a new digital impact campaign inspired by the globally-renowned Natural History Unit’s latest landmark series, Planet Earth III and expected to reach millions of people globally.
The world's climate is changing, and this is having a direct impact on humans as well as animals. Climate change is affecting the environments in which we live and work, the health of many populations, and the wellbeing of our societies. #OurPlanetEarth, produced by the award-winning digital team from BBC Studios Natural History Unit, hosted by BBC Earth, will bring to life the links between human and planetary health, with a focus on those most affected on the climate frontline.
The accelerating changes across our planet’s ecosystems highlighted in Planet Earth III, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, has drawn global awareness to the beauty and fragility of these regions and the critical juncture we now find ourselves at as well as bringing to the forefront the resulting consequences on human health. From communities in the Amazon Rainforest to those on the savannahs of East Africa; from coastlines and oceans to the heart of our cities, #OurPlanetEarth brings together extraordinary voices from across the planet who are dedicating their lives to making a positive difference for both planetary and human health.
Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at Wellcome said: “Climate change is a threat to humanity just as it is a threat to every living thing on the planet. We’re very pleased to be working with BBC Studios Natural History Unit and harnessing their expertise and powerful artistry to tell the stories of how human health is being affected on the frontlines of the climate crisis. Through this partnership we hope to bring this urgent issue to the attention of audiences world-wide and build momentum for climate action to protect all our lives.”
Jonny Keeling, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, added: “The NHU plays a vital role in telling impactful stories from the natural world. And we know that the health of our planet is closely linked to human health so we’re proud to partner with Wellcome on the #OurPlanetEarth campaign and, together, reach a global audience. At this critical moment for Planet Earth, we are looking to inspire people with stories of hope that will ultimately promote a healthy planet and healthy people.”
This campaign follows #OurGreenPlanet and #OurFrozenPlanet, two Natural History Unit Impact initiatives launched in association with the Moondance Foundation. These initatives inspired and ignited a deeper understanding of the unique role of green habitats and our planets fragile polar regions, respectively. With unique stories published across multiple BBC Earth and partner channels, the campaigns have generated over one billion global impressions.
The #OurPlanetEarth impact campaign can be followed via BBC Earth’s Website, Facebook, Instagram, & TikTok with new and exclusive content launching every week.
New film from the Brock Initiative called Chuffed to be Back COMING SOON!!
Cornwall was the last place choughs bred in England, in 1947, before becoming extinct in the country.
Now, in an exciting new success story, they've been brought back with a lot of help from their friends. Captive-bred birds from Cornwall are now flying free in Kent, and Jersey in the Channel Isles. And the aim is to expand the populations further afield over time. We follow progress of nesting pairs in Cornwall and see how they get on in this wonderful rescue project in beautiful places.
Wildlife-film.com sponsors "The Bough Breaks" by Danny Strong – Mousehole Films!
We are thrilled to announce that we are sponsors, alongside the Scottish Wild Beaver Group, of The Bough Breaks a most excellent and important film from Danny Strong Ecologist & Filmmaker and Mousehole Films.
THE BOUGH BREAKS is Mousehole Film's new documentary feature exploring the life and work of visionary conservationist, Alan Watson Featherstone, in the wider context of Rewilding as a viable approach to tackling many of our global conservation and climate crises. With contributors including: George Monbiot, Orwell prize-winning journalist, activist and author of 'Feral' and 'Regenesis', Roy Dennis MBE, pre-eminent conservationist and author of, 'Restoring the Wild', Shaila Rao, Mar Lodge ecologist from the BBC's Winterwatch/Springwatch and Duncan Halley, ecologist from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.
The film discusses the urgency for a more individual responsibility in the stewardship of our planet and the enormous legacy one man can gift to the future, by staying true to his personal vision.
The Bough Breaks is co-directed by Caroline Strong and Danny Strong and produced by Caroline Strong and Danny Strong.
It is filmed by Danny Strong and Gabriel Strong, with stunning wildlife cinematography by Danny Strong (BWPA Highly Commended wildlife cameraman) and motion graphics by Gabriel Strong. The feature is written and narrated by Caroline Strong and edited by Danny Strong, with a beautiful original score by brilliant young composer Alan Fowler and featuring breathtaking American musician Zosha Warpeha.
Greenpeace award-winning documentary: CRUDE: Wentworth Community vc Big Oil
CRUDE: Wentworth Community vs Big Oil details the shocking knock-on impact of air pollution caused by Big Oil in the South African township Wentworth. These include chronic poverty, gender-based violence and epigenetic changes which make community members prone to certain illnesses.
The film debuted in South Africa last year, and has since featured in many international film festivals - winning the Best Documentary Short award at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival last month!
We hope the film helps raise awareness of the impact of oil colonialism in Africa, and build support to stop the scramble for Africa’s natural resources.
An update from "Nature Boy", AKA Alan Lacy, Founder & Chief Filmmaker at Reel Earth Films
Have you called home lately?
Being a ginger, I was already born with the odds stacked against me.
It didn’t help that I loved exploring outdoors when most of my friends were inside playing video games or talking about girls.
My family used to call me “Nature Boy”.
The nickname once made me feel like an outsider, but now, I wear it like a badge of honor.
Nature Boy has become a silent mascot behind Reel Earth Films. He inspires me to want to connect every single person I know with the power of nature and their desire to take a stand for the planet we call home.
Film has a way of connecting human beings to the world outside our everyday reality.
And when a lot of us spend our time indoors and in urban environments, it’s nice to be able to just hit “play” and travel to the wilderness in our imaginations whenever we want.
Although there’s no substitute for getting out into the wild, Reel Earth Films lets the wild speak to you firsthand from wherever you are.
We create true-to-life stories that show you how real species live—as well as what’s making it hard for them to survive.
Our films give you a picture of what’s being done to help nature thrive in the Reel Earth Films community, from groundbreaking research to grassroots activism.
It’s all aimed at helping you:
make an informed decision on what conservation efforts inspire you to get involved.
enjoy a centralized place to donate, volunteer, and pitch story ideas to help protect the natural world.
Reel Earth Films is growing in so many exciting ways as we partner with wildlife conservationists across the globe and secure the funding we need to make an impact for generations to come!
Here are a couple sneak peeks of our upcoming projects:
BURROWING OWLS: A LOVE STORY
(COMING IN 2024) –
A determined biologist has single handedly rescued a fragile population of burrowing owls in Eastern Oregon and now faces new challenges as the population continues to grow. As the burrowing owl population expands, he soon discovers there’s more behind the story than first meets the eye. As he continues to make new discoveries about the behavior of burrowing owls, a young family of burrowing owls face the challenges of growing up wild.
THE SOUTHERN RESIDENTS
(COMING IN 2025) – 75 is a short teaser about a critically endangered species of orca known as southern residents. This short film highlights the issues that are keeping these orca from recovering, and reveals why it is so important that we produce the full documentary in order to give a voice to these imperiled orca. Your support can these whales a voice, ultimately helping them recover. Please donate, and help us save these incredible orca. Donate Today: reelearthfilms.org/southern-residents
We are absolutely delighted to announce that Acción Andina, GRST, WildAid Marine Program, S4S Technologies and Boomitra were named Winners of The Earthshot Prize 2023 at our Awards in Singapore tonight, 7th November 2023!
Huge congratulations to these five incredible solutions, who were each awarded a catalytic £1million prize to help scale their work and accelerate their growth and impact.
Check out all the best bits from The 2023 Earthshot Prize Awards! Our star-studded line up included Prince William, Rob Irwin, Bastille, One Republic, Hannah Waddingham, Bebe Rexha, Donnie Yen and so many more, all in Singapore to celebrate our incredible finalists.
Over the last ten years, the evidence that we face urgent challenges to protect the environment has become indisputable, and it’s clear that the time to act is now. Drawing inspiration from the concept of moonshots, which since the moon landing in 1969 has become shorthand to talk about the most ambitious and ground-breaking goals, Prince William announced The Earthshot Prize: an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet.
We believe in the power of human ingenuity to prove to us all that the seemingly impossible is possible.
Sir David Attenborough shares words of wisdom on protecting our home
The one and only Sir David Attenborough's powerful message about the climate crisis. For too long we have demanded too much from our home but we CAN move the dial, and work is already being done to live more responsibly on our planet.
Watch the full award show to learn about our incredible Earthshot Prize Finalists, who are leading the way in climate innovations and solutions!
Over the last ten years, the evidence that we face urgent challenges to protect the environment has become indisputable, and it’s clear that the time to act is now. Drawing inspiration from the concept of moonshots, which since the moon landing in 1969 has become shorthand to talk about the most ambitious and ground-breaking goals, Prince William announced The Earthshot Prize: an ambitious set of challenges to inspire a decade of action to repair the planet.
We believe in the power of human ingenuity to prove to us all that the seemingly impossible is possible.
THE BOUGH BREAKS is Mousehole Film's new documentary feature exploring the life and work of visionary conservationist, Alan Watson Featherstone, in the wider context of Rewilding as a viable approach to tackling many of our global conservation and climate crises. With contributors including: George Monbiot, Orwell prize-winning journalist, activist and author of 'Feral' and 'Regenesis', Roy Dennis MBE, pre-eminent conservationist and author of, 'Restoring the Wild', Shaila Rao, Mar Lodge ecologist from the BBC's Winterwatch/Springwatch and Duncan Halley, ecologist from the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research.
The film discusses the urgency for a more individual responsibility in the stewardship of our planet and the enormous legacy one man can gift to the future, by staying true to his personal vision.
The Bough Breaks is co-directed by Caroline Strong and Danny Strong and produced by Caroline Strong and Danny Strong.
It is filmed by Danny Strong and Gabriel Strong, with stunning wildlife cinematography by Danny Strong (BWPA Highly Commended wildlife cameraman) and motion graphics by Gabriel Strong. The feature is written and narrated by Caroline Strong and edited by Danny Strong, with a beautiful original score by brilliant young composer Alan Fowler and featuring breathtaking American musician Zosha Warpeha.
Watch here: taoplay.com.br/app/31-ecocine-meio-ambiente/the-bough-breaks
NB. Should you open this link via Google Chrome, you might need to change the language setting from Portuguese to English (unless you want to watch it in Portuguese of course!).
The fifth Ireland Wildlife Film Festival was held virtually from the 10-20th of November 2022. Many submissions came in from all around the globe, resulting in a great collection of films in three categories, Feature Film, Short Film and Student Short Film, and I was asked to be a judge.
The Ireland Wildlife Film Festival is the first of its kind in Ireland and seeks to bring stories of conservation and species preservation to the big screen while also striving to create a community of filmmakers and audience members who care deeply about environmental issues.
Today we are witnessing habitat destruction and extinction at rates never before seen on our planet. Now, more than ever, it is of the utmost importance to advocate for the well being of the earth and our neighboring species.
Twenty four films were selcted for screening during the virtual event:
This year all of the spectacular wildlife and conservation films were free for all to watch from November 10-20th.
The Ireland Wildlife Film Festival would like to congratulate this year's winners:
Best Feature Film
Winner: The Last Stand
Directed by Henk Ekermans and Barend van der Watt
The snow-capped peaks of Chile's coastal mountains are a prehistoric wonderland, blanketed in snow. Like ancient lovers, two living fossils - a male and female Monkey Puzzle tree - have been rooted to these slopes for almost two thousand years. For them to survive, the timeworn duo has formed a bond, both with each other, and the wildlife that visits them.
Finalists:
Cactus Hotel, directed by Yann Sochaczewski Polers of the Okavango, directed by Olly Pemberton
Best Short Film
Winner: The Quest to Save Parasites Directed by Emily Driscoll
Scientists are on a mission to save parasites—not to kill them. Climate change is already doing an increasingly good job at the latter, and that could be a big problem for the world.
Finalists:
Creatures of the Kaleidoscope, directed by Aoibheann O'Sullivan. Yellowstone 88: Song of Fire, directed by Jerry van de Beek and Betsy De Fries
Best Student Short Film
Winner: Faces of the Cloud Forest Directed by Hugh Allen
In Bwindi Impenetrable forest, growing conflict with people puts the local population of Mountain Gorillas at risk. In her struggle to protect them, one veterinarian discovers that it is the many similarities between the two communities that threaten to destroy them both.
Finalist:
True Places Never Are, directed by Jeff Young
Special Mention
I'd also like to mention Forest Beneath the Waves, directed by festival organisers, Carter McCormick & Paula Sprenger of Habitat Productions, which premiered at the festival on November the 10th.
I think it's a great study of the issues affecting wildlife and people in Bantry Bay, well balanced, beautifully filmed and produced. All in all, an excellent, impactful film, trying to make a difference, so a big thumbs up from me!
The film focuses on the potential mechanical harvest of the Kelp Forest in Bantry Bay, Ireland. The film studies the impact of Kelp, the creatures that live in it, and the relationship it has with us humans. Visit: habitatproductions.org
"Almost 8 years ago, I started interviewing people on the street about veganism. Since then, the pursuit of these conversations has taken me to places I never would have expected, talking to people I never imagined I would. These conversations have presented me with an abundance of opportunities to become a better communicator and advocate. I am now sharing everything I’ve learned over these years with you.
Time after time, the vegans I meet tell me that they struggle to effectively talk about veganism with the people in their life, or that they feel overwhelmed by all the arguments and overcome with the emotion that arises when discussing such an important topic. If this is something you’ve ever experienced, then How to Argue With a Meat Eater is for YOU! I’ve written this book to be a vegan’s best friend.This book will teach you not just what to say but HOW to say it as well.
I breakdown philosophical arguments including those made by people like Jordan Peterson and Sam Harris. I discuss political arguments including the accusations that veganism is racist, ableist and anti-indigenous. I tackle health claims such as anti-nutrients in plants and environmental arguments about regenerative animal agriculture. Everything someone could throw at you is in this book!
YOU WILL LEARN:
How to debunk and respond to EVERY argument against veganism.
My methods of approaching conversations and getting people to change their mindset.
How to have highly effective conversations about veganism with your friends, family members and work colleagues.
Techniques on how to navigate emotive topics that can often lead to arguments.
How to understand people’s behaviour and what leads people to say and believe the things they do about veganism.
Pre-ordering the book helps so much when it comes to media attention. So if you do pre-order, then THANK YOU. I cannot express my gratitude enough."
Ed Winters is a vegan educator, best-selling author, public speaker and content creator. Ed has spoken at over 1/3 of UK universities and at every Ivy league college, including as a guest lecturer and Media & Design Fellow at Harvard University.
Pre-oder How to Argue With a Meat Eater (And Win Every Time) here: amzn.to/3NeWBMr
BBC Studios and WeAre8 partner up on a distribution deal for BBC Earth content
BBC Studios has announced it has partnered with B-Corp social media app WeAre8 on a distribution deal for BBC Earth content.
The partnership paves the way for new commercial opportunities by bringing together social media with the premium digital inventory of BBC Studios.
Launching early 2024, the three-year commitment will see BBC Studios release over one hundred clips per year on the WeAre8 social app, of which at least one-third will be newly packaged BBC Earth content.
The deal supercharges WeAre8 as the go-to destination for a more impactful social media experience and opens up opportunities for brands across the UK, USA, and Australia to both capitalise on WeAre8’s unique opt-in advertising model and explore new avenues for content marketing. Most importantly, this partnership will enable entertainment and positive collective action to co-exist in support of the planet.
BBC Earth will be providing a broad mixture of content covering nature, adventure, science and space. This will be taken from both its award-winning linear TV programming from the BBC Natural History Unit including landmark series Planet Earth, Seven Worlds One Planet and Frozen Planet, as well as its world class digital-first original series and impact campaigns such as Coexistence, Planet Fix and Our Frozen Planet.
The relationship with WeAre8 signifies a reimagining of the way social tech can work alongside a premium content provider and allows BBC Studios to commercialise their digital catalogue with other brands across WeAre8 and amplify this across BBC Studios digital platforms more widely. Content has never existed in social technology that enables collective action, and this partnership will empower audiences to become inspired changemakers at scale.
Chris Packham launches shoestring wildlife series on YouTube
Former Autumnwatch presenter describes 8 Out Of 10 Bats show as ‘the Sex Pistols of wildlife TV’.
A new upstart is entering the big-budget world of wildlife film-making. After the BBC scrapped Autumnwatch, Chris Packham is launching his own nature show, which will be broadcast for two weeks on YouTube.
In stark contrast to the multimillion-pound Planet Earth III, which premiered on Sunday night with 97-year-old Sir David Attenborough narrating, 8 Out of 10 Bats, which begins on Monday evening, is an “anarchic” DIY operation that cost just £50,000 and features a diverse roster of teenage and 20-something naturalist presenters.
“It’s like I’ve put a band together,” said Packham. “I feel like Malcolm McLaren and I’m trying to steer the Sex Pistols of wildlife TV.”
Packham and his stepdaughter Megan McCubbin, the Springwatch presenter and zoologist, will host the live show alongside new presenters including Indy Greene, 18, a conservationist; Christina Sinclair, a Scottish marine biologist; George Hassall, a wildlife gardener and student; and Kwesia, a wildlife vlogger also known as City Girl in Nature.
The series will showcase wildlife wonders found in Britain, combining short films by leading wildlife camerapeople with live segments, “hilarious props”, audience participation – and the promise of controversy.
Springwatch and Winterwatch are closely governed by the BBC’s impartiality rules, but Packham, an increasingly outspoken environmental campaigner, is free to be as hard-hitting as he wants on his online show.
8 Out of 10 Bats will cover environmental controversies including sewage pollution in rivers, protests against the Rosebank oil and gas field and a campaign against the destruction caused by a busway in Cambridgeshire.
Packham said: “Megs and I thought, let’s do everything the BBC can’t do, like get 12-year-olds talking about their bird feeder, make sure we do diversity properly, have a 50/50 split of male/female contributors and give all these young film-makers a foundation to show their wares.
“We can be a bit more controversial, we can do a bit more campaigning, and cover local campaigns where people are struggling.”
National Geographic Assembles Its Super-Voices to Narrate Upcoming Premium Natural History Series
Nat Geo Turns Blue-Chip Natural History on Its Head With Its Own Champions of Storytelling:
Awkwafina Narrates A REAL BUG’S LIFE
Angela Bassett Executive Produces and Narrates QUEENS
Jeremy Renner Narrates INCREDIBLE ANIMAL JOURNEYS
Continuing its leadership in natural history storytelling, National Geographic announced today the superstar-studded lineup of narrators for three blue-chip natural history shows. These champions of storytellers include Awkwafina (“The Little Mermaid,” “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens”) as narrator for the National Geographic Disney+ Original A REAL BUG’S LIFE; Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Flood,” “Good Night Oppy”) as executive producer and narrator for QUEENS; andJeremy Renner (“Avengers,” “Rennervations”) for INCREDIBLE ANIMAL JOURNEYS
“The narrator’s voice is such a crucial part of what makes a Natural History series successful. Angela, Awkwafina and Jeremy, each in their own way, bring such an enormous amount of charisma, personality and passion to these distinctive projects,” said Tom McDonald, executive vice president, Global Factual and Unscripted Content, National Geographic. “From Awkwafina’s wit to Jeremy’s warmth and Angela’s Shakespearean sense of drama, we feel both very excited and very proud to have such powerful storytellers guiding our audiences on these epic wildlife journeys.”
“We are celebrating not just the majestic creatures, big and small, captured on screen, but also the talent behind the lens who are integral to best-in-class storytelling,” said Janet Han Vissering, senior vice president, Development and Production. “The beauty of narration reflects the stunning visual cinematography that brings incredible storytelling to life.”
This announcement is testament to National Geographic’s unfaltering investment in an industry-leading portfolio of Natural History series and specials. From Jon Favreau’s LION to HOME, the most ambitious and definitive portrait of life on Earth ever attempted, and Ryan Reynold’s UNDERDOGS, Nat Geo partners with visionary filmmakers, passionate conservationists and marquee talent. Collectively sharing a passion for storytelling is what unites this incredible slate of talent.
INCREDIBLE ANIMAL JOURNEYS (Plimsoll Productions)
Narrated by Jeremy Renner (“Avengers,” “Rennervations”)
We might think we are the world's greatest explorers, but we're not. Every day, millions of animals migrate across the planet using routes passed down by generations. INCREDIBLE ANIMAL JOURNEYS puts viewers in the action as they soar, fly and swim from the Antarctic to the African Savanna and the Pacific Ocean to Alaska. Join the protective humpback mom shepherding her newborn calf, tiny dung beetle, monarch butterfly, determined barn swallow who never gives up, and many more species. Using the Earth's magnetic field, stars, moon and ocean currents in the sea and their innate senses on land, these travelers find food, mates, and their way across thousands of miles during their lifetime. Come along for the ride as Jeremy Renner narrates the wildest adventure on earth.
A REAL BUG’S LIFE (Plimsoll Productions)
Narrated by Awkwafina (“The Little Mermaid,” “Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens”)
Inspired by the World of Disney and Pixar's “A Bug's Life,” the new Disney+ Original Series from National Geographic, A REAL BUG’S LIFE, is an incredible adventure into nine different micro bug worlds around the globe, where the forces of nature play out on a miniature scale and where tiny creatures rely on amazing powers and extraordinary alliances to make it through each day. The stakes are high … even if the critters are extraordinarily small. With new developments in filming technology and narrated by fun and witty guide Awkwafina, follow the incredible stories of the tiny heroes living in worlds beyond the imagination — from a jumping spider looking for a home on the streets of New York to a Costa Rican orchid bee’s first day on the job making perfume! Full of mind-blowing new behaviors and larger-than-life characters, this family-friendly series shows that A REAL BUG’S LIFE can be every bit as fantastical as any animated film.
QUEENS (Wildstar Films)
Narrated by Angela Bassett (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” “The Flood,” “Good Night Oppy”)
The wildest places on the planet have always been home to powerful leaders, but this a story of a new hero – fierce, smart, resilient and ... female. QUEENS features matriarchies and female leaders around the world to tell a story of sacrifice and resilience but also of friendship and love. These QUEENS aren’t always kind or gentle, letting nothing come between them and the success and safety of their families. Guided by award-winning actress Angela Bassett’s powerful narration, QUEENS brings the natural world into focus through the female lens for the very first time. Four years in the making and helmed by a female-led production team from around the world – groundbreaking in the natural history space – the seven-part series leverages cutting-edge technology to reveal surprising insights into how females in the natural world rise to power, often relying on cooperation and wisdom over brute strength to get ahead. The final episode of the series celebrates the women who have gone to the ends of the Earth and dedicated their lives to documenting and protecting animal queens. We don’t call her Mother Nature for nothing. All hail ... the QUEENS.
Big Little Journeys Series Producer Paul Williams reveals how to track and film an animal smaller than a walnut
How we tracked and filmed tiny animals for our series Big Little Journeys
Paul Williams, Series Producer, BBC Studios Natural History Unit
Our series Big Little Journeys transports viewers into the lives of tiny animals. The journeys they take may be huge, but the heroes at the centre of each episode are tiny – and that presented a huge challenge to our team from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit trying to capture them
Every story is backed by science
To transport the audience into the lives of tiny animals and to follow their journeys, we relied on the support of scientific and conservation projects on five continents.
The research and experience of these dedicated scientists gave us a unique insight into the lives of these animals.
Every journey depicted in the series is based on the real journeys and experiences of animals studied by these scientists and observed by our production team during an extensive period of research prior to filming. It was sometimes difficult to know for sure if we were following the same individual - even the scientists that study them lose track of them. So this means we sometimes use multiple animals to depict the journey of an individual, as well as filming techniques such as composites and archive.
Painted turtles in Canada
To film painted turtles we worked with Dr Patrick Moldowan from the University of Toronto, who is part of a project that has been studying and tracking painted turtles in Algonquin provincial park for more than 50 years.
It's the world’s longest and most continuous study of turtles so Patrick and his team know everything that these tiny reptiles get up to on their journeys from the nesting ground to the safety of a wetland. They discovered only 1% of hatchlings make it to adulthood – such is the danger that awaits them at every turn.
But it is not only Canadian giants, like black bears, that these walnut-sized turtles must watch out for. In the 1930s, highway 60 was built straight through Algonquin Park, and since then its sandy slopes have become turtle nesting grounds.
The turtles have warm, dry sandy soil perfect for digging nests – but once the hatchlings emerge, they are in mortal danger, dodging huge trucks while predators patrol the highway in search of a meal. Capturing this on film took a huge amount of collaboration and coordination. Each scene is composed of shots of an individual turtle, which was the most active turtle identified by the scientists on the day. Other turtles are filmed and intercut with it. This was done for ethical purposes to ensure the well-being of the turtle and to not disturb the scientist’s research. By working with the scientists and the park authorities we ensured that no turtle was ever in danger!
It is the dramatic scene, portraying how hatchlings cross a road, that opens the first episode, showing the greatest challenge that all small animals face – the impact of the human world.
WFFR 2023 recognizes excellence in 11 categories. All our winners were announced at the Flamingo Award Ceremony on November 4, 2023 in Rotterdam.
After a careful selection the jury (Auke Florian Hiemstra Iris De Winter, Pieter-Rim de Kroon and Kees Moeliker) has decided! The winners of the Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam 2023 are:
FESTIVAL GRAND PRIX: North Atlantic – The Dark Ocean
BEST SHORT FILM: The Halcyon Days
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: All That Breathes
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR AWARD: Tracking Notes - The Secret World of Mountain Lions
AWARENESS AWARD:
Arctic – Our Frozen Planet
VAN LAWICK CONSERVATION AWARD:
Earthbound
PEOPLE & NATURE AWARD: The Battle for the Birds
BEST FILM FOR KIDS: Cactus Hotel
AWARD FOR BEST NEWCOMER: Creatures of the Kaleidoscope
AWARD FOR BEST INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION: The Grapes of Wrath
Alberto Lorente swims in loops like cetaceans in captivity
After spending 10 months in lockdown due to a surgery, Alberto Lorente @elhombredelasaguas, a professional swimmer from Barcelona, decided to raise awareness about cetaceans in captivity by swimming in loops for 24 hours in the smallest pool he could find.
Karla Munguia Colmenero, @Karmuncol, Ambassador for @Keikotheuntoldstory spoke with him about his message and the challenges he faced while swimming around like the many dolphins, orcas, belugas, sharks and many more species that spend their entire lives in confinement.
1. Don't buy a ticket.
2. Share this information.
3. Watch "Keiko, the Untold Story of the Star of Free Willy": keikotheuntoldstory.com
Richard Brock's "Wildlife Winners and Losers - How to turn Losers into Winners" film series is increasingly relevant to the State of Nature.
"Wildlife Winners and Losers - How to turn Losers into Winners"
– This series of some eighty titles/subjects/parts - has been available to a very wide audience, especially featuring the good news and bad news about the wide biodiversity around our living planet - the title we used when I was in charge of that major series with Sir David Attenborough (1984).
Recently (October 2023) a major report "The State of Nature" revealed some of the latest winners and losers in "The Great British Wild Isles". So, included in the previous, and still valid "Wildlife Winners and Losers" series, as mentioned above, I will refer to details about some twenty British subjects in the series, featuring a first, new film to launch this particular group of local subjects.
The "State of Nature" report has received wide media, press and publicitiy, implying that the subject is of much interest to the public who, maybe, can make a difference. Let's hope so.
– Richard Brock
October 2023
Want to know how to beat the big boys? Examples of huge corporations hit by bad publicity e.g. in Dubai, SeaWorld, Coca Cola, John Lewis, Unilever, Volkswagen, Shell. Every win for conservation adds to the power of film-makers in the future.
Jackson Wild Announces Winners of 2023 Media Awards and Special Jury Awards From Jackson Wild
28th September 2023
Jackson Wild has announced the winners of the 2023 Jackson Wild Media Awards and Special Jury Awards. Considered the highest bar of achievement in natural history filmmaking, the Jackson Wild Media Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science, and conservation storytelling.
This year’s competition saw over 1,100 category entries filmed in 74 different countries, with films competing for 30 content, craft, program, and special jury awards, as well as the Grand Teton Award, awarded to the overall best film in competition.
Winners were announced at the Grand Teton Awards Gala held at the Center for the Arts in Jackson, Wyoming as part of the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit. For more information, visit www.jacksonwild.org.
Awarded to the film or episode that most effectively highlights the environmental issue of our time, climate change - this can include social inequity issues and environmental justice.
Awarded to the film or episode that best explores the science of planet Earth and the cosmos beyond. Relevant disciplines include Geology, Paleontology, Oceanography, Astronomy, Meteorology, Evolution and Biology.
For excellence in wildlife, conservation, science, social or cultural storytelling from less represented geographical and cultural perspectives. Prioritizing productions led by media makers in non-Western regions including but not limited to Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Middle East, Micronesia and Indigenous communities around the world.
Awarded to the host, presenter, onscreen investigative journalist or collection of expert onscreen commentators that best engage the viewer while communicating the knowledge, message, mission and spirit of a film related to our natural world.
Silverback
An Off the Fence Production for BBC In co production with France Télévision in association with Featuristic Films Featuring Vianet Djenguet
Awarded to the most effective and compelling film, episode or social media video content under three minutes that best advances an understanding or appreciation of the natural world.
Awarded to the feature-length film, 75 minutes or longer in runtime, factual or narrative, that best advances an understanding or appreciation of the natural world.
For outstanding wildlife, environmental or natural science focused film produced by a student currently enrolled or no more than two years out of an academic program.
National Geographic, Earthship Productions and Plimsoll Productions
Cinematography: Chris Watts, Jon Shaw, Jeff Hester, Graham Hatherly, Alfredo Barroso, Matthew Hood, Simon De Glanville, Robert Hollingworth, Matthew Norman, Mark Ó Fearghaíl, Mark Payne-Gill
Awarded for the editing that most enhances the nature related film of which it is a part of.
Frozen Planet II: Frozen Worlds
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production for BBC & BBC America co-produced with ZDF and France Televisions. A BBC Open University Partnership Editors: Matt Meech and David Warner
Awarded for the original musical score that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part.
Nkashi: Race for the Okavango
A National Geographic Society Impact Story Lab production, with support from Okavango Eternal Original Music: Koolkat Motyiko (Mr. Seronga), Mikael Rosen, NEWF Compose Yourself Lab
Awarded for the combined contribution of sound editing, production mixing and post-production mixing that most enhances the nature related film of which it is a part.
Big Beasts: The Elephant Seal
Plimsoll Productions production company for Apple TV+
Dubbing Mixer: Chris Domaille
Dubbing Editor: Roy Noy
For outstanding achievement in nature related filmmaking in the face of adversity or limitations. Prioritizing films that are non-commissioned and not currently in commercial distribution, judging will be based on ingenuity, imagination, passion, and overall quality of the work.
PATROL
Juli Films and Perpetuo Films in collaboration with Re:wild
SPECIAL JURY RECOGNITIONS
Special Jury Award Winner for Impact Campaign
Jackson Wild recognizes innovative approaches to active impact campaigns that extend conservation beyond the screen to inspire measurable on-the-ground change through education, policy change and engagement and outreach.
The Territory
National Geographic Documentary Films, Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava, Documist and Associação Jupaú. In association with Time Studios, XTR Doc Society Climate Story Fund Impact Producers: Marianna Olinger, Will Miller, Alex Pritz, Gabriel Uchida, Txai Surui, Sarah Sparkman
Special Jury Award Winner for Innovation in Green Production Award
For implementation of sustainable best practices to reduce the environmental impact through the entire lifecycle of a production.
Jane Goodall - Reasons for Hope
Science North, Jane Goodall Institute, Cosmic Picture Distribution, FedNor, NOHFC, Arizona Science Center, City of Sudbury, Greater Grand Sudbury, Rivian
Honorable Mentions
A special honor for entries that were not selected as category finalists, but stood out to our jury for a unique or important aspect outside the standard category criteria.
For over 30 years, Jackson Wild has been a catalyst for accelerating and elevating impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science, and conservation. Through innovative and collaborative community gatherings, skill-building initiatives, and mentorship programs, Jackson Wild creates an inclusive forum for storytellers to more deeply illuminate connections to the natural world and our collective responsibility to the wild.
Jackson Wild’s international board members include: African Wildlife Foundation, ARRI, ARTE France, BBC Studios, Blue Ant Media / Love Nature, Conservation International, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Doclights, GBH, Gorongosa Restoration Project, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Lucky 8 Productions, National Geographic Content, National Geographic Society, Nature/WNET, Netflix, NEWF (Nature, Environment, Wildlife, Filmmaking), Off the Fence Productions, ORF Universum, RED Digital Cinema, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Smithsonian Channel/Paramount, Sony Electronics, The Nature Conservancy, Terra Mater Studios, Wanda Films, Wildstar Films, and World Wildlife Fund US.
Studio Silverback launch Open Planet, a free footage library for global impact
"We’re excited to reveal our new project, a ground-breaking new footage library, Open Planet, announced today (18 Sept) at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York."
Launching globally in early-2024, Open Planet aims to revolutionise the way we tell stories about our changing planet by enabling everyone, everywhere, access to high-quality, scientifically accurate footage – free to use for educational, environmental and impact storytelling. This unprecedented storytelling toolkit will support changemakers, educators, content creators, organisations and decision-makers to tell stories that will drive the changes needed in the next decade.
Studio Silverback is making world-class environmental footage freely available to content creators all over the world. We have worked in collaboration with a global network of industry-leading experts, and in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab, creators of interactive, data-driven stories about our planet using the EarthTime platform, to create Open Planet.
The fast-growing library features powerful footage and data-led visuals produced exclusively for Open Planet, as well as incredible cinematography contributed by world-leading filmmakers and producers, helping to build the most comprehensive free library of climate and nature footage in history.
Colin Butfield, Executive Director of Studio Silverback and Director of Open Planet, said:
“As filmmakers, we know stories can be powerful agents of change, and with the window for action rapidly closing to address the planetary emergency, there’s never been a greater need for compelling, authentic storytelling. Open Planet will not only present the causes and impacts of climate change and nature loss, but also the incredible ingenuity of those driving innovation to keep crucial sustainability targets within reach.”
Gabriel O’Donnell, Principal Programmer for EarthTime, said:
“EarthTime is excited to partner with Open Planet because we believe the combination of compelling on-the-ground video narrative coupled with the best of insightful data visualisations can make the state of the world undeniable. We believe that visually convincing evidence of change, both micro and macro, will move people forward from questioning reality to embracing the fact that we all have an immediate responsibility to act in the best interests of our one planet.”
The announcement of Open Planet coincides with the critical halfway point for implementing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as political leaders gather in New York this week to review progress and accelerate actions towards the crucial 2030 targets.
While the damaging effects of climate change and nature loss are already being felt across the world, credible and inspiring footage documenting the major environmental problems and solutions is scarce, and often rights-restricted or expensive to use. Open Planet was created to change that, unlocking existing barriers faced by global storytellers in scaling up communications about the planetary crisis.
Caroline Petit, Deputy Director for the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Europe (UNRIC), said:
“At this halfway point of the Sustainable Development Goals, it is crucial to provide all possible tools to supercharge the breakthroughs needed to achieve them. Capturing hearts and minds to motivate action is one powerful way to do so. We welcome this free access to quality, accurate footage that will allow everyone to work together towards a cleaner, healthier planet, and dignity for all.”
An early version of Open Planet is now live, with over 3,000 clips already available for use. The full public release of Open Planet will follow in early-2024.
For more information and to explore Open Planet, please visit: www.openplanet.org
"We won a Global Ocean Treaty – now it’s time to make it count." – Greenpeace
This major victory unlocked a whole world of ocean protection potential. It's up to us to make it a reality.
In March 2023, world leaders adopted the first ever Global Ocean Treaty, heeding the calls of 5.5 million people from across the world. After decades of imagining what a network of ocean sanctuaries could look like – magical underwater forests and colourful reefs teeming with life – this historic conservation victory has brought us closer to making this vision a reality..
But getting a Global Ocean Treaty is just the start. The treaty makes it possible to create vast ocean sanctuaries where marine life can recover and thrive. But this can only begin once at least 60 governments have signed it into law.
Many people haven’t heard about this yet, so we’ve teamed up with Simon Pegg, Camila Cabello and Jane Fonda on a short film that brings the story to life. Watch, share and spread the word.
What happens when three ocean friends, Fish, Turtle and Eel, come face to face with the realities of ocean destruction? Watch our stunning short animation film to find out.
Actor and screenwriter Simon Pegg took direct action with Greenpeace UK to stop harmful fishing. Now he's starring as the whale in our new animation. Watch this “behind the scenes” video to find out why ocean protection is close to his heart.
Recommended book: Roaming Wild: The Founding of Compassion in World Farmingby Emma Silverthorn
Roaming Wild details the unconventional and pioneering lives of Anna and Peter Roberts, a British couple who were instrumental in making the animal welfare movement a respectable, highly-impactful and worldwide organisation. This book explores the paths that led Anna and Peter to found and steward what is now the world's largest and most successful animal welfare charity from a backroom of their own home, with few funds, and at a time when caring for animals and our planet was seen as 'crankish' and 'sentimental'.
This is the story of their family, their era, influence, their rebellion and prophetic ideas and the development of Compassion in World Farming. It spans the period from the early 1920s when they were born, throughout the decades of their childhoods and World War II, to their highly romantic meeting and marriage in the 1950s, and then the next years of their lives as dairy and chicken farmers in rural Hampshire. This 'ordinary' part of their story preceded their move to change everything by making the 'extraordinary' decision during the tumultuous 1960s, of risking their livelihood, going vegetarian (as animal farmers), and losing the approval of their peers, to found their compassion-driven campaign. This personal transformation was at a time when the British countryside was also transforming, irrevocably and for the worse, when intensive, polluting farms were just taking root, the cruel battery and broiler system had recently been developed, and the countryside's biodiversity was being destroyed with the implementation of monoculture and the profligate spraying of lethal biocides, such as DDT.
The Roberts were at first rejected by the popular animal charities of the day; believing that the public cared only about companion animals or those in circuses, rather than those animals who suffer the most at human hands those in the food chain and so the Roberts family went out alone and set up CIWF in the face of much public derision. Then followed the highs and lows of campaign life, a court battle with an order of veal-farming Catholic monks, famine campaigns in Ethiopia, work alongside comedian Spike Milligan, model Celia Hammond and philosopher Peter Singer, challenging EU legislation, and battles with agricultural and chemical giant Monsanto. Corporate giants like McDonald's were influenced to go free-range, even the British Royal family was challenged to go free-range, and animals were put on the agenda of every major political party in the 1970s and much more.
The story interweaves the personal with the political and documents the highs and lows of family life, the judgement faced when they chose to raise their three daughters as vegetarians in the 1960s, their myriad spiritual quests, including the couple's time spent in the Indian ashram of Sathya Sai Baba, their rewilding of the land near their family home, and the story of their fifty-year love.
This is a tale of an 'ordinary couple with an extraordinary vision'.
Jackson Wild Announces New Executive Director From Jackson Wild
22nd September 2023
Jackson Wild, the world’s preeminent natural history and conservation media organization, announced today that Geoff Daniels will join the organization as the next Executive Director.
Daniels, who has been a leader in the film and television industry for over 20 years, joins Jackson Wild in its 32nd year of programming. Formerly known as the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, Jackson Wild accelerates and elevates impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science and climate through innovative and collaborative gatherings, skill-building initiatives, mentorship programs and career development. Jackson Wild is an inclusive global forum, supporting filmmakers from around the world and celebrating excellence in storytelling that illuminates our connection to the natural world and collective responsibility to the wild.
Daniels will lead Jackson Wild’s year-round programming and will be responsible for guiding the organization’s overall vision and strategy. Shaping Jackson Wild’s presence globally and locally, Daniels will lead the execution and planning of the annual Jackson Wild Summit and continue to foster the sense of community that is integral to the organization’s work.
“Geoff has been a champion of Jackson Wild from the beginning, quite literally. He attended the first event in 1991 and has been an active member of our community ever since,” shared current Executive Director Lisa Samford, who will step away at the end of October after 20 years leading the organization. “Change is essential for Jackson Wild to continue being the dynamic, innovative organization we strive to be, and it gives me great comfort to know that the organization will be in the hands of such a capable and passionate leader.”
Prior to joining Jackson Wild, Geoff Daniels was EVP of Unscripted Entertainment for the London-based production company, Nutopia, overseeing programming and marketing while expanding factual formats and executive producing series including 7 Toughest Days with Dwyane Fields, Rewind the 90s and Shark Beach. Daniels previously served as Executive Vice President of Global Unscripted Entertainment for National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Nat Geo on Disney + managing all original content and commissioning many of the network’s most popular and award winning series like Chris Hemsworth’s Limitless, Secrets of the Whales and The World According to Jeff Goldblum. In 2010 Daniels launched Nat Geo WILD, leading its rapid growth with brand-defining events such as Big Cat Week and SharkFest, creating nearly 200 hours a year of innovative blue chip series, feature docs and series formats that furthered the network's commitment to providing extraordinary wildlife films that inspired audiences worldwide to care about the planet.
“It’s such an incredible honor to have this opportunity to build on the inspiration that Lisa’s vision and Jackson Wild have provided to our filmmakers and wider conservation community,” shared new Executive Director Geoff Daniels. “In the coming years, you can expect us to shine the brightest light possible on the kind of innovative storytelling and strategic partnerships that will elevate Jackson Wild as a true beacon of hope for anyone seeking to make a real impact in creating a healthier, more sustainable future for our planet.”
Daniels began his career in new product development at Time-Life Video & Television, where he played a key role in building TLV into one of the world's leading home video distributors through the acquisition and marketing of Sir David Attenborough's “Trials of Life” and Ken Burns' “The Civil War” and in co-production with the BBC on the award-winning children's series “Growing Up Wild.”
“As a former member of the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors and a longtime member of the Jackson Wild community, Geoff is an ideal leader to oversee the continued growth of Jackson Wild and solidify the organization’s position as a leading force in the conservation media space for years to come. The Board feels confident in Geoff’s ability to lead the organization to new heights,” shared Bill Gardner, chairperson of Jackson Wild’s Board of Directors.
Gardner continued: “On behalf of the entire Board, I'd like to thank Lisa for her 20 years of service to Jackson Wild. During her tenure as Executive Director, Lisa has transformed the organization into a global juggernaut and a champion of inclusivity in the natural history filmmaking industry. We are immensely grateful for her leadership and vision, and appreciate her continued support for a smooth transition.”
To learn more and register for the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit, visit jacksonwild.org.
For over 30 years, Jackson Wild has been a catalyst for accelerating and elevating impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science, and conservation. Through innovative and collaborative community gatherings, skill-building initiatives, and mentorship programs, Jackson Wild creates an inclusive forum for storytellers to more deeply illuminate connections to the natural world and our collective responsibility to the wild.
Jackson Wild’s international board members include: African Wildlife Foundation, ARRI, ARTE France, BBC Studios, Blue Ant Media / Love Nature, Conservation International, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Doclights, GBH, Gorongosa Restoration Project, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, Lucky 8 Productions, National Geographic Content, National Geographic Society, Nature/WNET, Netflix, NEWF (Nature, Environment, Wildlife, Filmmaking), Off the Fence Productions, ORF Universum, RED Digital Cinema, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Smithsonian Channel/Paramount, Sony Electronics, The Nature Conservancy, Terra Mater Studios, Wanda Films, Wildstar Films, and World Wildlife Fund US.
This is the story of life's epic battle to conquer and survive on planet Earth. Today there are 20 million species on our planet, yet what we see is just a snapshot in time - 99% of earth's inhabitants are lost to our deep past. The story of what happened to these dynasties - their rise and their fall - is truly remarkable.
In partnership with Industrial Light & Magic, the series uses the latest technology and science to bring long extinct creatures back to life, Life on Our Planet reveals the incredible story of life on our planet.
Documentary Series, 8 x 60 min episodes
Series Producers: Dan Tapster, Keith Scholey, Alastair Fothergill
Executive producers: Steven Spielberg, Alastair Fothergill, Keith Scholey, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey
Production Companies: Silverback Films, Amblin Television
Bristol-based conservation charity Wildscreen is reviving its online nature education hub under the name Wildscreen Ark, with the relaunch set for early 2024.
The aim of Wildscreen Ark is to provide young people with the resources to grow their knowledge and passion for nature, and to help them discover ways in which they can support and protect it. Wildscreen has been working with Bath-based software development agency Rocketmakers to develop the Ark prototype, which will focus on UK species and content. The prototype will be the foundation for Wildscreen’s test-and-learn process, in which the company will work hand-in-hand with its key user group, youth aged 13 to 18, to help make the resource relevant, inspiring and useful for its intended audience.
The original version of Wildscreen Ark, known as Arkive, was created by Christopher Parsons, a founding member of the BBC Natural History Unit and Wildscreen. It was a large, free multimedia project that documented more than 16,000 endangered species with more than 100,000 videos, photos and authenticated fact files. At its peak, the Arkive attracted more than 12 million unique users per year, and its educational resources had more than a million downloads from the Times Educational Supplement.
In anticipation of the relaunch, Wildscreen is looking for new content to enrich the platform, as well as individuals and organizations from the spheres of wildlife filmmaking, conservation, science and education, to partner on the project. The organization will launch a crowdfunding campaign next week to assist with developing Ark’s educational and conservation features, as well as its in-school delivery to teachers and students.
What the F? Why we must tackle the climate-harming gases lurking in cooling equipment
With temperature records being broken around the world on an almost daily basis, July 2023 is set to be declared by the UN’s World Meteorological Organisation as the hottest month ever recorded.
Climate change is clearly not a looming threat but is very much a lived reality for billions of people around the world – and time is fast running out for humanity to take steps to lessen its impact.
EIA’s Climate campaign has long advocated tackling the ‘low-hanging fruit’ of climate-warming emissions, specifically the phasing out or down of fluorinated gases, or F-gases.
These are a range of greenhouse gases widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning, most notably hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).
As global temperatures rise alongside income levels in the developing world, the demand for air-conditioners is set to explode.
To ensure this demand can be met without devastating climate impacts, it is vital that cooling systems are as sustainable as possible – especially when the technology to do so already exists.
To spread awareness of the threats posed by HFCs and encouraging the transition to less harmful alternatives, our Climate team has produced this series of short, informative videos on the issue.
"Surfing Godzillas" And Puma Reunions Among Bertie Gregory's "Animals Up Close" Highlights
Gregory has known Petaka the puma since she was a cub, but now she has offspring of her own.
reunion with a puma named Petaka and a perilous time beneath the waves filming mini “surfing Godzillas” are among the highlights of wildlife filmmaker, presenter, and National Geographic explorer Bertie Gregory’s new series, Animals Up Close. The series set out to focus on the lives of individual animals to get a comprehensive view of what life is like for some of Earth’s most curious creatures, and the resulting footage includes never-before-seen behaviors.
Bertie Gregory’s honest depictions of the highs and lows of wildlife filmmaking made him a global hit on social media. Working with National Geographic, his approach brings viewers behind the lens to get a better idea of what it’s really like going out into the field to film some of Earth’s most amazing, and sometimes dangerous, wild animals.
However, as Gregory told IFLScience, often it’s the humans that are the danger – not the other way around.
Steve Backshall deep dives into shark conservation in new CBBC series Deadly Mission Shark
New series aims to inspire a new generation of conservationists through oceanic adventure in the Bahamas
"BBC Children’s remains committed to fun content that sparks wonder, ignites curiosity and educates younger viewers about the world around them. In a time where our natural world faces unprecedented challenges, Deadly Mission Shark aims not just to inform its younger audiences, but inspire. Through Steve’s guidance and the passion of these young participants, Deadly Mission Shark brings adventures in the deep depths of the Bahamian oceans to audiences wherever they are across the UK."
— Patricia Hidalgo, Director of BBC Children’s and Education
BAFTA-winning BBC natural history presenter Steve Backshall takes 10 children on an extraordinary oceanic adventure in the Bahamas to save the world’s sharks in brand new CBBC series Deadly Mission Shark.
With 70% of oceanic sharks lost in the last 50 years, sharks are heading for extinction and a new generation of shark advocates is needed. Under Steve’s supervision, ten children will be chosen to undertake a ten day boot camp at a shark sanctuary in the Bahamas where they will learn about the challenges sharks face and how they could help save them in the future.
During the boot camp, the team will learn how to dive and how to interact with sharks. The young advocates will also be actively involved in hands-on conservation projects, benefit from interactions with marine biologists, grasp the significance of shark habitats, and dive deep into Bahamian culture.
Patricia Hidalgo, Director of BBC Children’s and Education, says: "BBC Children’s remains committed to fun content that sparks wonder, ignites curiosity and educates younger viewers about the world around them. In a time where our natural world faces unprecedented challenges, Deadly Mission Shark aims not just to inform its younger audiences, but inspire. Through Steve’s guidance and the passion of these young participants, Deadly Mission Shark brings adventures in the deep depths of the Bahamian oceans to audiences wherever they are across the UK."
Deadly Mission Shark, produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, will be available on the CBBC channel and BBC iPlayer from Monday 4 September.
Deadly Mission Shark is a 10 x 30 mins series produced by BBC Studios. It was commissioned by Sarah Muller, Head of BBC Children’s Commissioning and Acquisitions, 7+, and the Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Melissa Hardinge. The Executive producer is Rosemary Edwards from BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit.
Introducing Wildscreen's EDGE of Nature: Short Film Fund – Applications are Open!
Delivered in partnership with On the Edge, this new short film fund will catalyse new and creative projects by emerging filmmakers globally, bringing new perspectives and fresh approaches to natural world storytelling.
Think out-of-the-box storytelling, engaging Gen Z audiences and spotlighting EDGE species and habitats.
Grants up to £15,000 will be available to filmmakers globally.
Applications open Thursday 7th of September.
The EDGE of Nature: Short Film Fund is your chance to bring your natural world film project to life! Delivered in partnership with On the Edge, the fund will platform unique stories and storytelling talent from across the international wildlife production and conservation ecosystem, spanning off-screen to on-screen talent. Applications will be open to filmmakers globally.
Grants of between £2,000 to £15,000 are available.
Successful grantees will receive training, support, mentorship, and their films will be previewed at Wildscreen Festival 2024.
WHAT IS EDGE?
Discover more about EDGE species, EDGE zones and the EDGE of Nature: Short Film Fund below.
EDGE SPECIES
EDGE species are Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered species in the plant, fungi and animal kingdoms.
They collectively represent billions of years of evolutionary history. When they’re gone, there’s no replacing them.
Click here to discover which species are categorised as EDGE species.
EDGE ZONES
EDGE Zones add up to less than 1% of earth’s land collectively but hold one-third of the planet’s terrestrial vertebrates.
They are spread across five continents, from the humid forests of Madagascar to the mountainous Western Ghats region of India.
Have an aspect of an Edge Species or Edge Zone as the central focus
Be a film-based short (minimum 1 minute, maximum 40 minutes). It can be any genre, including animation and genres other than traditional Natural History
Not have any finance already secured or agreements in place from a broadcaster, platform, sales agent etc. and cannot have previously been broadcast, transmitted or commercially distributed in any form
To read the full Terms and Conditions, including further project eligibility criteria go here
APPLICANT CRITERIA
To be elgible to apply, applicants must;
Be 18 years of age on or before the 1st October 2023.
Not have any professional (i.e. broadcast) Producer or Director credits (please note that this does not include student projects).
Have less than five cumulative years of paid experience within the film and television industry.
Have a maximum of one Assistant Producer credit.
Not be in full time education at any point between October 1st 2023 and November 1st 2024.
An application can be submitted by one person or a team. If a team, only two people can participate in the virtual live pitching session in October 2023. Full applicant eligibility is outlined in the terms and conditions.
WHAT YOU NEED TO APPLY
To apply you must provide a;
To apply you will need to provide a Project Treatment, Project Budget and Project Plan.
HOW TO APPLY
Applications are now open! To apply;
Complete the online application form (here). An application overview is also available. Please note that all applications must be submitted via the online application form. Applications submitted in any other format will not be accepted.
Boxfish Research is excited to announce the official renaming to Boxfish Robotics. The decision reflects the company’s evolving focus and product line, emphasising its commitment to underwater exploration and robotics technology.
As Boxfish product portfolio advanced, with a diverse range of robotics systems, both tethered and untethered, we recognized the need for a name that better represents our current scope and aspirations. Hence, Boxfish Robotics emerged as the ideal identity to embody our innovation-driven vision.
The original name, Boxfish Research, was rooted in ties to scientific exploration. At that time, we focused on offering 360 cameras, ROVs and custom solutions, catering to our esteemed clientele in marine research and served their exploration and research endeavors.
Boxfish Robotics mission
As Boxfish Robotics, our mission remains: to lead the underwater robotics revolution with unparalleled innovation, excellence clarity in underwater imagery, and a commitment to sustainable ocean exploration.
About Boxfish Robotics
In 1974, war broke out in Cyprus between Turkish and Greek forces. After months of conflict, the island was divided in two by a 10 km wide demilitarised zone, its cities abandoned, its homes emptied. What was once nicknamed 'The Green Line' has become just that. With many areas untouched by human interference, flora and fauna have begun to flourish. 50 years later, two ecologists resolve to enter and study this no-man’s land. What they discover is a story of life's ability to thrive in the most unlikely of places.
Boxfish Robotics stands as a distinguished underwater technology company, specialising in the design of ROVs and HAUVs. These systems provide to gain profound insights, experience, and work within the underwater realm. Boxfish Robotics’ technologies have proven their capabilities across various industries, including submerged asset inspection, offshore energy, marine science, expedition research vessels, aquaculture, biosecurity, and cinematography.
Drawing from our expertise and customer-centric approach, we proudly offer user-friendly, actively stabilised submersibles that combine ultra-high-definition video with advanced sensing capabilities. Our ROVs, including the inspection class Boxfish Alpha, the expeditionary class Boxfish ROV, and the versatile cinematography drone Boxfish Luna, set new standards for safety, ease of operation, and productivity for industry professionals. Our robust, stable, and highly maneuverable ROV platform provides the flexibility to upgrade with sensors, accessories, and autonomous features to meet evolving demands.
Boxfish autonomous drone ARV-i
In collaboration with Norwegian company Transmark Subsea, we developed the autonomous underwater resident vehicle, ARV-i, tailored to continuously monitor and inspect underwater assets for offshore industries. ARV-i, is powered by advanced Artificial Intelligence and sensor integration, facilitates automated and remote operations, while ensuring efficient and precise data collection.
"As Boxfish Robotics, we are delighted to announce the renaming, symbolising a transformative phase in our operations. Boxfish Robotics embodies our passion for innovation and dedication to the future of our oceans. Through our advanced robotics systems, we aspire to empower researchers, explorers, and industry professionals worldwide, facilitating a deeper understanding and responsible interaction with the underwater world."
Craig Anderson, Co-founder of Boxfish Robotics.
BBC Presenter’s Dilemma: To Present Nature Shows Or Protest And Risk A Prison Sentence?
One of the UK’s highest profile nature presenters has revealed he is at a career crossroads, as he tries to determine the best use of his time to save the planet.
For nearly 40 years, Chris Packham has fronted TV shows about wildlife, beginning his career in children’s TV, and now being touted as a natural successor to pioneering presenter Sir David Attenborough.
Now Packham has made a documentary with Channel 4 called, provisionally,Is It Time to Break the Law? and he told the UK’s Guardian newspaper that, personally, he remains unsure of the answer, as any criminal record would bring his high-profile BBC career – and huge platform – to an end.
Packham said: “I would lose my voice immediately if I went to prison. I would also lose part of my mind, if not all of it, because that environment is not suitable for someone like myself. I’ve always been terrified of prisons.” [Packham was diagnosed with autism in his forties, he is now 62.]
“So is going to prison the right thing to do? There are people who would argue that that would be a big step, it would send a message, the whole Mandela thing. I’m not comparing myself to Mandela, but you know what I mean. Symbolically those sorts of things can be very powerful. But is that the best use of Chris Packham, or is it coming up with other imaginative ways of keeping the message in the public domain?… I’m not saying it might not happen at some point.”
There is no mistaking Packham’s sincerity on the issue, as he continued:
“I need to be more active. I’m 62 years old, I’m running out of time, I’ve got to try to alleviate some of the grotesque guilt I carry for our generation not having done the work early enough. I can’t help but feel a degree of personal responsibility.”
Also: Chris Packham on saving the planet: ‘Is going to prison the right thing to do?’ – standard.co.uk – TV naturalist Chris Packham has discussed being at a career crossroads as he considers the best options and use of his time to save the planet.
The wildlife broadcaster and environmentalist, 62, who fronts a new Channel 4 documentary titled Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law?, told the Guardian that he remains unsure of the answer amid the threat of climate change.
Is this moment in time the turning point for humanity? – Earth – BBC
There's nothing else like it. Chris Packham reveals the epic, 4.5-billion-year story of our home - from its dramatic creation to the arrival of human life... and whatever's next!?
The Earthshot Prize will be produced by Studio Silverback, the world’s leading natural history producer.
Studio Silverback is excited to share that they will be producing the 2023 broadcast for Prince William’s The Earthshot Prize, the ambitious global initiative to protect and restore our planet. Leading independent distributor All3Media International will be the global distributer for this content.
All3Media International say "We are thrilled to be distributing the broadcast content of Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, the ambitious global initiative to protect and restore our planet. This also marks the first time The Earthshot Prize will be produced by Studio Silverback, the world’s leading natural history producer."
This year the prize will travel to Singapore for its third annual Awards ceremony, which takes place on Tuesday 7 November. Under Studio Silverback’s vision with Executive Producer and Director Julia Knowles and Executive Producer Elaine Paterson, The Earthshot Prize will focus on a celebration of human ingenuity and our amazing natural world with an emphasis on the Prize as a unique moment of global unity and ambition to find environmental solutions.
During the inspiring event, each of the five winners of The Earthshot Prize 2023 will be awarded a catalytic £1million to help scale their environmental solutions. The ceremony will also feature performances by world-renowned musicians and artists.
Studio Silverback’s production of the global initiative will also mark the first time the awards ceremony will be accompanied by a series of events as part of Earthshot Week. Beginning Monday 6 November, the week will see global leaders, businesses and investors convene in Singapore to explore exciting opportunities with The Earthshot Prize winners and finalists, aimed at accelerating their solutions and bringing about tangible action to repair the planet. Members of the public will also be invited to experience local activations centred on the 2023 cohort of Earthshot solutions.
Founded by Prince William in 2020, The Earthshot Prize is a prestigious environmental award which aims to discover, celebrate, accelerate and scale solutions that can help put the world firmly on a trajectory towards a stable climate, where communities, oceans and biodiversity thrive in harmony by 2030. The five ‘Earthshots’ – simple and ambitious goals to repair our planet – are: Protect and Restore Nature, Clean Our Air, Revive Our Oceans, Build a Waste-Free World and Fix Our Climate.
Colin Butfield, Director of Studio Silverback said “Studio Silverback’s mission to reveal the urgent truth of our changing planet to a mass global audience through the power of storytelling makes The Earthshot Prize a brilliant partner. Earthshot’s vision to take action to move towards a better future, aligns perfectly with our mission. Delivering this message in an entertainment led broadcast event to a global audience is of vital importance and we are delighted to have All3Media International on board to find global homes for this powerful broadcast moment.”
Maartje Horchner, EVP Content at All3Media International, added: “The Earthshot Prize’s Awards TV show delivers an important message of positivity to the widest possible audience. It’s going to be a hugely entertaining event and are delighted to be working with Studio Silverback on this project.”
Silverback has previously produced the landmark five-part BBC and Discovery+ series in 2021 (‘The Earthshot Price: Repairing Our Planet), as well as the five-part video series showcasing finalists in 2022. This is the first time Studio Silverback will also be producing the awards show, continuing our ongoing partnership with The Earthshot Prize.
Sir David Attenborough to present Planet Earth III
The third instalment of the landmark award-winning series made is by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced by BBC America and The Open University.
"Planet Earth wouldn’t be Planet Earth without David, so I’m delighted he is presenting the third series. As ever, he has brought his huge enthusiasm and wisdom, has been encouraging about our new perspective and has, I know, really enjoyed seeing the extraordinary new wonders brought to the screen." — Mike Gunton, Executive Producer, Planet Earth III
BBC Studios Natural History Unit has confirmed that Sir David Attenborough will present Planet Earth III, the third instalment of the landmark award-winning series.
Mike Gunton Executive Producer said, ‘Planet Earth wouldn’t be Planet Earth without David, so I’m delighted he is presenting the third series. As ever, he has brought his huge enthusiasm and wisdom, has been encouraging about our new perspective and has, I know, really enjoyed seeing the extraordinary new wonders brought to the screen’
‘The opening of the series with David was filmed in the beautiful British countryside in exactly the location where Charles Darwin used to walk whilst thinking-over his Earth-shaking ideas about evolution. It seemed the perfect place for David to introduce Planet Earth III and remind us of both the wonders and the fragility of our planet. ….and for him, of course, the sun shined under blue skies one of the only days it did all summer!.’
Planet Earth III, an 8x60’ series made by BBC Studios Natural History Production co-produced with BBC America, ZDF and France Televisions in partnership with The Open University for BBC. The Executive Producer is Mike Gunton, and the Series Producer is Matt Brandon. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. It will tx on BBC One later this year.
The nature world’s equivalent to the Oscars, the awards celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science and conservation storytelling. Out of over 450 submissions, Hugh Allen’s The Thin Green Line and Daniel Green’s The Guardians of Mukogodo Forest have been selected for the Student category, the only UK films in this category.
The NFTS Science and Natural History MA takes students on a two-year journey of discovery; starting with the history of natural history and science programmes, through to ideation and production. The School has a strong emphasis on 'learning by doing': practical training led by industry professionals. Find out more about the course at nfts.co.uk/snh. Last few places available for starting in January 2024.
In 1974, war broke out in Cyprus between Turkish and Greek forces. After months of conflict, the island was divided in two by a 10 km wide demilitarised zone, its cities abandoned, its homes emptied. What was once nicknamed 'The Green Line' has become just that. With many areas untouched by human interference, flora and fauna have begun to flourish. 50 years later, two ecologists resolve to enter and study this no-man’s land. What they discover is a story of life's ability to thrive in the most unlikely of places.
At the foothills of Mount Kenya is the nation's largest forest reserve, and one of Kenya's last remaining dry forests. Told through the perspective of Lesi Lentula, an elder of the Yiaku Indigenous People, this film reveals a unique relationship between a community and bees which has become an unlikely saviour of Mukogodo Forest.
Wildlife-film.com and the National Film and Television School would like to congratulate the students involved in these films! If you have a passion for science, the natural world and cinema and are looking for the perfect way to blend them, check out our Directing and Producing Science and Natural History MA today!
If you would like to get in touch with any NFTS alumni who worked behind the scenes on these productions please contact alumni@nfts.co.uk.
Jackson Wild Selects Finalists for 2023 Media Awards and Special Jury Awards From Jackson Wild
3rd August 2023
Jackson Wild has announced the films selected as finalists for the 2023 Jackson Wild Media Awards. Considered the highest bar of achievement in natural history filmmaking, the Jackson Wild Media Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science, and conservation storytelling.
The Jackson Wild Media Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science, and conservation storytelling. This year’s competition saw over 1,100 category entries filmed in 74 different countries, with films competing for 30 content, craft, program, and special jury awards, as well as the Grand Teton Award, awarded to the overall best film in competition. The judging process involved more than 200 international judges who collectively devoted over 1,000 hours to screening the submitted media.
“We received a record number of entries to this year’s awards competition, underscoring the power that storytelling has to connect each of us with the planet. The judges have selected an outstanding slate of finalists, consisting of richly woven films that highlight on-the-ground impact and share a multitude of perspectives from around the globe,” said Lisa Samford, Executive Director of Jackson Wild.
Winners will be announced on Thursday, September 28 during the Grand Teton Awards Gala at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, the culminating event of the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit.
National Geographic, Earthship Productions and Plimsoll Productions
Short Form:
How Does the Mussel Grow its Beard? | Deep Look
KQED, PBS Digital Studios
KAPPE RAAGA The song of Kumbara - A Night Frog
Creative Capture Pvt Ltd, Goutham Shankar, Prashanth S Nayaka, Pradeep K Sastry, Ashwin P Kumar
Kingdom of Ice: Antarctica's Leopard Seals
SeaLegacy
Ecosystem
Awarded to the film that most effectively explores a habitat and the interconnectivity of its unique ecosystem.
Long Form:
Deep Rising
Deep Rising PTE. LTD.
Mollie's Pack
Grizzly Creek Films
NATURE: Treasure of the Caribbean
A Production of the WNET Group, Terra Mater Studios, Belugasmile Productions and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in Co-Production with Doclights/NDR NATURFILM
Once Upon a Time in Tsavo
A Deeble & Stone Film
?Co-producers Waterhole Films, Terra Mater Studios, The WNET Group in association with PBS and CPB
Short Form:
Dawn Wright's Historic Expedition
Esri Creative Lab: Video Storytelling Studio
Heart of Maui
National Park Service, Harpers Ferry Center for Interpretive Design
The Tundra
Build Films Inc.
Redwoods Shouldn't Be So Tall. Here's Why They Are
PBS Digital Studios, PBS Nature, Atlas Obscura
Conservation
Awarded to the film or episode that most effectively shines a light on efforts to protect a species, resource or habitat.
Global Conservation Corps and Friendly Human with support from Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Southern African Wildlife College, Thin Green Line, United for Wildlife and Tanglewood Foundation.?
Wild Hope: Does Nature Have Rights?
An HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Part2 Pictures production in co-production with Wild Elements. Worldwide distribution by Off the Fence B.V.; U.S. distribution by APT.
Wild Life
Little Monster Films, National Geographic Documentary Films
Short Form:
A Disappearing Forest
The Nature Conservancy and Tyler Schiffman Productions
Batsies
Fin and Fur Films Productions; Presented by H-E-B
Curupira
A Box Brownie film for WaterBear Network
Older Than Trees
A Good Story film, presented by Save Our Seas Foundation in collaboration with Sea Change Project.
Climate Stories
Awarded to the film or episode that most effectively highlights the environmental issue of our time, climate change - this can include social inequity issues and environmental justice.
RLS Film, LLC funded by LinLay Productions, ITVS, Just Films I Ford Foundation, Shorelight Productions, the Redford Center, IDA, Black Public Media, Sundance, Kendeda, Vulcan, Catapult, Threshold Foundation, Fork Films, Chicken & Egg.
The Last of the Nightingales
Colorfool Films, Blind Films
The Letter: A Message for our Earth
An Off The Fence Productions and Laudato Si Movement Co-production for Youtube Originals, Earth X and PBS
Short Form:
Dream to cure water
TENT Film, National Geographic Society
Groundwork: A Family Journey into Regenerative Cotton
Presented by: The North Face & gnarly bay
Where the Sun Always Shines
Limpet Films Doc Society BFI Made of Truth Fund
People & Nature
Awarded to the film or episode that best explores the relationship between humans and the natural world, and how nature is critical to our lives.
Global Conservation Corps and Friendly Human with support from Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, Southern African Wildlife College, Thin Green Line, United for Wildlife and Tanglewood Foundation.
Silverback
An Off the Fence Production for BBC In co production with France Télévision in association with Featuristic Films.
The Elephant Whisperers
A Netflix Documentary and A Sikhya Entertainment Production
Short Form:
Dahican
A film by Boogs Rosales in association with Manila Media
Daughter of the Sea
Backroads Pictures, Patagonia
Judith: Porter, Protector, Pioneer
African Wildlife Foundation, Jackson Wild
Lubombo Transfrontier Conservation Area: Africa's first Marine TFCA
A Makhulu Production in association with The German Agency for International Cooperation
Natural Science
Awarded to the film or episode that best explores the science of planet Earth and the cosmos beyond. Relevant disciplines include Geology, Paleontology, Oceanography, Astronomy, Meteorology, Evolution and Biology.
NHNZ Worldwide and Giant Screen Films for Curiosity Stream in association with Blue Ant Media?
Deep Rising
Deep Rising PTE. LTD.
Prehistoric Planet 2 - Islands
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, Apple TV+
The Last of the Nightingales
Colorfool Films, Blind Films
Short Form:
Breakthrough: Immortal Alligators
Curiosity Stream
Healy
Basecamp Creative in association with National Geographic Society and Silver Fir Media
Neon Nights | Diving into the World of Biofluorescence
SeaLegacy
The Reservoir
Day's Edge Productions for Illumina
PROGRAM CATEGORIES
Limited Series
Awarded to the limited series that most effectively advances a natural history theme.
Chimp Empire
Keo Films and Underdog Films for Netflix
Frozen Planet II
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production for BBC & BBC America co-produced with ZDF and France Televisions. A BBC Open University Partnership
Super/Natural
National Geographic, Earthship Productions and Plimsoll Productions
Global Voices
For excellence in wildlife, conservation, science, social or cultural storytelling from less represented geographical and cultural perspectives. Prioritizing productions led by media makers in non-Western regions including but not limited to Asia, Africa, Central and South America, the Middle East, Micronesia and Indigenous communities around the world.?
Goni
Untamed Planet, Drik Picture Library
Keepers of the Land
Kitasoo Xai'xais Nation with Moonfish Media Inc.
Nkashi: Race for the Okavango
A National Geographic Society Impact Story Lab production, with support from Okavango Eternal?
The Elephant Whisperers
A Netflix Documentary and A Sikhya Entertainment Production
Onscreen Personality
Awarded to the host, presenter, onscreen investigative journalist or collection of expert onscreen commentators that best engage the viewer while communicating the knowledge, message, mission and spirit of a film related to our natural world.
Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory: Tracking Ocean Giants
National Geographic/Wildstar Films
Featuring Bertie Gregory
Footprint: The Urban Jungle
Day's Edge Productions for PBS
?Featuring Shane Campbell-Staton
Urban Jungles
SEETREE Gmbh, Pier to Pier Media
Featuring Maddie Moate
This film's green production strategy has been recognized by Jackson Wild.
Silverback
An Off the Fence Production for BBC In co production with France Télévision in association with Featuristic Films
Featuring Vianet Djenguet
Micro-Movie
Awarded to the most effective and compelling film, episode or social media video content under three minutes that best advances an understanding or appreciation of the natural world.
Awarded to the feature-length film, 75 minutes or longer in runtime, factual or narrative, that best advances an understanding or appreciation of the natural world.
Once Upon a Time in Tsavo
A Deeble & Stone Film
Co-producers Waterhole Films, Terra Mater Studios, The WNET Group in association with PBS and CPB
Orca - Black & White Gold
Terra Mater Studios GmbH
Silverback
An Off the Fence Production for BBC In co production with France Télévision in association with Featuristic Films
For outstanding wildlife, environmental or natural science focused film produced by a student currently enrolled or no more than two years out of an academic program.
Requiem for a Whale
Ido Weisman, The Steve Tisch School Of Film and Television, Tel-Aviv University
Awarded for the cinematography that most enhances the nature related film of which it is a part.
America the Beautiful: Land of Heroes
Wildstar Films, National Geographic and Disney Branded Television
Cinematography: Jake Davis, Dawson Dunning, Alex Jones, Neil Anderson, Mark Emery, Nick Hawkins, Jeff Hester, Jonathan Jones, Justin Maguire, Pete Matthews, Kyle McBurnie, Florian Shulz, Greg Wilson
Chimp Empire: Others
Keo Films and Underdog Films for Netflix
Cinematography: Benjamin Sadd, Ben Cherry
Our Planet II: World on the Move
Silverback Films, Netflix
Cinematography: Tom Beldam, Brad Bestelink, Ralph Bower, Matthew Conor Robinson, Noah Falklind, Kyle McBurnie, Jesse Wilkinson, George Woodcock
Super/Natural: The Mating Game
National Geographic, Earthship Productions and Plimsoll Productions
Cinematography: Chris Watts, Jon Shaw, Jeff Hester, Graham Hatherly, Alfredo Barroso, Matthew Hood, Simon De Glanville, Robert Hollingworth, Matthew Norman, Mark Ó Fearghaíl, Mark Payne-Gill
Editing
Awarded for the editing that most enhances the nature related film of which it is a part of.
Chimp Empire: Paradise?
Keo Films and Underdog Films for Netflix
Editors: Sam Rogers, Gary Thomas, Dan Schwalm, Rupert Troskie, Matt Tickner
Frozen Planet II: Frozen Worlds
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production for BBC & BBC America co-produced with ZDF and France Televisions. A BBC Open University Partnership
Editors: Matt Meech and David Warner?
Human Footprint: The Ground Below
Day's Edge Productions for PBS
Editors: Angel Morris, Andy Laub, Adam Moffatt, Samantha Van Praet
Awarded for the original musical score that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part.
Frozen Planet II: Frozen Worlds
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production for BBC & BBC America co-produced with ZDF and France Televisions. A BBC Open University Partnership
Original Music: Hans Zimmer and Bleeding Fingers
Nkashi: Race for the Okavango
A National Geographic Society Impact Story Lab production, with support from Okavango Eternal
Original Music: Koolkat Motyiko (Mr. Seronga), Mikael Rosen, NEWF Compose Yourself Lab
The Elephant Whisperers
A Netflix Documentary and A Sikhya Entertainment Production
Original Music: Sven Faulconer
Writing
Awarded for the writing that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part.
Human Footprint: The Urban Jungle
Day's Edge Productions for PBS
Writers: Neil Losin, Nathan Dappen, Andy Laub, Page Buono, David Hutchinson
Ireland's Wild Islands: Edge of the Abyss
Produced by Crossing The Line Productions for Love Nature in co-production with RTÉ, ARTE, and SVT. Produced with the support of incentives for the Irish film industry provided by the Government of Ireland.
Writer: John Murray
Mollie's Pack
Grizzly Creek Films
Writers: Avela Grenier and Thomas Winston
Once Upon a Time in Tsavo
A Deeble & Stone Film Co-producers Waterhole Films, Terra Mater Studios, The WNET Group in association with PBS and CPB
Writer: Mark Deeble
Awarded for the combined contribution of sound editing, production mixing and post-production mixing that most enhances the nature related film of which it is a part.
Big Beasts: The Elephant Seal
Plimsoll Productions production company for Apple TV+
Dubbing Mixer: Chris Domaille
Dubbing Editor: Roy Noy
Frozen Planet II: Frozen Worlds
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit Production for BBC & BBC America co-produced with ZDF and France Televisions. A BBC Open University Partnership
Sound: Wounded Buffalo
Our Universe: Chasing Starlight
A Netflix Documentary Series and A BBC Studios Production
Wounded Buffalo Sound
Editors: Kate Hopkins, Tim Owens,
Halo Post Production -
Dubbing Mixer: Sam Castleton
Supervising Sound Editor: Jay Price
Sound Editor: Adam Johnson
Breakthrough Film
For outstanding achievement in nature related filmmaking in the face of adversity or limitations. Prioritizing films that are non-commissioned and not currently in commercial distribution, judging will be based on ingenuity, imagination, passion, and overall quality of the work.
Between Earth & Sky
By the Creek Productions. Co-produced by It Doesn't Suck Productions. In association with American Documentary, IF/Then Shorts. Supported by The Redford Center, BRIClab, and Mountainfilm.
PATROL
Juli Films and Perpetuo Films in collaboration with Re:wild
Tigereyes
Martina Trepczyk & Kyle Armstrong Roepke
Special Jury Award Winner for Impact Campaign
Jackson Wild recognizes innovative approaches to active impact campaigns that extend conservation beyond the screen to inspire measurable on-the-ground change through education, policy change and engagement and outreach.
The Territory
National Geographic Documentary Films, Protozoa Pictures, Passion Pictures, Real Lava, Documist and Associação Jupaú. In association with Time Studios, XTR Doc Society Climate Story Fund
Impact Producers: Marianna Olinger, Will Miller, Alex Pritz, Gabriel Uchida, Txai Surui, Sarah Sparkman
Special Jury Award Winner for Innovation in Green Production Award
For implementation of sustainable best practices to reduce the environmental impact through the entire lifecycle of a production.
Jane Goodall - Reasons for Hope
Science North, Jane Goodall Institute, Cosmic Picture Distribution, FedNor, NOHFC, Arizona Science Center, City of Sudbury, Greater Grand Sudbury, Rivian
Honorable Mention
A special honor for entries that were not selected as category finalists, but stood out to our jury for a unique or important aspect outside the standard category criteria.
Sofia Jaramillo & Jr Rodríguez
El Sol Productions
Orvis, New Belgium Brewing, Ford Bronco Wild Fund, Trout Unlimited
About Jackson Wild
For over 30 years, Jackson Wild has been a catalyst for accelerating and elevating impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science, and conservation. Through innovative and collaborative community gatherings, skill-building initiatives, and mentorship programs, Jackson Wild creates an inclusive forum for storytellers to more deeply illuminate connections to the natural world and our collective responsibility to the wild.
Jackson Wild’s international board members include: African Wildlife Foundation, ARRI, ARTE France, BBC Studios, Blue Ant Media / Love Nature, Conservation International, Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Doclights, GBH, Gorongosa Restoration Project, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, National Geographic Content, National Geographic Society, Nature/WNET, Netflix, NEWF (Nature, Environment, Wildlife, Filmmaking), Off the Fence Productions, ORF Universum, PBS, RED Digital Cinema, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Smithsonian Channel/Paramount, Sony Electronics, The Nature Conservancy, Terra Mater Studios, Wanda Films, Wildstar Films, and World Wildlife Fund US.
Jackson Wild Selects Final Jury for 2023 Media Awards
Jackson Wild is proud to announce the final jury for this year’s Media Awards competition. Selected for their knowledge and expertise in nature and science storytelling, these individuals will decide the winners of the 2023 Jackson Wild Media Awards, considered the highest bar of achievement in natural history filmmaking.
The Jackson Wild Media Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science, and conservation storytelling. This year’s competition saw over 1100 category entries filmed in 74 different countries, with films competing for 30 content, craft, program, and special jury awards, as well as the Grand Teton Award, awarded to the overall best film in competition.
Winners will be announced on Thursday, September 28 during the Grand Teton Awards Gala at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, the culminating event of the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit. To learn more and attend the Jackson Wild Summit, visit jacksonwild.org/attend.
René Araneda
René Araneda is a Chilean Director/Producer developing the natural history film production in South America for the past decade by telling stories, building connections and working alongside many international teams, production companies and multiple platforms. Almost 30 hours of content developed over the last 12 years -many of them award winning films- exploring different formats from Blue Chip to presenter driven with himself being on camera for some (Animal Planet, Smithsonian Channel, CuriosityStream or CNN). René has specialized in Patagonia and South America, always finding new fascinating stories, usually working on remote and tough locations.
He has garnered several nominations, awards and recognitions (including Jackson´s Emerging Talent Award back in the day), and recently helped launch South America´s first wildlife film festival Santiago Wild in Chile (a partnership between Jackson Wild & Ladera Sur, along with other supporting partners).
Pippa Ehrlich
Pippa Ehrlich is a journalist and filmmaker specialising in stories about conservation, science and the relationship between people and the natural world. She is the co-director of My Octopus Teacher – South Africa’s first Netflix Original documentary. The film garnered attention from celebrities, conservationists, and scientists all over the world, and has won more than 20 international awards, including an Oscar and a BAFTA, as well as the prestigious Jackson Wild’s Grand Teton Award and Wildscreen's Golden Panda. Pippa has just completed her second feature documentary and is currently in development on her third.
For the last seven years, she has been a part of the Sea Change Project, documenting and exploring the underwater forests of Cape Town to capture stories that will assist in its long term protection.
Rita Mullin
Rita Mullin is the former EVP and General Manager of Science Channel, which produced such core science series as Through the Wormhole and How the Universe Works and brought a new, younger audience to the genre with Outrageous Acts of Science. During her career at Discovery, she developed and oversaw programming for many channels, including Discovery Health, TLC, and the Oprah Winfrey Network. As Senior Creative and Content Director at Vulcan Productions, she oversaw a team that produced Body Team 12, which was nominated for an Academy Award for short form documentary in 2016, and The Ivory Game, which was short-listed for an Academy Award in 2017.
John Smithson
Academy Award® Nominee, BAFTA, Emmy, Peabody, and Grierson winner, John Smithson is one of the most respected and influential executives in worldwide non-scripted content.
His work includes multiple award winning films such as Touching the Void, 127 Hours, Deep Water, Thriller in Manilla, Falling Man, Sherpa, and River.
He is Creative Director of London-based Arrow Pictures and specializes in premium feature documentaries and series.
Empowering Voices and Expanding Horizons in Natural History Filmmaking in Africa
In a high-spirited celebration of natural history filmmaking in Africa, the recently concluded Wildscreen Festival Nairobi brought together a diverse array of storytellers, conservationists, and filmmakers. For two awe-inspiring days, the festival became a hub of creativity, energy and a collective desire to shed light on the urgent issues that shape our natural world. The atmosphere was filled with enthusiasm, as industry experts and passionate minds explored the realities of natural history filmmaking, the crucial need to sustain this vital art form and the importance of inclusion, authenticity and collaboration.
The festival’s welcome address echoed a call to recognize the interdependent relationship between people and nature. Dr Erustus Kanga, Director-General of the Kenya Wildlife Service, articulated this symbiotic connection, affirming, “Now more than ever, we must recognise the symbiotic relationship between nature and our well-being.” His words echoed the urgent need to prioritise conservation efforts and protect our natural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations.
Among the myriad of engaging sessions and discussions, these particular topics stood out: the importance of telling our own stories authentically, pushing barriers, being bold and including everyone in the conversation. Nancy Githaiga, the Country Director at African Wildlife Foundation boldly stated “Let people tell their own stories”, adding that no matter how small the story may seem, it is that individual’s story. Natural history films in Africa have long been told by individuals not born and bred on the continent. With the potential to create biases within the narrative and its content, often romanticising the landscape, without credit to those working on the ground, conserving the natural habitat.
As an attendee, Wildscreen Festival Nairobi offered up unique perspectives on how we can change the current narrative, highlighting the amazing stories that lay within the African continent. One of the highlights of the event was the Wild Pitch session which saw six stories being pitched in front of top industry commissioners and the audience. These films were incredible as they highlighted the power of storytelling in the African continent especially when we tell our own stories. The inspiring pitches illustrated that we have the stories within us that speak to our people, influencing many to go out and develop their story idea. As the Judges Loise Mwikali, from Royal Media Services, stated, ‘Matata and Friends on Safari’ won because “its originality, its fun way and its likeability speaks to our children.”
Another key highlight was the importance of giving people access to making natural history films. Whether it’s through giving access to equipment or opportunities. The legacy of this festival will hopefully open doors to the many opportunities available in the natural history filmmaking space in Africa – for local people. With numerous passionate individuals in Africa, it was also key to recognise that “we cannot have people with a passion but not eating,” as stated by Barbara Lawrence-Strydom during her panel discussion. Her words succinctly summarised the financial hardships that often go hand in hand with wildlife storytelling.
Inclusion emerged as a recurring theme throughout the festival. Damaris Agweyu, a passionate advocate for inclusivity, highlighted the power of making others feel safe and valued within the creative process, asserting, “Inclusion is when you make other people feel safe because they will give you their all.” This sentiment underscored the necessity of fostering an environment where every voice is heard and celebrated, ensuring a more comprehensive and authentic representation of our world.
By Victoria Wanjohi, a wildlife storyteller and conservation professional who uses words, photos, and films to share experiences that bring you closer to nature at nyikasilika.org
BBC's Top tips for reducing carbon emissions on production
Cutting travel and energy use, including ditching diesel generators ... A ruthless focus on energy and travel is the fastest way to cut carbon emissions on a production. Find out about some of the quickest ways to reduce a production’s footprint below.
Travel
Travel is our biggest source of emissions as an industry. Reducing travel doesn’t mean making content from our bedrooms, but ensuring we are mindful, considering the travel implications when we choose locations and making sure that we maximise what we get from the carbon dioxide (CO?) pollution we create.
1. Reduce – Keep asking: do you have to travel? Are there closer, virtual, archive, remote production or VR alternatives? Does everyone have to go? Can you use local crews and kit? Can you consolidate locations and get more filming out of one place?
2. Optimise – Are you transporting more people to a destination than the number who are there already? If so, can you swap and bring them to you? Can you use locations near public transport? Can you get more people in one vehicle, or hire a coach?
3. Electrify – Electric Vehicles, public transport, trains not planes in the UK and Europe wherever possible.
4. Don’t forget the rooms – If you are overnighting choose hotels with good sustainability polices, close to the location, and opt for shared accommodation if appropriate.
Tackling energy use is the easiest thing we can do to reduce the carbon footprint of a production and can also save money.
1. Switch off – Studios, lights, kit, even computers. If you aren’t using it, power down.
2. Green your electricity supply – Get a renewable energy tariff for your company. Request everyone whose services you use opt for a renewable energy tariff too, including studios, post-houses and locations, and prioritise those who do.
3. Ditch diesel – Accurately assess your power needs by creating a power plan and switch out diesel generators for plugging into the mains, using batteries, certified HVO or hydrogen. Find out more about these below.
1. Assess – Assess energy requirements across all departments. Encourage collaboration between key heads of departments and identify energy saving options.
2. Calculate – Calculate required capacity accurately. Generators are most efficient when running at at least 75% of their maximum load. Running a smaller generator for the same load can cut fuel consumption by over 10%.
3. Identify – Identify your power low points. Are you running generators fit for your peak load when there are minimal power needs, eg at weekends and overnight? This is the perfect time for battery/hybrid use, supplying only the power you need and reducing fuel use.
4. Track – Track fuel consumption and generator/battery usage data (‘telemetry’). This will make your reporting easier and allow you to adapt power setups to be as cost and energy efficient as possible.
5. Question – Question your energy usage throughout production. Explore sustainable options such as batteries and solar-powered lights, rigs and facilities, and alter your power plan if needed.
Ditch diesel generators
1. Using mains power – If you can tie into mains power on a certified green tariff it will almost always be the most sustainable option. It also enables simple tracking and reporting of consumption. Check location mains supplies and tariffs as early as possible.
CO2: Up to 100% emissions reduction vs diesel
Cost: Low
Complexity: Low
2. Using batteries or hybrid generators – Battery technology is evolving fast. There are full battery solutions for numerous production scenarios, whilst hybrid set-ups (battery + generator) maximise generator efficiency (reducing generator run time by up to 66%) and save fuel and money.
CO2: 25%-100% emissions reduction vs diesel, depending on type of solution
Cost: Low-mid
Complexity: Low-mid
3. Using certified HVO – Certified HVO should be used rather than diesel wherever possible. It can be used in any diesel engine and generator and can be topped-up with diesel in an emergency. Bulk/group level HVO deals may be available to productions at lower costs.
CO2: Up to 90% emissions reduction vs diesel
Cost: Low-mid (can be up to 50p per litre more expensive than diesel)
Complexity: Low
4. Using green hydrogen – The cleanest non-mains option. Units can be large and are best suited to productions with few location moves (providing additional power at a back lot, sound stage or studio). Hydrogen must be from 'green' sources (produced with renewable energy).
CO2: Up to 100% emissions reduction vs diesel
Cost: High
Complexity: Mid-high
Case studies: ditching diesel
Mains power: BBC News
BBC News have been plugging into the grid wherever possible. It’s an option at sites regularly used for filming, particularly in London. Locations with plug-in points include Canada Gate and Downing Street. Film London have recently worked with partners to install a new plug-in point in Victoria Park in Hackney to eliminate not just carbon dioxide emissions, but also those of particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, and significantly reduce noise pollution. In the first three months, seven productions have drawn power from it already and research estimates usage will save 64,000 litres of diesel annually and 170 tonnes of CO2. Find out more about The Grid Project Victoria Park (pdf).
Green hydrogen: Winterwatch and Springwatch
Winterwatch first trialled using green hydrogen in 2021 for backup and additional power generation, before being confident enough to power all 12 live Springwatch broadcasts that year with 100% clean energy. Based in BBC Bristol, the hydrogen generator powered the Springwatch OB hub which broadcasts the show live. It’s the ‘control room’, overseeing and directing the production’s numerous live locations across the UK. If diesel generators had been used, seven tonnes of CO2 would have been released into the atmosphere, in addition to other air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides and particulates. Hydrogen generators have now become an integral part of the set-up, being used again by the team in 2022 and 2023.
Reducing your carbon emissions has the potential to save money, as carbon is closely indexed to cost. However, we acknowledge that the transition to low carbon production can create pressure on budgets and schedules. If so, raise any concerns with the commissioning editor.
With thanks to Picture Zero for their contribution to the information on this page.
Further resources
Help and support for producing sustainable content, on and off-screen:
Jackson Wild Announces 2023 Legacy and Rising Star Awards by Jackson Wild
23 June 2023
Jackson Wild is thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2023 Legacy Award as well as the recipient of the 2023 Rising Star Award. This year’s award recipients share in Jackson Wild’s commitment to building an impact-driven community of filmmakers, creators, and conservationists, and have demonstrated a dedication to accelerating conservation practices through their media. They have been nominated by their peers and selected by the Jackson Wild Board of Directors.
“We are proud to recognize Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble with this well-deserved Legacy Award. For over 30 years, they have deepened our understanding of complex and intricately interdependent ecosystems through exquisitely beautiful storytelling that has ignited meaningful on-the-ground impact in conservation,” said Jackson Wild’s Executive Director Lisa Samford. “They have garnered 12 Jackson Wild Media Awards, including two Best of Festival Grand Teton Awards.”
This year’s Rising Star Award recipient is Hans Cosmas Ngoteya, a previous Jackson Wild Fellow based in Tanzania, who is a gifted cinematographer and National Geographic Explorer committed to accelerating regional filmmakers through mentorship and training opportunities. “We are so proud to witness Hans’ commitment to accelerating purpose-driven storytelling and mentorship so thoroughly from the beginning of his career,” noted Samford. “He and others who share his passion for conservation storytelling are influencing future filmmakers while refining their craft. They epitomize the brightest hope for future conservation filmmaking.”
Jackson Wild’s Legacy Award in Media recognizes visionaries who have demonstrated excellence and innovation in delivering world-class media. Whether innovative filmmakers, producers, or thought leaders, these individuals have embraced the power of media to shine a spotlight on species and the environment to protect our planet. Their work demonstrates a career dedicated to content surrounding conservation and environmental impact.
Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble are this year’s recipients of the Legacy Award. They are known for their independent story-driven films championing the importance of biodiversity and the interconnectivity of the natural world. For each film, they spend a minimum of 2 years camped in the wilderness with a small team. Their films are based on keen observation, and a deep understanding of natural ecosystems. They have won over 100 international awards in recognition of their artistry and wildlife storytelling. Throughout their careers they have used their films to support conservation. Following the launch of The Elephant Queen, a decade-long project and Apple’s first feature film acquisition for Apple TV+, they launched, with long-term Assistant Director Etienne Oliff, The Elephant Queen Outreach and Mobile Cinema and Theatre in Kenya. The film, translated into Swahili and Maa has been shown to over 120,000 people living in areas of high human-wildlife conflict.
The couple began their careers as underwater wildlife filmmakers filming around the world for Survival Anglia, the BBC and National Geographic. In 1987, they were invited to Serengeti by Alan Root. Their first East African film, Here Be Dragons, revealed the dramatic new behavior of giant Grumeti crocodiles leaping from the water to grab drinking wildebeest. Since then, they have worked in East Africa telling wildlife stories that have been shown in more than 140 countries with audiences estimated in excess of a billion. Sir David Attenborough called The Queen of Trees “A masterpiece!” Amongst its many awards are a Peabody and a Grierson. It followed Peabody and Emmy®-winning Mzima to join a filmography which includes Once Upon a Time in Tsavo, The Elephant & the Termite, The Elephant Queen, A Little Fish in Deep Water, Tale of the Tides, The Tides of Kirawira, and Devilfish.
Jackson Wild’s Rising Star Award recognizes an emerging leader in nature, conservation, and science media. This award reflects ongoing and exceptional contributions to our planet while demonstrating leadership and innovation that promises extended impact in the future.
Hans Cosmas Ngoteya is a wildlife and conservation film director and cinematographer from Tanzania, a National Geographic Explorer, and co-founder of Ngoteya Wild, a Tanzanian wildlife and conservation storytelling organization where he has directed award-winning documentaries. He is also a co-founder of the Tanzania Wildlife Media Association (TaWiMA), an association of professional Tanzanian wildlife media creatives, where he mentors aspiring wildlife conservation storytellers. Additionally, he has co-founded Landscape and Conservation Mentors Organization (LCMO), which focuses on promoting, supporting, and improving community livelihoods through sustainable environmental practices.
His ultimate goal is to tell stories that will help to develop and explore practical solutions to solving emerging conservation challenges and help communities co-exist with wildlife.
We were sent a few great books from publishers this last month ... All relevant and bound to be of interest to you all.
Ordered by date of publication below.
NB. Purchasing books from the Amazon.co.uk links provided on this page may produce a small amount affilliate income that will help to support this site. We are loking at other options to recommend purchasing from following the closure of Book Depository.
An accessible and thought-provoking introduction to timespans in the natural world, featuring more than 80 beautifully designed diagrams and charts.
Which organisms live the longest? How does the natural world recover from wildfires? How long do eggs take to hatch? What are the world's fastest- and slowest- growing plants? Which species invest the most in parental care?
The graphic number line is a potent pattern that explains much of our world, from the life cycle of immortal jellyfish to the perfect amount of time for a 'good sleep'. Beautifully illustrated with reader-friendly infographics and stunning colour photography, How Nature Keeps Time visually maps the amounts of time bounded by growth, distance, age, reproduction, sleep, death and other key behaviours.
Join science and comedy writer Helen Pilcher as she examines a broad range of species from across the world and throughout time. As our natural world draws our attention to its plight, this fascinating book offers a calm, clear-thinking series of visual explanations based on the ultimate objective measure - time.
'A beautifully designed hardback.' – BBC Wildlife
Helen Pilcher is a tea-drinking, biscuit-nibbling science and comedy writer. She has a PhD in Cell Biology from London's Institute of Psychiatry. A former reporter for Nature, she now specializes in biology, medicine and quirky off-the-wall science, and writes for outlets including New Scientist and BBC Focus. Unusually for a self-proclaimed geek, Helen also used to be a stand-up comedian before the arrival of children meant she couldn't physically stay awake past 9pm. She now gigs from time to time, and lives in rural Warwickshire with her husband, three kids and besotted dog.
Traffication develops a bold new idea: that the trillions of miles of driving we do each year are just as destructive to our natural environment as any of the better known threats, such as habitat loss or intensive farming. The problem is not simply one of roadkill; the impacts of roads are far more pervasive, and they impact our wildlife in many subtle and unpredictable ways.
Using the latest research, the book reveals how road traffic shatters essential biological processes, affecting how animals communicate, move around, feed, reproduce and die. Most importantly, it shows that the influence of traffic extends well beyond the verge, and that a busy road can strip the wildlife from our countryside for miles around. In the UK, almost nowhere is exempt from this environmental toll. Yet the final message here is one of hope: by identifying the car as a major cause of the catastrophic loss of wildlife, the solutions to our biodiversity crisis suddenly become much clearer.
The first step to solving any problem is to recognise that it exists in the first place. But with road traffic, we are not even at that crucial initial stage in our recovery. Quite simply, Traffication does for road traffic what Silent Spring did for agrochemicals: awakening us from our collective road-blindness and opening up a whole new chapter in conservation. This urgent book is an essential contribution to the debate on how we restore the health of our countryside – and of our own minds and bodies.
'Traffication tells the story of how quickly the car transformed our world and how, equally quickly, scientists highlighted the downsides. But despite several decades of growing evidence, the impact of traffic on the environment remains focused upon congestion, climate change and air pollution, while ignoring the more rural issues that impact directly on nature. The author offers beautiful, heart felt writing and some hopeful concluding chapters.' – Baroness Jenny Jones, UK Green Party
'A brilliant and comprehensive expose of what roads are doing to our wildlife: meticulous, persuasive, challenging and brilliantly researched.' – Ben Macdonald, author of Rebirding and Cornerstones.
Dr Paul Donald worked in the research department of the RSPB for over twenty years, latterly as Principal Scientist, before moving to BirdLife International as Senior Scientist. He is a recipient of the prestigious ZSL/Marsh Award for Conservation Science and an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Cambridge.
Tiffany Francis-Baker explores how the relationship between humans and horses has shaped the British landscape, how horses have captured our wild imaginations, and how this connection has evolved and become part of our nation's ecosystems.
Many of us enjoy walking on a bridleway. These ancient networks are familiar to walkers and riders and crisscross the British countryside, but we rarely stop to think about how these old routes came to be.
In The Bridleway, Tiffany Francis-Baker examines our relationship with horses and ponders how they have become part of our nation's ecosystems. From atop her horse, Tiffany discovers how horses are woven into the fabric of British culture, from street and pub names to trading routes and coaching inns. As she investigates how horses have shaped British landscapes, she offers a glimpse into the intriguing history of the bridleway.
Along the way, Tiffany visits a horse fair and learns about Traveller communities. She explores the role of equestrian sport and inclusivity, sees rewilding in action on the Knepp Estate in Sussex and undertakes detective work to uncover ancient bridleways lost to time and meet the closest living ancestors of the truly wild horse.
Part-domesticated and part-fiercely independent, horses can teach us a lot about our landscape and help us understand nature and our place within it. Except for the dogs and cats we choose to share our homes with, we have allowed horses far deeper into our society than any other animal. And as Tiffany investigates why horses have captured Britons' attention, she reveals how deeply rooted they have been in our culture for thousands of years.
'[Francis-Baker's] ability to closely observe nature in all its beauty makes this book a delight for horse-lovers and non-equestrians alike . A fascinating journey through the world of horses and our enduring relationship with them.' – Helen Moat, BBC Countryfile
'The charm of her book lies in wayside details.' -- Susanna Forrest, The Spectator
Tiffany Francis is a writer, artist and environmentalist from the South Downs in Hampshire. With a mixed background in the arts, rural heritage and conservation, her work is fuelled by a love for the natural world and a passion for protecting it. She writes and illustrates for national publications and has appeared on BBC Radio 4 and Channel 4. Her books include Food You Can Forage, Concise Foraging Guide, Bees and Beekeeping and Dark Skies.
A beautiful, full colour book to accompany the 5 part BBC TV series telling the most important story of all, the deep history of our own planet.
With the trademark dramatic storytelling techniques of The Planets and The Universe, Andrew Cohen and Chris Packham narrate the biography of the Earth, revealing the most epic moments from its history, from the first seconds of its existence to the arrival of its most incredible inhabitants, us.
But humans take a back seat for this story as the Earth takes centre stage. We’ll witness those moments where our planet’s future hung in the balance in the face of massive bombardments from space, extreme changes in climate, the collision of whole continents and more, and we’ll tell the story of how Earth’s most incredible creations – life and intelligence – are set to have the same lasting impact on Earth’s story as any meteorite or earthquake.
This is the epic 4 billion year story of the place we call home.
‘Traces some of the greatest eruptions, freezes and moments of sheer destruction in Earth’s history … A reminder that the planet is more indifferent to us than we care to admit’ – IFL Science
Chris Packham CBE is one of the UK’s leading naturalists and an award-winning conservationist. He began his TV career presenting children’s series The Really Wild Show, and has since presented outstanding nature programmes such as Springwatch.
Chris Packham on Earth - "One might argue that it's the greatest story ever told"
This ground-breaking 5 x 60 series for BBC Two and iPlayer tells the astonishing four and a half billion-year story of the planet we call home: Earth. Chris Packham uses the latest science to take viewers on a journey through Earth’s most epic moments - a jaw-dropping catalogue of dramatic upheaval from the first seconds of the planet’s existence to the arrival of its most impactful inhabitants, us.
From massive asteroid bombardments to extreme changes in climate and collisions of whole continents, immersive cutting-edge CGI allows us to witness the critical moments when Earth’s future, and the life it nurtured, hung in the balance.
Each episode tells the story of a pivotal epoch as evolving landscapes and ecosystems faced seemingly insurmountable challenges and breath-taking transitions, including the formation of our life-sustaining atmosphere, the era of lava lakes the size of Australia, and the catastrophic freezing of the entire planet.
This awe-inspiring story can only now be told in such detail thanks to the amazing work of scientists across the world. Our team consulted with over two hundred leading palaeontologists, geologists, climatologists and other specialists, as well scouring thousands of peer-reviewed scientific journals to recreate the landscape and life that existed millions and even billions of years ago. Combined with Chris’s deep knowledge of our contemporary natural world, this epic story illuminates just how special our planet is and shines a new light on the challenges we face today.
What is the meaning of a bird’s song, a baboon’s bark, an owl’s hoot, or a dolphin’s clicks?
In The Voices of Nature, Nicolas Mathevon explores the mysteries of animal sound. Putting readers in the middle of animal soundscapes that range from the steamy heat of the Amazon jungle to the icy terrain of the Arctic, Mathevon reveals the amazing variety of animal vocalizations. He describes how animals use sound to express emotion, to choose a mate, to trick others, to mark their territory, to call for help, and much more. What may seem like random chirps, squawks, and cries are actually signals that, like our human words, allow animals to carry on conversations with others.
Mathevon explains how the science of bioacoustics works to decipher the ways animals make and hear sounds, what information is encoded in these sound signals, and what this information is used for in daily life. Drawing on these findings as well as observations in the wild, Mathevon describes, among many other things, how animals communicate with their offspring, how they exchange information despite ambient noise, how sound travels underwater, how birds and mammals learn to vocalize, and even how animals express emotion though sound.
Finally, Mathevon asks if these vocalizations, complex and expressive as they are, amount to language. For readers who have wondered about the meaning behind a robin’s song or cicadas’ relentless “tchik-tchik-tchik,” this book offers a listening guide for the endlessly varied concert of nature.
'There's no one better than Mathevon to tell us about how diverse animals talk with one another and here's what he had to say about his new landmark, fact-based book, which is a lot of fun to read. His enthusiasm is contagious!' – Marc Bekoff, Psychology Today
'Mathevon delivers fascinating insights into animal communication. . . . This will change how readers hear the animals around them.' – Publishers Weekly
Nicolas Mathevon is Distinguished Professor of Neurosciences and Animal Behavior at the University of Saint-Etienne, senior member of the Institut universitaire de France, member of Academia Europaea, and president of the International Bioacoustics Society. He is also a former visiting Miller Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and a former visiting professor at Hunter College, City University of New York.
The book is available for preordering atAmazon.co.uk
Published: 22 August 2023
Register for the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit!
Registration is now open for the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit! The Jackson Wild you know and love is coming home.
The Summit will take place this fall, September 25 - September 28, 2023. Reunite with friends old and new for four days of exciting programming, thought-provoking conversations and innovative storytelling.
All Jackson Wild Summit programming will be hosted at the Jackson Lake Lodge, with the exception of the National Geographic BBQ on Wednesday evening and the Grand Teton Awards Gala on Thursday evening which will be in downtown Jackson Hole. The Jackson Lake Lodge is situated in the heart of Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming, one hour north of downtown Jackson Hole.
Take advantage of our early bird discount — The first 100 attendees to register will receive $100 off on their pass!
Mangrove Photography Awards 2023 – Open for submissions until 23rd July!
Mangrove Action Project is running their ninth annual Mangrove Photography Awards. The competition invites photographers of all levels around the world to contribute their images to highlight the beauty and fragility of mangrove ecosystems and inspire conservation action to protect them.
Mangroves are one of the world’s most important ecosystems, and one of the most threatened. Today, less than half the world’s original mangrove forest cover remains, making the Mangrove Photography Awards a crucial platform to “intrigue people about the magnificent ecological role mangroves play in all of our lives", according to awards ambassador Dhritiman Mukherjee.
There are six categories that appeal to a range of interests and approaches, including a photojournalism multiple image category, allowing the photographer to tell important mangrove stories. This year’s competition will be judged by conservation photographers Octavio Aburto, Daisy Gilardini, Daniel Kordan and Fulvio Eccardi.
Last year’s competition received over 2000 entries from 68 countries. You can view the winners here. All entries will be celebrated as an online mangrove exhibition on 26th July, World Mangrove Day. The overall winner will be crowned the Mangrove Photographer of the Year, with winners announced for each of the categories, as well as this year’s Young Mangrove Photographer of the Year, in September 2023.
More information on the free competition can be found on the website.
Launching 8billion: a grassroots storytelling movement!
Storytelling is a powerful way to generate empathy and understanding around the world’s most pressing issues. Recognizing this, the World Bank Group’s Connect4Climate program has partnered with Resilient Foundation to launch 8billion: a grassroots storytelling movement aimed at amplifying the diverse local voices of resilient communities around the world and empowering a fresh generation of storytellers and climate innovators!
Through 8billion, established local filmmakers conduct grassroots storytelling workshops with young trainees aged 16-30, who gain the opportunity to develop their narrative and filmmaking skills, unpack their regions’ environmental challenges, and propose innovative solutions.
We are excited to share that the first season of 8billionstories premiered today (7th June 2023) on YouTube, showcasing the unique perspectives of young filmmakers from Burkina Faso and Mali in support of PROGREEN’s Sahel Landscape Restoration program, led by the World Bank Group.
We would like to encourage you to share these films with your students and other young people in your network, and engage in a conversation around the power of creative arts and the importance of creating a platform to amplify the voices of the most vulnerable. Please check the 8billion toolkit to find more about the project and help us spread the word.
Thank you so much for helping us kickstart the8billion movement and elevate high-impact stories about the global issue of climate change!
Sincerely, Sarah Daggett Connect4Climate Partnerships Program
Extinction or Regeneration Sowing the Seeds of Hope and Action by Philip Lymbery
19 May 2023
Three years in the planning, the Extinction or Regeneration Conference 2023 hosted by Compassion in World Farming and our key partner, IPES-Food, will live long in the memory and sowed seeds for hope and future action.
Two days of conference, 5 plenary sessions, 6 parallel sessions and 1 closing panel. 63 speakers and chairs (32 female, 31 male) from 20 countries. 740 delegates plus 370,000 people watching the live stream including thousands on official Chinese Government websites. 25 international journalists attended and one news story ran in over 250 publications.
To date, there have been over 550 mentions of the conference in the press and a potential reach of 1.98 billion.
The hashtag #Extinction2023 was trending on Twitter in the UK, with nearly 20 million potential opportunities to see it.
In total, we had representation from 41 countries and have had some truly amazing feedback.
To gain an audio snapshot of the views, thoughts and sheer energy of the Extinction or Regeneration Conference, please listen to this short podcast.
Extinction or Regeneration was about finding urgent solutions to fix the broken food system and ensure the future well-being of animals, people and the planet.
Over the two days, we brought together world-renowned academics, food and financial experts, doctors, animal welfare specialists, ecologists, activists and farmers from around the world, to discuss topics ranging from soil health and regenerative agriculture to the role of governments, business and investment in the food system.
I was honoured to work with IPES-Food Co-Chair and UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Olivier De Schutter, to host this unique event, alongside other partners from diverse sectors.
Whilst it would be impossible to cover the huge breadth and quality of insights afforded by such a talented range of global speakers, here I offer a flavour of the extraordinary contributions over the course of an uplifting two days in London.
The conference was opened by primatologist Dr Jane Goodall DBE, who gave a superb and stirring opening speech calling for an end to factory farming amid the ‘extreme’ animal cruelty, ‘Unless we wake up and act now to reduce this calamitous overconsumption, it will simply be too late’.
Oliver De Schutter followed, explaining the inequalities of our food system, including hunger and poverty for the most disadvantaged, whilst at the same time seeing record profits for a handful of powerful corporations.
Extinction by Design
Professor Tim Benton asked, ‘Did you know over 60% of grain is used for animal feed?’ He highlighted how this offered enormous potential for transformative change. That if we stopped factory farming there would be so much more we could do with the land. Further how we currently only produce a third of the fruit and vegetables we need, making the recent decision to scrap the horticulture strategy even more depressing.
Stefanos Fotiou from the UN FAO and Director of the UN Food Systems Hub confirmed that food relates to so many wider issues and how changing the way we produce it, can bring about a sustainable future.
John Webster, Professor Emeritus, University of Bristol, discussed the importance of recognising animals as sentient beings, who can feel pain and joy and how they must be treated with respect.
Dr Vandana Shiva, activist, academic and campaigner, spoke eloquently of how ‘this extinction we are living through is an extinction by design.’ Referring to the chemical pesticides and artificial fertilisers that are spread so liberally on intensively managed farmland, she said, ‘Look at the arsenal that has been created to drive species to extinction.’
Dr Vandana Shiva, activist, academic and campaigner, spoke eloquently of how ‘this extinction we are living through is an extinction by design.’ Referring to the chemical pesticides and artificial fertilisers that are spread so liberally on intensively managed farmland, she said, ‘Look at the arsenal that has been created to drive species to extinction.’
The Soil
Rattan Lal, Distinguished University Professor of Soil Science, The Ohio State University, told us all that ‘soil is like a bank account, you can’t take out more than you put in. The health of soil goes down, the health of everything else goes down with it’ and that ‘Waste is a crime against nature’. He was unequivocal when he spoke about famines, saying they were “man-made” and “unthinkable, morally toxic.”
Seth Watkins, Pinhook Farms farmer gave an emotionally charged presentation and with humility and passion, suggested that there is ‘no sustainability without diversity’ and that we need to embrace human innovation to feed the world. That we need to make farms smaller and more diverse, giving more value to the natural world. How regenerative farming can ensure everyone receives the food they need while protecting the planet and that farmers ‘can be profitable, but enough is as good as a feast’.
Wise words echoed by Susan Chomba, Director of Vital Landscapes, World Resources Institute who made an equally strong case for regenerative farming based on her experience in Africa: ‘The way we grow our crops has a huge impact on soil health’.
Banks Fund Broken Food Systems
Jennifer Clapp, Professor, School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, reminded all delegates that we also need to think outside the food system. That we need better laws and stronger regulation on financial markets and rules to ensure asset managers don’t dominate the food system.
Compassion’s own Chief Policy Advisor, Peter Stevenson, spoke out about how we must lobby banks to only fund high animal welfare ‘Every year, the big banks pour out millions into funding factory farming’. Banks have a significant role to play in reducing the intensive farming system and promoting and encouraging regenerative, nature-friendly farming.
UK food strategist and co-founder of restaurant chain, Leon, Henry Dimbleby, informed us that ‘the animals we breed to eat weigh twice as much as all the people on the planet, and 20 times the wild animals’. He called for legislation to raise standards and help consumers make informed choices. He advised that in 150 years he didn’t believe we’d be eating killing animals for food.
He was followed on stage by James Bailey, Executive Director of Waitrose on the need for disruptive thinking ‘If customers don’t yet understand what’s happening, they can’t make the change’. He sought collaboration to help shake up the food system.
Delegates were wowed by a motivating speech from Compassion’s own patron, Dame Joanna Lumley, on the importance of ending factory farming.
Summary
Extinction or Regeneration was a meeting of extraordinary minds. More from the speeches delivered at this superlative event will be posted online shortly.
I would like to thank everyone who came, and to all those who support us, for being part of this beautiful movement that is saving the future for animals, people and the planet.
I close with the wonderful words of Dr Vandana Shiva ‘“Compassion feeds the world; compassion heals the world; compassion sows the seeds of hope, compassion is not a means to an end but the purpose of life.’
Underwater 8K Drone for Filmmaking – Boxfish Luna from Boxfish Research
Boxfish Luna is the next-generation 8K drone from Boxfish Research. It is designed for underwater wildlife filmmaking, underwater cinematography and ocean research.
Boxfish Luna is the only underwater drone with a full-frame 8K camera for professional cinematography and natural history filmmaking. The drone’s camera allows filmmakers to shoot amazing 8K video and 50MP digital stills underwater.
The underwater drone makes documenting scientific imagery and data quick, easy and safe. Operators can equip Boxfish Luna with up to eight sensors or add-ons for research and data collection.
Drone Solution for 8K Underwater Filmmaking
The cinematography and wildlife filmmaking industries face many challenges when working underwater.
Cinematographers must manage multiple factors. These include dive time, air consumption, and camera housing.
Wildlife documentary filmmakers must also be aware of animal behaviour. They cannot focus solely on capturing the perfect underwater footage.
Commercial diving’s health and safety regulations can make underwater film production complicated and expensive. Scuba divers can also disturb some marine species.
Traditional underwater filming methods are slow, requiring complex underwater camera equipment and planning. This is particularly the case in the uncontrolled ocean environment.
Boxfish Luna helps minimise these issues. Using a drone increases marine safety and lowers the cost of underwater cinematography and research expeditions. The drone enables wildlife filmmakers to get very close to marine life. Thus, allowing them to capture stunning underwater footage of decisive moments.
"The Boxfish ROV really solves a lot of production issues when it comes to safety and the ability to communicate with your DOP and operator on the surface."
Anthony Plant, Director of Photography
Wildlife presenter Dan O’Neill talks being gay, swimming with sharks & the ‘incredibly queer’ animal kingdom
For all you size queens out there, the incredibly hot (and gay!) explorer, biologist, conservationist and filmmaker, Dan O’Neill, has a new show for you–and it’s a doozy.
Available starting May 18 on Curiosity Stream, the new wildlife docu series, GIANTS, takes humanity’s obsession with size into the animal kingdom. Each episode finds O’Neill heading into the wild to find the biggest beasts that walk our planet – from sharks, to elephants, lions, saltwater crocodiles and anacondas – oh my!
Ahead of the show’s premiere, Queerty sat down with O’Neill to discuss LGBTQ+ representation in the outdoors and what prompted him to come out, his experiences shooting in countries where it’s illegal to be queer, and which animals happen to be gayest of them all (literally)…
QUEERTY: I watched a few episodes of GIANTS last week. I’ll admit, I’m personally terrified of snakes and crocodiles, so I skipped those episodes. But one of my favorite parts was just watching you interact with the animals and kind of all the excitement and wonder that you exuded. What inspired you to want to study animals?
O’NEILL: I think it (happened) at a really early age. I remember when I was a kid, probably like five or six years old, this bird got caught in the classroom. And I was the kid that saved it, and set it free. And at school I remember that I was called the animal guy. And it was one of my earliest kind of identities, and I absolutely loved it.
But I also come from a family where science has kind of been held in quite a high regard. My dad was a physicist, turned programmer, which is very different to biology, but it’s kind of the same principles. I would try to impress him by completing maths books or showing him my capability with animals and things that I’d found out. And that’s kind of where it started. And then he and I ended up looking after animals together. We got tropical fish, marine fish, we started looking after reptiles, geckos, and eventually, him and I trained a hawk together when I was in my early teens. And it sort of all just went crazy after that. And I just became absolutely obsessed with wildlife.
(Eventually,) I became a biologist studying zoology, and then worked primarily in the Amazon, but also in the Yucatan, in Mexico, and across Southeast Asia as well. And then those two worlds joined when I started making films.
We were sent a bumper number of great books from publishers this last month ... All relevant and bound to be of interest to you all.
Ordered by date of publication below.
NB. Purchasing books from the links provided on this page may produce a small amount affilliate income that will help to support this site. All current links take you to Amazon.co.uk. We had been recommending people purchase from Book Depository previously but they've just closed down. We consequently discovered that Amazon bought Book Depository sometime ago before closing it down. We will be looking at recommending other more ethical choices asap.
This study examines why the Kruger Park struggled to become a leading venue for wildlife filmmaking and then, paradoxically, at a time when South Africa came under increasing political and military pressure, wildlife filmmaking took off very successfully. Another paradox is that the growth in wildlife filmmaking also paralleled the growth of wildlife hunting in Southern Africa.
The study turns to Actor-Network theory to examine the complex interplay between local filmmakers, international commissioning agents like Mike Rosenberg, international broadcasters and the animals involved. It argues that Southern African filmmakers were often able to aim successfully both at European and North American markets and points to ways in which innovations from Southern Africa influenced broadcasting trends internationally, particularly in the move away from a British blue-chip BBC ethos and style.
It concludes with an examination of Africam and WildEarth and the vision of founder Graham Wallington about the future of wildlife documentary.
"Wildlife Documentaries in Southern Africa explores a vast and neglected terrain within the field of wildlife documentary studies. Glenn's Polemical approach and enthusiasm for archival adventure not only broadens our understanding of the ecology of wildlife filmmaking, but it also emphasizes the significance of these films in Southern African screen cultures." – Dr. Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk, Senior Lecturer, Centre for Film and Media Studies, University of Cape Town, South Africa.
"A wildlife adventure like no other - not solely in media studies, zoology or literature. This is a work of recovery, review, and restitution. It 'is a theoretical game-changer, told from the perspectives of the filmmakers themselves. Readers are taken on a rollicking safari that redefines documentary film theory. The real analysis is in the backstories, the paper trails, and in the decision-making networks." – Keyan G. Tomaselli, University of Johannesburg, and recipient of the 'Heroes and Legends Award, and Simon 'Mbunu' Sabela Awards.
"Ian has done an excellent job of finding the gems in thousands of sources to capture the essence of wildlife filmmaking, a strange intangible blend of science and art, intuition and discipline, and most of all a profession with profound passions to save the planet." – Dereck Joubert.
"This is a vividly written and innovative book on wildlife filmmakers in southern Africa. Ian Glenn explains how they emerged at the top of their field globally, were awarded Emmys and Golden Pandas, and reached a mass audience. He celebrates their contribution to a sympathetic understanding of wild animals and to environmental conservation." -- William Beinart, Emeritus Professor, St Antony's College, University of Oxford, UK.
This beautifully illustrated overview of the wildlife of the British Isles showcases the diversity of our plant and animal life.
Wild Isles is a celebration of the wildlife found on a relatively modest collection of islands positioned at a latitude so northerly to be unattractive to many animals and plants. Despite these unpromising foundations, the islands of Britain and Ireland, together with more than 6,000 lesser islets that make up our archipelago, contain some of the most diverse, beautiful and wildlife-rich landscapes and seas on our planet.
This book will explore the fascinating relationships within and between species who make their home on our beautiful isles.
Each chapter focuses on a particular kind of wild space. Britain and Ireland are dominated by a wide variety of grasslands from lowland water meadows to upland moors, and we will see how these human-shaped, semi-natural landscapes thrum with insect, bird and mammal life. Life requires water to flourish, and streams and rivers carry freshwater through our landscape, creating unique ecosystems and interrelations within and beside these waters, which are revealed in a third section. While Britain and Ireland’s woodlands are comparatively thin on the ground compared with most of continental Europe, we will see some of the forests and trees that remain are unusually ancient and, great repositories of life. Finally, of course, we are surrounded by sea, and our position on the continental shelf before it plunges into the depths of the Atlantic Ocean gives rise to an often overlooked plenty of marine life. A glorious richness divided into five breathtaking sections.
Patrick Barkham and Alastair Fothergill's book 'Wild Isles' was a Sunday Times bestseller w/c 13-03-2023.
Trimming a parrot's beak, emptying a dog's anal glands and neutering a cat - then lunch - followed by some tricky horse dentistry, amputating a lamb's leg and calming a distressed client...
It's all in a day's work if you're a vet: a delicate balance of managing animal welfare and ethics, educating people in pet ownership and aligning their expectations with real-life outcomes. As a job, it spans everything from managing the heartbreak of euthanasia, to informing owners that under no circumstances should they take their dog's worming pills, even if they're sure they have worms.
During his twenty-five-year career, Welsh vet Siôn Rowlands has experienced almost every animal medical issue imaginable, from rescuing an injured horse from the edge of a cliff to moisturizing a baby elephant. He's also witnessed ridiculous moments, surreal situations and the real toll it can take on a person.
Frank, funny and moving in equal measure, Letting the Cat Out of the Bag is a rare glimpse behind the scenes of the uniquely pressurised world of being a vet.
A comprehensive and beautifully illustrated natural history of insects.
Insects are the most successful group of animals ever to have lived. They comprise a million species and perhaps 10 quintillion individuals: one in every four animals on the planet is a beetle; one in every ten is a butterfly or moth. Much of life on earth depends on the activities of these busy, teeming arthropods, from pollination to the breaking down of waste matter.
In Alien Worlds, Steve Nicholls draws on a lifetime of writing about, photographing and filming the natural world to create an ambitious account of insect evolution and biology. Each chapter of Alien Worlds centres on one or more of the traits of insect life that have allowed them to hold dominion over the earth's terrestrial and freshwater environments for so long, from their staggering reproductive ability to their complex partnership with flowering plants, and from their remarkable level of care for their young to their sophisticated social lives.
Alien Worlds explores what insects are, and why there are so many of them; the impact on insects (the only flying invertebrates) of the possession of wings; and the extraordinary sensory world of insects. It offers a winning fusion of glorious imagery and fine biological writing by an entomological specialist who writes both entertainingly and with authentic scientific rigour - and who also happens to be a very gifted nature photographer.
An illustrated account of the evolution and biology of insects, the busy, teeming arthropods on whose activities much of life on earth depends.
"Steve Nicholls is an expert guide, leading us across meadows blooming with buttercups and orchids... He presents a visually stunning, readable and scientifically rigorous survey of Britain's wildflowers" – Countryside
"Each of the 14 plant types, from bluebells and lilies to orchids and sundews is examined, explaining the fascinating science behind how they survive and thrive in the wild, to the remarkable social and cultural history of each, and how we have woven them into our national heritage" – Garden News
"[A] beautifully produced book... Substantial and well-informed... The author has a light touch and, while it might at first glance look like a book for the coffee table, it is definitely a book worth a closer read"
– The Garden
In a Polish forest a young woman befriends a boar. An Englishman sets up home with two beavers in Saskatchewan. A zoologist watches a fish make a conscious decision. Darwin finds the evidence for evolution in the backyards of pigeon fanciers. The entire population of Croatia anxiously awaits the arrival of a single stork.
Animals have shaped our lives, our land, our civilisation, and they will shape our future. Yet as our impact on the world and the animals we share it with increases, there has never been a greater urgency to understand this foundational relationship.
Beastly is the 40,000-year story of animals and humans as it has never been captured before, seen eye-to-eye and claw-to-hand through those humans who have stepped into the myriad worlds of our animal relatives. Our relationship with animals has always been paradoxical, but the greatest paradox may yet be this: diversity of life can heal ecosystems. Animals - if given the chance - could save us.
"A dazzling examination of our contradictory attitudes towards the creatures with whom we share the planet [A] fantastic, heartfelt history of human-animal relations" – Guardian
"Gorgeous, joyous, sobering. Carew has a jaunty, alluring style of writing, a caustic sense of humour and a gift when it comes to delivering hefty information with lightness and wit . . . This book is the product of years of rigorous work and boundless devotion" – Irish Times
"Full of necessary rage, joy and passion: BEASTLY should be mandatory reading for all humans" – CLAIRE FULLER
Ronald Blythe lived at the end of an overgrown farm track deep in the rolling countryside of the Stour Valley, on the border between Suffolk and Essex. His home was Bottengoms Farm, a sturdy yeoman's house once owned by the artist John Nash. From here, Blythe spent almost half a century observing the slow turn of the agricultural year, the church year and village life in a series of rich, lyrical rural diaries.
Beginning with the arrival of snow on New Year's Day and ending with Christmas carols sung in the village church, Next to Nature invites us to witness a simple life richly lived. With gentle wit and keen observation Blythe meditates on his life and faith, on literature, art and history, and on our place in the landscape.
It is a celebration of one of our greatest nature writers, and an unforgettable ode to the English countryside..
"All the charm, wonder, eccentricity and vigour of country life is here in these pages, and told with such engaging directness, detail and colour . . . Bliss" – STEPHEN FRY
"A capacious work that contains multitudes . . . a work to amble through, seasonally, relishing the vivid dashes of colour and the precision and delicacy of the descriptions" – THE SPECTATOR
"My favourite read of the year . . . warm, funny and moving" – SUNDAY TIMES
"A writer whose pages you turn and then turn back immediately to re-read, relish and get by heart" – SUSAN HILL, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
"The greatest living writer on the English countryside . . . Blythe's writing dances with self-deprecating wit, rebellious asides, sharp portraits of fellow writers and notes of worldliness" -- PATRICK BARKHAM, GUARDIAN
A guide to rewilding your family, by adventurer and naturalist Steve Backshall and Olympic gold medallist rower Helen Glover, with contributions from Bear Grylls, Tim Peake, Michaela Strachan, Sir Chris Hoy, Judy Murray and many more.
THIS IS YOUR MAP TO A MORE ADVENTUROUS, WILDER FUTURE.
With contributions from: Bear Grylls on embracing adventure; Ed Stafford on flirting with danger; Sir Chris Hoy on riding bikes; Judy Murray on rainy day kitchen games; Michaela Strachan on creative word games; Gordon Buchanan on toasting marshmallows; Caroline Lucas on protecting the planet; Wayne Bridge on garden football; and many more.
The ultimate handbook for raising WILDER, HAPPIER, MUDDIER, MORE RESILIENT kids - whatever the weather and wherever you live.
In the last few years parents everywhere have realised how crucial the freedom of the outside world is, not only for their kids' wellbeing, but the whole family's. They've also realised, however, that it's not always that easy.
That's where this book comes in. Taking you through different environments and activities to explore, from minibeasts in the garden and pond dipping all the way through to beach Olympics and sea swimming (via rainy days, wild woods and river exploration), there are ideas small and big for all ages that will get them - and you - more engaged and involved with nature, and the wildlife in it.
"Conjures up a world of pre-internet fun, a compendium of lost outdoor arts with an eclectic list of contributors" – The Times
How did our relationship with nature become broken, why does it matter and how can we fix it?
From a past in which we were embedded in the natural world, revolutions in farming, science and industry have seen the human bond with nature eroded with the promise of prosperity offering happiness and meaning in life. This mindset may have delivered comfortable living for many, but there is growing recognition that the root cause of wildlife loss and the warming climate is people’s disconnection from nature, which is also an important factor in our mental health. Yet solutions focus on technical fixes to treat the symptoms of that damaged relationship, such as reducing carbon emissions and increasing habitat. What we urgently need is a whole new way of thinking.
Reconnection explores our hidden links with nature through the science of nature connectedness, setting out a way to revivify the relationship across society. Here is a route to a meaningful life that unites both human and nature’s wellbeing for a truly sustainable future. What's more, everybody has a role to play. From business leaders to conservationists, teachers to medics, from drivers to walkers, we can all reduce the damage we do and find new ways to bring nature into our lives. This timely book considers the problems scientifically, then offers simple, practical, positive steps for how we can all work towards a better world.
"Reconnection is a timely, clear plea to understand just how disconnected we have become from nature. Until it is spelled out, it is easy to assume things are not so bad, that reconnection is just a matter of being more aware. This book shows that the fracture lines go deeper and are more damaging than they might appear on the surface, but it is ultimately a hopeful book, offering solutions that make a greener future seem vibrant and joyful - worth striving for." – Mary Colwell, author of Beak, Tooth and Claw
"Thought provoking, brilliantly researched, and surprising in some of its findings. Also extremely readable which, given the importance of its subject, is helpful for those of us without academic backgrounds. A must-read for educators, policy makers, and anyone else trying to raise awareness of the benefits and importance of Nature Reconnection." – Brigit Strawbridge Howard, author of Dancing with Bees
The diversity of life on earth is astounding, with each species perfectly adapted to its environment. Sharks can navigate the ocean using electromagnetic fields; sloths use algae as camouflage; albatross can fly for hours without beating their wings; and orca pods each have unique cultures and languages.
But every hour, three species disappear.
Our incredible World is at risk.
Megan McCubbin reveals the stories of the scientists, rangers and conservationists who are fighting to save these extraordinary creatures from extinction.
An Atlas of Endangered Species shows us that the battle is on for their survival - and we all have a part to play.
"A call to arms for everyone" – Steve Backshall
"Joyful and heartbreaking, an inspiring celebration of some of our planet's most endangered species and those who champion them" – Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth
"A powerful, passionate plea for a wilder future" – Sophie Pavelle, author of Forget Me Not
"An antidote to any eco-anxiety , here are the people and the creatures who are fixing planet Earth" -- Chris Packham
The enormity of climate change and biodiversity loss can leave us feeling overwhelmed. How can an individual ever make a difference?
Isabella Tree and Charlie Burrell know firsthand how spectacularly nature can bounce back if you give it the chance. And what comes is not just wildlife in super-abundance, but solutions to the other environmental crises we face.
The Book of Wilding is a handbook for how we can all help restore nature. It is ambitious, visionary and pragmatic. The book has grown out of Isabella and Charlie's mission to help rewild Britain, Europe and the rest of the world by sharing knowledge from their pioneering project at Knepp in Sussex. It is inspired by the requests they receive from people wanting to learn how to rewild everything from unprofitable farms, landed estates and rivers, to ponds, allotments, churchyards, urban parks, gardens, window boxes and public spaces.. The Book of Wilding has the answers.
'Important and empowering' - BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
'Get this great guide and be inspired' - STEPHEN FRY
'A handbook of hope ... Buy it, read it, start changing things right now' - JOANNA LUMLEY
'Brilliantly readable and incredibly hard-working' - HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL
'A deep, dazzling and indispensable guide to the most important task of all: the restoration of the living planet' - GEORGE MONBIOT
Struggling to comprehend the shocking death of his teenage daughter, Ben Goldsmith finds solace in nature by immersing himself in plans to rewild his farm.
In July 2019, Ben Goldsmith lost his fifteen-year-old daughter, Iris, in an accident on their family farm in Somerset. Iris's death left her family reeling.
Grasping for answers, Ben threw himself into searching for some ongoing trace of his beloved child, exploring ideas that until then had seemed too abstract to mean much to him. Missing his daughter terribly and struggling to imagine how he would face the rest of his life in the shadow of this loss, Ben found solace in nature, the object of a lifelong fascination. As Ben set about rewilding his farm, nature became a vital source of meaning and hope.
This book is the story of a year of soul-searching that followed a terrible loss. In an instant, Ben's world had turned dark. Yet, unbelievably to him, the seasons kept on turning, and as he immersed himself in the dramatic restoration of nature in the place where it happened, he found healing.
In God is an Octopus, Ben tells a powerful, immersive and inspiring story of finding comfort and strength in nature after suffering loss and despair..
'Intensely readable, poetic, truthful, wise and wonderful.' – STEPHEN FRY
'A message of beauty and optimism.' – JOANNA LUMLEY
'Stunningly beautiful, immensely sad, immensely uplifting.' – GEORGE MONBIOT
'Extraordinarily powerful and moving... a book of universal wisdom.' – BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH
'Beautiful and deeply moving.' – ISABELLA TREE
'An extraordinary book.' – SUNDAY TIMES
'Unfathomable tragedy chronicled with profound love and compassion.' – RICHARD E. GRANT
'Emotive, raw and captivating.' – BENEDICT MACDONALD
Can white people be victims of racism?
Is it sexist to say 'men are trash'?
Should we worry about 'cancel culture'?
Tired of having the same old arguments? Kicking yourself for not being able to justify your views? Wondering whether individuals can bring about meaningful change?
Now imagine that instead of losing another hour of your life in a social media spat or knowing that the only way to make it through lunch was by biting your tongue, you could find a way to talk about injustice - and, just possibly, change someone's mind.
Many of us know what we think about inequality, but flounder when asked for our reasoning, leading to a conversational stalemate - especially when faced with a political, generational, or cultural divide. But living in echo chambers blunts our thinking, and if we can't persuade others, we have little hope of collectively bringing about change.
In Arguing for a Better World, philosopher Arianne Shahvisi draws on examples from everyday life to show us how to work through a set of thorny moral questions, equipping us to not only identify our positions but to carefully defend them.
"Brings cooling clarity to the heat of today's culture wars" – Priyamvada Gopal, author of Insurgent Empire
"Allows us to not only interrogate our own views, but to persuade others using reason and optimism. A must read" – Aaron Bastani, author of Fully Automated Luxury Communism
"Logical, readable, authoritative . . . An everyday manual on how oppression came about, how it works, why it persists, and how to defeat it" – Danny Dorling, author of Injustice: Why Social Inequality Still Persists and A Better Politics
Sir David Attenborough is just one of the wildlife conservationists whose accounts have been preserved in the Wildlife Filmmaking Oral Histories Collection.
University of Bristol Oral Histories Collection awarded UNESCO status
The Wildlife Filmmaking Oral Histories Collection held by the University of Bristol’s Special Collections team has been added to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Memory of the World Programme.
The programme is a register of significant documents from across the globe, catalogued for future generations to learn from and enjoy.
The Wildlife Filmmaking Oral Histories Collection is a series of oral history video interviews and transcripts with wildlife film-makers which were recorded between 1998-2011. They form a key part of the Wildlife Archive.
Britain holds a unique place in the history of wildlife documentaries and the development of this specialism, along with the careers of the individuals who helped pioneer it, are recorded. Bristol is a UNESCO city of film, in part due to the role the City has played in Wildlife film making since the establishment of the BBC Natural History Unit (est 1957) and the associated film production companies, which has led to its reputation as the ‘Green Hollywood’. The Wildfilm Archive preserves many of these precious recordings including recordings of interviews with key people in the oral histories collection
The recordings capture unique technical details and biographical information which demonstrate the fascinating narrative of wildlife documentary making in the UK.
The UNESCO committee concluded that the oral histories represent a unique and significant piece of national documentary heritage and should be inscribed on the register.
Ed Fay, Director of Library Services, said: “The inscription of the Wildfilm Archive oral histories onto the UNESCO UK Memory of the World register is a fantastic recognition of the role of UK film-makers in the foundational era of wildlife documentary and their role in raising awareness of environmental issues for generations around the world.
“The inscription demonstrates the global relevance of the collection, and is a tremendous accolade for the vision of the donors in ensuring the archive is secured for posterity, for the philanthropic funders who have enabled its conservation and accessibility, and for the University Library and Special Collections at the University of Bristol who are the custodians of its future.”
UNESCO initiated the UNESCO Memory of the World Programme in 1993.
Inscription on the register publicly affirms the significance of the documents and archives, raises their profile and promotes greater access to them, thereby facilitating research, education and preservation over time. These examples of documentary heritage are selected for the register due to their global significance and outstanding universal value.
The UK collection includes historical documents such as the Bill of Rights, the Magna Carta as well as entire documentary archives like the Commonwealth War Grave Archive and the George Orwell archive. Alongside some of this more well-known documentary history in the UK, the Programme also has a responsibility to champion lesser-known but uniquely important collections and make them understood in terms of national significance. The aim is to represent UK society as broadly as possible through cultural heritage.
The ‘inscription’ onto the UK Memory of the World Register of these significant examples of UK documentary heritage highlights the critical importance of their survival and accessibility, and of UNESCO’s commitment to their preservation.
Introducing the 30th Anniversary Whitley Awards...
Last night (26/4), we announced and celebrated our 2023 Whitley Award winners at the Royal Geographical Society in London. Hosted by WFN Ambassadors Tom Heap and Kate Humble, the Awards were presented by WFN Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, in front of nearly 500 guests..
The event also marked WFN’s 30th Anniversary, providing a truly special occasion to come together in celebration of the many partnerships which have made the charity what it is today – and which will continue to bring about significant change for wildlife and people as we look to the future.
We were thrilled to also be joined by global audiences via our livestream, which has been viewed by over 1,000 people and counting.
Celebrating 30 years of support for grassroots conservationists across the Global South, WFN Trustee Sir David Attenborough interviews WFN Founder Edward Whitley.
IWFF Announces the Award Winners of the 2023 International Wildlife Film Festival from IWFF
24 April 2023
Congratulations to the IWFF 46 award winning films.
The festival has started off with an absolute bang! We had record crowds at our opening WildWalk parade and sunshine! The first two days have been full of sold-out shows, and exciting screenings.
Deep congratulations to the award recipients last night. We are so proud of every one of the 60 films representing our selections this year!
46th International Wildlife Film Festival Announces Winners
The 46th International Wildlife Film Festival announced the winners of the 2023 event at the festival awards ceremony on Sunday night. One winner was selected in each of 12 categories with an additional jury award and the Chuck Jonkel Legacy Award for deserving recipients.
This year's jury was made up of Tailyr Irvine, Salish and Kootenai journalist and co-founder of Indigenous Photograph; Deia Schlosberg, Emmy-winning documentary producer and filmmaker (The Story of Plastic); and Andy Maser, Emmy-winning director and cinematographer (Great Bear Rainforest).
Best Short Short
HEART OF MAUI
Best Short
FLIGHTPATH
Best Feature
BIOCĘNTRICOS
Best Series
SECRETS OF THE ELEPHANTS SERIES
Best Student Film
JAWAI
Best Youth Program
KANGAROO VALLEY
Best New Vision
ALL OF OUR HEARTBEATS ARE CONNECTED THROUGH EXPLODING STARS
Best Living with Wildlife Program
PATH OF THE PANTHER
Best Animal Behavior Program
LION: THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MARSH PRIDE
Best Wildlife Conservation Program
HEART OF MAUI
Best Sustainable Planet
EARTHBOUND: NZAMBI MATEE
Best of Festival
EARTHBOUND: NZAMBI MATEE
Special Jury Award
Zacharia Mutai of the Ol Pejeta Conservancy
Jury Statement: Being a caregiver for any other being is already a monumental task, but when that other being is the last of its kind - the last of an entire species...the gravity of that charge is utterly inconceivable to all but a tiny handful of people. As the head rhino keeper [at Ol Petaja Conservancy], Mr. Mutai bears that burden on behalf of the entire human race, and as we saw in Remembering Sudan, he does so with a gentleness and grace that bestows dignity upon the precious individuals within his care. Zacharia, on behalf of the IWFF, thank you for your passion, your sacrifices, and your great strength.
The Chuck Jonkel Legacy Award
Roy O’Connor
IWFF Statement: The Chuck Jonkel Legacy Award was presented to Roy O’Connor for his steadfast belief in the festival for over 20 years. Roy’s tenure on the IWFF and Roxy Theater Board of Directors contributed to the IWFF’s legacy at the Roxy. Mr. O’Connor’s dedication to the festival mirrors his own values of working toward conserving wildlife and habitat and educating communities about those values through cinema.
Wildlife production company Silverback recognised for inspiring nature content
Production company Silverback took home the fourth edition of the MIPTV SDG Award at a ceremony at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes on 18 April. The UK-based wildlife documentary specialist, which for over 10 years has brought the natural world to screens across the globe, was awarded the annual prize for its work towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The award recognises media companies for their contribution towards the SDGs and is the fruit of collaboration between the United Nations and MIPTV, part of RX France and a member of the SDG Media Compact.
Silverback Film’s shows include ‘David Attenborough, A life on our Planet’, ‘Our Planet’ and ‘Wild Isles’. The production company also launched Studio Silverback in 2020 to raise awareness of the climate emergency through film, and its documentaries include ‘The Earthshot Prize: Repairing Our Planet’, a series led by Prince William.
“At Silverback, our mission is to combine powerful storytelling with world-class cinematography to reveal the urgent truth of our changing planet to a global audience as well as the opportunity we have for a sustainable future. We see that to drive real change, we must tackle the communications challenge,” said Jonnie Hughes, Creative Director at Studio Silverback, who accepted the prize in Cannes.
Storytelling for sustainability
Silverback’s productions take viewers into the wilderness across the globe, from the ice caps and deep ocean to deserts and remote forests. Its show ‘Our Planet’, for example, explores the Earth’s rich natural wonders and iconic species, and reveals the key issues that urgently threaten their existence. More than 100 million households have watched the programme since its release in April 2019.
“The pace and scale at which we change and become more sustainable over the next few critical decades will be determined by the strength of public support across the globe. Public support is won, in part, by dominant narratives,” explained Jonnie Hughes in an interview with the United Nations Regional Information Centre (UNRIC). “As Sir David Attenborough has said, “if enough people can see the path, we may just head down it in time.”
In a video message to the ceremony in Cannes, UN Global Communications Chief Melissa Fleming congratulated Silverback and underlined the importance of the film and TV industry in communicating the SDGs.
“Storytelling matters more than ever. We at the United Nations use the power of storytelling to try to capture people’s imagination and speak to their hearts. I would like to congratulate Silverback Films and Studio Silverback for bringing inspiring content to a worldwide audience and helping us to better understand our planet and the challenges it faces,” she said.
David Attenborough has inspired the UK to create a People's Plan for Nature. Here's what you need to know
Sir David Attenborough’s latest nature documentary series, Wild Isles, has inspired a campaign called People’s Plan for Nature in the UK, which includes 26 actions needed urgently to reverse the decline of the natural world.
The UK is one of the world’s most nature-depleted countries, with just over half of its biodiversity still intact.
Here, Jon Alexander, Co-Founder of the New Citizenship Project, which put together the framework for the People’s Plan for Nature, explains how it came about.
In Davos back in 2019, while in conversation with Prince William, Sir David Attenborough called for global leaders, businesses and citizens to work together to protect the planet through a new deal for nature.
He had just narrated the Emmy Award-winning series Our Planet, made with WWF for Netflix.
Now, four years and a global pandemic later, the 96-year-old naturalist and broadcaster has made another series, Wild Isles, this time with the BBC, about his homeland, the United Kingdom.
Three conservation charities, WWF-UK, the National Trust and the British RSPB, have come together for the first time to create a follow-up documentary, Saving Our Wild Isles, again narrated by Attenborough. It has spawned a unique ‘Save Our Wild Isles’ campaign and a crowdsourced set of recommendations for nature’s recovery in a People’s Plan for Nature.
The People’s Plan for Nature is a world-first. It’s a plan created for the people, by the people of the UK – a vision for the future of nature, and the actions we must all take to protect and renew it.
Wildscreen Teams up with BBC Studios Natural History Unit for First Ever Festival in Africa
By Wildscreen
4th April 2023
Wildscreen has announced the launch of a brand-new event: Wildscreen Festival Nairobi, in partnership with BBC Studios Natural History Unit.
The inaugural two-day event runs 30th June – 1st July 2023 in the Kenyan capital and builds upon the NHU’s collaboration with Wildscreen as headline sponsor of last year’s Festival and Nairobi Hub. The new mini-festival will feature African storytellers and filmmakers sharing their expertise and experience as well as key global industry players. Content will span headline talks, panels, workshops, commissioning sessions and networking and is open to all aspiring and established African film industry professionals as well as the global natural history film industry.
The event marks Wildscreen’s first outside-of-UK festival in Africa signifying the continent’s importance within the industry past, present and future. Whilst a vast amount of natural history content is generated featuring Africa’s wildlife and landscapes, the opposite is true of African filmmaking talent which is largely under-represented in the industry.
The event will be programmed with the support of a Festival Advisory Board, which includes: Paula Kahumbu, CEO WildlifeDirect; Caroline Cox, Production Executive, BBC Studios Natural History Unit; Janet Han Vissering, SVP Development and Production at Nat Geo Content; Sreya Biswas, Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning; Nashipae Orumoy, Director Strategic Communications, African Wildlife Foundation; Chloe Sarosh, Executive Producer, Wildstar Films; Jeff Wilson, Director, Silverback Films; and Asif Choudhury, Deputy Permanent Representative UNEP and UNHabitat and the British High Commission, Nairobi; Michael Masheti, Production and Liaison Officer Kenya Film Commission.
Speaking about the launch, Wildscreen CEO Lucie Muir said: “We are breaking new ground for the natural world film making industry, bringing the focus of many documentaries back to the places they originate from. Giving the spotlight to African storytellers is long overdue. Teaming up with BBC Studios Natural History Unit and our other Kenyan-based partners who have a shared interest and passion means we are at the start of developing something very special, that will result in a more supported talent pipeline, a more equitable industry and ultimately more extraordinary stories to be told.”
The new annual event comes hot off the back of Wildscreen’s most successful biannual global festival in October 2022 where 1700 delegates from 40+ countries attended online or in person in Bristol, UK. As a world first, Wildscreen also piloted three global hubs in Nairobi, Cape Town and Bangalore, with the East African hub scaling unexpected heights of success.
Jonny Keeling, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Wildscreen on their first-ever African mini-festival. Supporting in-country filmmaking talent is key to building a more inclusive and sustainable filmmaking industry. This event promises to bring African filmmakers and the wider production community together like never before.”
Paula Kahumbu, CEO of WildlifeDirect said: “Wildscreen Festival Nairobi has the potential to wake a sleeping giant. WildlifeDirect is so proud to be a key partner in realising this dream.”
To register your interest for the event and to keep up-to-date with Wildscreen news and festival developments, please register here.
This year WFFR will be held from October 30th - November 5th 2023.
Entries must have a central focus on non-domesticated wildlife species, natural habitats, conservation or the environment. They demonstrate the beauty of nature and raise awareness about the collective responsibility we have to maintain it.
Filmmakers from anywhere in the world can participate. WFFR welcomes (independent) filmmakers, production companies, distributors or broadcasters to submit their latest film(s).
WFFR is also the meeting place for the wildlife film industry in The Netherlands. We are known for a friendly and informal atmosphere where all our guests feel at home. Here you can meet (or catch-up with) other film professionals during the Industry Days (3 & 4 November) where you can participate in workshops, round the table sessions and lots of other (network) events.
The festival program offers public screenings during these six days at Cinerama Movie Theatre that is located downtown Rotterdam. WFFR also takes place online. All participated films in the online part are geoblocked for The Netherlands only.
POODUNNIT? – A Wildlife Detective Story about the Polluted River Wye, by Richard Brock
By Jason Peters
4th April 2023
Dying Wye. Why?
You may have seen and heard about the bad conditions on our waterways, rivers, lakes, shores and coasts. Clean water is precious, both to us and wildlife, as Sir David Attenborough has stressed in his major wildlife conservation series on BBC 1, “Wild Isles”.
Fixing it will be a massive challenge and costs will be high affecting what we will have to pay. But who is getting richer too? And how? It’s a scandal, involving what amounts to a crime, or rather a number of crimes.
So, in addition to the massive media coverage and long-term news campaigns, we offer a film “POODUNNIT?”
Different from the inevitable foul examples in what were pristine rivers “POODUNNIT?” tracks down the potential culprits with several Sherlock Holmes logos (+ farts!) in an hour-long hunt for the criminals on one of Britain’s most favourite rivers – the Wye, which flows between England and Wales – 155 miles.
The journey follows the threatened Wye, through one year, from source to sea, using that ace fisherman the heron, and the handsome wild duck the mallard, as our guides, revealing whodunnit? along the course of the dying Wye.
This is a wildlife detective story, very watchable, somewhat tongue-in-cheek, but with a serious intention, plus outstanding wildlife film production values with BBC Natural History Unit experience.
Watch it. Become a Sherlock Holmes and find out! “POODUNNIT?” Whodunnit? Is doing it?
One of our finest, favourite rivers is in trouble. Kingfishers and otters, plants and insects are threatened. The beautiful River Wye is dying. Why? Become a Sherlock Holmes in this wildlife detective story and find out in “POODUNNIT?”.
Jackson Wild Executive Director Lisa Samford to step down after twenty years in role
By Jackson Wild
27th March 2023
In a letter to the board of directors, Lisa Samford has announced that she will be stepping down from her position as Executive Director of Jackson Wild in September, following the organization’s summit in Jackson, Wyoming.
Samford has held the position of Executive Director for twenty years and has grown Jackson Wild to be an internationally recognized Summit, film competition, and conservation convening.
In her letter, Samford states:
“I have spent a lot of time reflecting about what we have accomplished together over the years: creating innovative global partnerships, accelerating the amplification of underrepresented and inclusive perspectives, elevating impact-driven storytelling, facilitating professional development, and constructing world-class pipelines for early career filmmakers in the climate, conservation and nature film sectors.
I feel honored to have witnessed such amazing transformation and growth in the global community we have built together and am deeply grateful for the relationships and partnerships that have developed in the process. To say that this has been a privilege is an understatement.”
Bill Gardner, Board Chair of Jackson Wild said:
“We will miss Lisa’s leadership, vision, and the inclusive community that she has built during her tenure as Executive Director. Because of Lisa’s tireless efforts, Jackson is known globally for its convening power and dedication to excellence in filmmaking and conservation. The board of directors of Jackson are immensely grateful for all of Lisa’s contributions.”
The board will begin a search for a new Executive Director in the coming months. Interested parties may send an email to: board@jacksonwild.org
ABOUT JACKSON WILD:
For over 30 years, Jackson Wild has been a catalyst for accelerating and elevating impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science, and conservation. Through innovative and collaborative community gatherings, skill-building initiatives, and mentorship programs, Jackson Wild creates an inclusive forum for storytellers to more deeply illuminate connections to the natural world and our collective responsibility to the wild.
Jackson Wild’s international board members include: African Wildlife Foundation, ARRI, ARTE France, BBC Studios, Blue Ant Media / Love Nature, Conservation International, Doclights, GBH, Gorongosa Restoration Project, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, Humane Society International, International Fund for Animal Welfare, National Geographic Content, National Geographic Society, Nature/WNET, Netflix, NEWF (Nature, Environment, Wildlife, Filmmaking), Off the Fence Productions, ORF Universum, PBS, RED Digital Cinema, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, Smithsonian Channel/Paramount, Sony Electronics, The Nature Conservancy, Terra Mater Studios, Wanda Films, Wildstar Films, and World Wildlife Fund US.
BWPA were excited to unveil the winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2023 with all on the 14th of March!
An image of a red fox moving through a woodland, destroyed to make way for an industrial site, takes the top prize in this prestigious award.
With over 13,000 images submitted to the 2023 competition, we are thrilled to share the winners gallery with you here.
Overall Winner:
“A Look to the Future” by Charlie Page
I knew this area was reliable for foxes, and I wanted a shot with the industrial backdrop. One day when setting up my camera with a remote shutter release, a fox approached from my left. Hesitant about what to do, I stayed still, and surprisingly the fox stopped right in my frame. I took the shot but was confused why it had come so close. In hindsight, this encounter probably tells the story more than the photo itself. Wildlife has become used to us encroaching on them. I think the felled tree and longing look on the fox’s face portray this tragedy perfectly. I hope that all wildlife photography doesn’t look like this in years to come.
Misleading Guardian article? – BBC will not broadcast Attenborough episode over fear of ‘rightwing backlash’
According to Helena Horton – Environment reporter "Decision to make episode about natural destruction available only on iPlayer angers programme-makers."
"The BBC has decided not to broadcast an episode of Sir David Attenborough’s flagship new series on British wildlife because of fears its themes of the destruction of nature would risk a backlash from Tory politicians and the rightwing press, the Guardian has been told."
The BBC strongly denied this was the case and insisted the episode in question was never intended for broadcast.
"One source at the broadcaster, who asked not to be named, said “lobbying groups that are desperately hanging on to their dinosaurian ways” such as the farming and game industry would “kick off” if the show had too political a message."
In a statement provided after the story was first published, the BBC said: “This is totally inaccurate, there is no ‘sixth episode’. Wild Isles is – and always was – a five part series and does not shy away from environmental content. We have acquired a separate film for iPlayer from the RSPB and WWF and Silverback Films about people working to preserve and restore the biodiversity of the British Isles.”
Alastair Fothergill, the director of Silverback Films and the executive producer of Wild Isles, added: “The BBC commissioned a five-part Wild Isles series from us at Silverback Films back in 2017. The RSPB and WWF joined us as co-production partners in 2018.
It was not until the end of 2021 that the two charities commissioned Silverback Films to make a film for them that celebrates the extraordinary work of people fighting to restore nature in Britain and Ireland. The BBC acquired this film for iPlayer at the start of this year.”
In a special documentary commissioned by the RSPB, WWF and the National Trust and inspired by Wild Isles, we hear the real stories of passionate people who are trying to restore biodiversity to the British Isles.
Britain is globally important for wildlife, but it is also one of the most nature depleted countries in the world. Restoring nature can have far-reaching benefits for our wild isles and for ourselves. In this programme we meet the inspirational people trying to make a difference and some of the wildlife they are trying to protect.
Sir David Attenborough tells a story of hope in a time of crisis for UK nature in ‘Saving Our Wild Isles’: a new documentary commissioned by WWF, the RSPB and the National Trust, produced by Silverback Films. Coming to BBC iPlayer from 8pm on Sunday 9th April 2023, inspired by the ‘Wild Isles’ TV series.
With our nature now at breaking point, and the UK amongst the most nature-depleted countries in the world, the film explores our wildlife and wild places most at risk and highlights incredible people across the UK working to help nature recover. It brings to life that the scale and pace of change so urgently needed to save nature in the UK is not only possible – it’s already happening.
"We now have a few short years during which we can still make a choice. Where just enough remains of the natural world for it to recover. This starts and ends with us.”
Sir David Attenborough
How David Attenborough has championed climate change – by Ben Hoare
For over 15 years, Sir David has been at the forefront of efforts to move the dial on climate change and during the last decade his warnings have became even bleaker.
The fluffy albatross chick reduced many of us to tears. Hurled off its nest by 110kph winds, it was flat on its back in the mud, while its father looked down helplessly. At last, like a tiny mountaineer in the eye of a ferocious storm, the bedraggled youngster heaved itself back up into the warm embrace of its parent.
Distressed viewers breathed a sigh of relief. However, Sir David Attenborough’s commentary left them in no doubt – other chicks would not be so lucky.
Harrowing sequences such as this clifftop drama, filmed in South Georgia for 2019’s Seven Worlds, One Planet, have become harder to avoid during Sir David Attenborough’s more recent series.
There’s no getting away from it: filming the natural world means not shying away from potentially upsetting scenes of wildlife confronting mortal challenges. Storms, floods, droughts, wildfires. Melting ice. Food shortages. Lack of mates and nest sites. Plagues of parasites.
Climate change poses an existential threat to life on Earth, and the wildlife film industry – with Sir David as its unofficial figurehead – has for a while now had to grapple with this inescapable reality in its storytelling. It is no longer tenable to relegate the environmental impacts to a few closing comments at the end of a programme.
Natural-history film-makers have increasingly found themselves reporting from a war zone. More of them have come to see part of their role is akin to that of war correspondents. By showing us what things are like on the front line, they hope to influence hearts and minds back home and, perhaps, stop these tragedies happening.
Even children’s TV features content about climate change these days, with animated Netflix series Octonauts: Above and Beyond one of the first shows to put the subject front and centre, managing to inform a young audience without scaring it witless.
And for over 15 years, Sir David has been at the forefront of efforts to move the dial on climate change, thanks to his unrivalled position as a massively popular broadcaster respected throughout the English-speaking world. When he says something, we tend to listen. As Chris Packham remarked, we care because we trust him.
During the last decade, the nonagenarian presenter’s warnings about the climate crisis have became even bleaker.
Take this example: “Our blind assault on the planet is changing the very fundamentals of the living world. We have overrun the Earth.” There’s a lot more like this in his important book A Life on Our Planet, published in 2020, which has the uncompromising air of a manifesto.
Congratulations to the films selected for Jackson Wild's 2023 World Wildlife Day Film Showcase!
We saw more than 200 films submitted for consideration this year, representing 77 different countries.
The World Wildlife Day Film Showcase is one of the global events that accompanies the 2023 UN World Wildlife Day celebrations and help illustrate its theme, “Partnerships for Wildlife Conservation”.
New this year is the Audience Award! Cast your votes on Eventive, and the winning filmmaker will receive a free pass to the 2023 Jackson Wild Summit.
The Rwanda Wildlife Filmmaking Course With Documentarian David McGowan
Oscar Nominated Filmmaker David McGowan opens up about his film program in Rwanda on the You'll Probably Agree Podcast – "We talk about movies old and new while hanging out for a couple of drinks in a bar" ... Nice work if you can get it, right!?
Ravenswood Media has created a filmmaking course for national park rangers, trackers and guides.
I am an Academy Award nominated filmmaker who has devoted his career to environmental and conservation films. It is important to me to pass on my filmmaking skills to the next generation of wildlife conservationists. I taught basic filmmaking to eight students at the Red Rocks compound in Musanze, Rwanda. The students were all involved in a variety of conservation roles. The classes began with simple tasks; setting up the tripod, mounting lenses, audio recording, among other functions. The students learned how an interview is conducted and how to develop interview questions. We made expeditions to natural areas to practice filming on the robust populations of Rwandan wildlife. I arranged Zoom meetings between the class and representatives of the US National Park Service, National Geographic, and a wildlife health expert.
The course was free. The students applied to the course by writing a short essay on how they hoped to incorporate the training in their profession. The class was divided into three groups. Each group chose a topic to demonstrate what they had learned from the class.
I brought basic production equipment; cameras, microphones, audio recorders, tripods and miscellaneous gear, necessary to produce short films that meet a professional standard. I left behind an Apple laptop with an editing app to allow the students to continue their learning experience.
Tina In The Wild is a documentary series starring Tina Hansen, a Norwegian vet student studying in Poland, who attends a VetX - Wildlife Capture and Care - course organised by Umkhondo Big 5.
Tina along with a tight knit group of other veterinary students attend the course for over three weeks learning about wildlife conservation in South Africa.
The course is full of insightful, fun and adrenaline filled moments taking the students on an adventure to be remembered for a lifetime.
A stunningly designed accompaniment to the filmEating Our Way To Extinction, this book contains all of the most pertinent information covered in the film, from the most critical environmental statistics to exclusive interviews with key personnel, alongside beautiful on-shoot photography.
This book is a must-have for anyone who truly wants to understand the critical role the animal agriculture industry plays as a leading cause of climate change and ecological devastation.
This book also shows clearly and scientifically how a plant-based diet can effectively offset the worst effects of climate change in a time frame that can buy us time to develop technological solutions.
Introducing plant-based cuisine across multi-cultures, this beautifully photographed cookbook is brought to you by the makers of the acclaimed environmental documentary film Eating Our Way To Extinction, as a tool to help us all shift towards a more planet-saving sustainable food system.
Where other classics seek to define cuisines, this one refines them and teaches us that food is not just about our palettes, but how what we eat is interconnected with the earth's ecosystems.
Featuring vegan recipes from the major food regions of the world, this book takes us on a culinary journey, and in so doing we undertake the greatest journey of all – developing a new understanding of eating.
We’ve never met a kid who doesn’t want to save the world. These plant-based recipes will help them to do just that.
Every single meal is designed to be highly nutritious for a growing child, as well as delicious, and they’ve been tested far and wide with even the fussiest children.
The dishes are easy to make, so whether you will prepare the food for your kids or invite them for their first foray into the kitchen with you, this book will be treasured for years to come.
From the makers of the acclaimed environmental documentary film Eating Our Way To Extinction, this book was created with parents of kids in mind, as a tool to help us all shift towards a more planet-saving sustainable food system.
Bristol-based true factual specialist created high-profile franchises including River Monsters, Savage Kingdom and Primal Survivor.
River Monsters indie Icon Films is winding down after more than three decades.
The Bristol company’s founders and bosses Laura and Harry Marshall said they have taken the “difficult decision” to shut up shop. Laura said that this is “the right time to exit from our production and employment responsibilities appropriately”, while Harry added: “The industry is changing and knowing when to leave your own party is important.”
The closure will affect 26 roles across full-time and fixed-term staff and involve ending fixed-term contracts and full-time role redundancies. All eligible staff will receive redundancy payments.
Broadcast understands the company is closing from a position of financial health and that all financial responsibilities and creditors owed will be settled.
Since its inception in 1990, Icon Films has produced more than 500 hours of factual programming for British and international broadcasters and platforms including the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, National Geographic, Discovery, Animal Planet, PBS, Arte, NHK and Vice.
Its major natural history franchises include ITV and Animal Planet’s Jeremy Wade-fronted River Monsters - which ran for 10 series - Nat Geo’s Charles Dance-narrated series Savage Kingdom and Nat Geo/Disney+’s Primal Survivor.
Icon has regularly been named in Broadcast’s Best Places to Work in TV, most recently featuring in the 2022 listings. In Broadcast Indie Survey 2022, Icon reported 2021 revenues of £6m, at the height of the pandemic.
The Marshalls (pictured) are not retiring from the business, with Laura Marshall maintaining her role as chair of Wildscreen, as well as exploring other TV projects, while Harry Marshall will continue to write.
“It’s been an extraordinary journey from the basement of a Bristol house to a company of over 100 people. We have launched careers, created international brands, run series and grown talent,” Harry Marshall said in a statement.
“We’ve had some epic parties,” he continued. “People have grown alongside us. Some came and never left. But the industry is changing — and knowing when to leave your own party is important. Our legacy is something we can be proud of. And we wanted to do the exit well and manage the wind-down on our own terms so our team feels valued and respected and are properly compensated and we can step away knowing we have done our best by everyone. We will now plan our next adventures and, like Icon Films, see where it takes us.”
“We’ve been privileged to work with a talented and loyal team with whom we have built Icon FIlms over the years,” offered Laura Marshall. “Knowing that best practice in staff wellbeing, production sustainability, engagement with our local communities and in-country producers has given us huge job satisfaction and defined our brand. Harry and I are grateful for the support that both Andie Clare, director of production, and Lucy Middelboe, commercial director, have given us while we have made this difficult decision, and I know they leave Icon Films to have stellar careers elsewhere.”
For the whole of human history, we have lived alongside birds. We have hunted and domesticated them for food; venerated them in our mythologies, religion and rituals; exploited them for their natural resources; and been inspired by them for our music, art and poetry.
In Ten Birds that Changed the World4, naturalist and author Stephen Moss tells the gripping story of this long and eventful relationship through ten key species from all seven of the world's continents.
From Odin's faithful raven companions to Darwin's finches, and from the wild turkey of the Americas to the emperor penguin as potent symbol of the climate crisis, this is a fascinating, eye-opening and endlessly engaging work of natural history.
You don't have to be an animal rights activist to take an interest in how we treat other creatures.
All of us, with few exceptions, use animals in some way: for food, research, recreation and companionship.
In Britain we eat around a billion chickens every year, while 60% of all mammals on Earth, by biomass, are now livestock. In 2020, approximately 2.88 million scientific procedures involving living animals were carried out in Great Britain.
Because all this happens in our name, as consumers and citizens we have a duty to understand, to care and to exert some influence over how animals are used. But because such use is ingrained in our daily lives and largely happens behind closed doors, we are barely aware of it. The animals deserve better. Understanding the inconsistencies in our attitudes, in the law and in what is deemed acceptable practice is an important first step.
This timely and incisive book makes compelling reading for anyone who has an interest in animals, whether wild or domestic, free-living or captive, people intrigued about how their food is produced, and those keen to make informed and intelligent decisions.
'This is a brilliant book and I recommend that you buy it and read it.' -- Mark Avery, author and environmental campaigner
'This fascinating and engaging book challenges us all to make better lives for animals.' -- Chris Packham, broadcaster and author of Back to Nature
Alick Simmons is a veterinarian and a naturalist. After a 35-year public service career controlling epidemic diseases of livestock, in 2015 he began conservation volunteering. As well as practical tasks such as surveying waders and catching cranes, he advises a number of conservation organisations on animal welfare and ethics.
This book offers an absorbing look at why and how humans can so wholeheartedly devote ourselves to certain animals and then allow others to suffer needlessly, especially those slaughtered for our consumption.
Social psychologist Melanie Joy explores the many ways we numb ourselves and disconnect from our natural empathy for farmed animals. She coins the term "carnism" to describe the belief system that has conditioned us to eat certain animals and not others.
In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows, Joy investigates factory farming, exposing how cruelly the animals are treated, the hazards that meatpacking workers face, and the environmental impact of raising 10 billion animals for food each year.
Controversial and challenging, this book will change the way you think about food forever.
"An absorbing examination of why humans feel affection and compassion for certain animals but are callous to the suffering of others." -- Publishers Weekly
"I think Gandhi would have loved Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows. For this is a book that can change the way you think and change the way you live. It will lead you from denial to awareness, from passivity to action, and from resignation to hope." -- John Robbins, author ofDiet for a New America andThe Food Revolution
"Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows is groundbreaking. Melanie Joy brilliantly explains why people resist information that would help themmake more healthful food choices--and how they can overcome this."-- Michael Greger, MD, New York Times bestselling author ofHow Not to Die and founder of nutritionfacts.org
The book is available at Book Depository with FREE delivery worldwide.
Dr. Melanie Joy is a Harvard-educated psychologist, celebrated speaker, and the author of six books, including the award-winningBeyond Beliefs: A Guide to Improving Relationships and Communication for Vegans, Vegetarians, and Meat Eaters. Her work has been featured in major media outlets around the world, and she has received a number of awards, including the Ahimsa Award - previously given to the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela - for her work on global nonviolence. Joy has given talks and trainings in over 50 countries, and she is also the founding president of the nonprofit organization Beyond Carnism.
Why are we as humans so attracted to water and to colorful reefs? Indeed, why are reefs so dazzling? How did cleaning station symbiosis evolve? How come there are so many extraordinary defense mechanisms among reef animals? Do the denizens of reefs have consciousness? How did warning coloration evolve? In what ways do fundamental mathematical rules manifest in coral reefs? For answers to these questions and many more, take a dive into Reflections Underwater.
Coral reefs are one of the world's great natural wonders: endlessly surprising and mesmerizing kaleidoscopic fractals of color and life. But they are also under serious threat from the effects of climate change and development. Reflections Underwater is a unique, illuminating book that explores a stunning variety of topics and concepts relating to coral reefs.
Adopting a holistic, multidisciplinary perspective that weaves together scientific and humanistic ideas, including psychology, evolution, zoology, philosophy, mathematics, art, physics, and more, this book offers a compelling angle on these remarkable and fragile habitats. Meticulously researched and elegantly argued, it is illustrated throughout with exquisite photographs gleaned from the author's many marine adventures.
'This is a book that you should read if you want to be amazed anew at the richness of the coral reef, to discover new ways to think of it, to see it as you probably have never seen it before...this book’s ability to describe the science underlying the reef in a humanistic way is refreshing and intriguing.'
-- Prof. David Fortus (PhD), Weizmann Institute of Science
'Whether you are an expert in some field of marine science, a well-traveled and experienced diver who knows a lot about this environment, or a “newbie” interested in the underwater world, I am sure this book introduced you to some new and fascinating ideas and phenomena.'
-- Tom Shlesinger (PhD), Marine Ecologist, Florida Institute of Technology
For more than a quarter of a century, Oded Degany has been an avid diver and underwater photographer, documenting his encounters with the creatures that make up coral reefs. His has a multi-disciplinary background which includes a BA in physics, an MA in biological thought, an MBA, and a partial doctorate in anthropology and religious studies.
No doubt the whole World is waiting for the first 'International Poo Film Festival' – Richard Brock
When will it arrive and get the interest and appreciation it deserves?
Will it include wildlife?
Will it deliver?
Well, here comes "Poodunnit? a Wildlife Detective Story" ... One hour through one year right down the beautiful River Wye between Wales and England, using the heron and the wild duck, the mallard, as our guides.
If you'd like the password for this film, and are prepared to take the time to answer a questionaire giving feedback on it, please email info@brockinitiative.org asking Poodunnit?
Award-winning Netflix Documentary On the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ Project Spotlights Transformative Climate, Community and Biodiversity Impacts
Corporate executives and Kenyan conservationists featured in a Netflix mini-documentary gathered at the screening of the award-winning short film "Kasigau" that was held at the Curzon Soho Cinema.
Kasigau recently won Best Human and Nature Short Film at the 2022 Wildlife Conservation Film Festival. It's now available on the WeAreNetflix and AfricaonNetflix Youtube channels.
The mini-documentary, produced in a collaboration between Netflix, Freeborne Impact, Wildlife Works and Everland, is about the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project, a pioneering, community-based, wildlife-centered forest conservation project that is located in southeastern Kenya. Netflix voluntarily purchases carbon credits from the project to compensate for the impact of its unavoidable emissions.
REDD+, short for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation, is a UN-envisioned climate change mitigation mechanism that enables communities and governments to secure performance-based payments from the voluntary carbon markets for emission reductions generated through effective forest protection.
As the first-ever project to issue verified REDD+ credits, Kasigau has avoided more than 20 million tCO2e to date, roughly equivalent to offsetting nearly two decades of London's rail transport emissions.
Using revenues from the sale of its carbon credits, the project protects over 200,000 hectares of dryland forest which is home to wildlife such as African elephants, lions, and Grevy's zebras.
Revenues from carbon credit sales fund social service programs co-created with the community and relieve pressure to participate in extractive activities. These sustained services include school bursaries, access to health care, clean water, food security and improved livelihoods for a community of approximately 120,000 people.
Shola Sanni, Director of Public Policy, SSA-Netflix said, "Netflix is privileged to be one of the partners of the Wildlife Works Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project, providing financial support to the initiative through the purchase of verified carbon credits. By participating in the project, Netflix helps to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in the Kasigau Corridor, while supporting sustainable land use practices and the improvement of local communities' livelihoods. This partnership aligns with our efforts to mitigate our carbon footprint and promote sustainable business practices."
Sanni added, "Before now, Africans have had their stories told for them by others. The continent before now had been seen and perceived, narrated and interpreted through the filter of the subjective portrayal of the foreign voices telling the African story. Tropes about an Africa in need of rescuing have abounded. But this mini documentary created by Everland in partnership with Netflix showcases how leading Kenyan experts, yes, African heroes, are taking charge of their own narrative and spearheading the effort to preserve their wild spaces for future generations. It is an authentic Kenyan story of courage in the face of adversity, and Netflix is proud to be a part of its telling."
Jane Okoth, Media and Communications Officer at Wildlife Works said, "Indigenous people and local communities are the traditional guardians of the forest. The success of the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project demonstrates that when our voices are heard, forest conservation realizes its potential as the most effective and immediate way to end deforestation."
About Wildlife Works
Wildlife Works is a community-centered wildlife conservation company that implements market-based initiatives to protect the planet's threatened wilderness and endangered wildlife. The company was founded on the premise that if we want wildlife in our world, it must work for local communities who share their environment. Wildlife Works' conservation projects drive direct financing to forest communities to fund their self-determined economic development and prevent millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere annually. wildlifeworks.com
About Everland
Everland represents the world's largest portfolio of high-impact forest conservation (REDD+) projects in Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Everland brings forest communities and corporations together in a common cause to protect some of the world's most important and vulnerable forests. everland.earth
Moby's Punk Rock Vegan Movie Streaming For Free on the Slamdance Festival Website
MOBY's "Punk Rock Vegan Movie," a new documentary written and directed by MOBY is available to stream for free now via the SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL website.
The film, representing noted vegan MOBY's directorial debut, premiered on opening night of the 2023 SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL JANUARY 20th in PARK CITY, UT. Described as "a passionate and stylistically idiosyncratic look at the ongoing relationship between the worlds of punk rock and animal rights," it includes interviews with punk icons like IAN MACKAYE, BAD BRAINS' HR, DAVE NAVARRO, AMY LEE, ROB ZOMBIE and CAPTAIN SENSIBLE, among many others.
MOBY tells the story of how punk rock became such a "fertile and surprising" breeding ground for vegan activism. It’s also a call to action, unapologetically reminding people that in a deeply broken world it’s incumbent upon each of us to stand up and fight intelligently, passionately,\ and loudly against injustice.
Noted MOBY, “’Punk Rock Vegan Movie’ was created to shine a light on the surprising and inspiring history of punk rock and animal rights, but also to remind people of the importance and desperate urgency of adopting the uncompromising ethics and actions of the original punk rock activists. After it makes its world premiere at SLAMDANCE, it's yours. It's my goal to give the movie away, as I can't in good conscience try to profit from what is essentially a labor of love and activism."
Two Jackson Wild fellows on what we can learn from the birds.
The Jackson Wild Media Lab offers a fellowship each year to media creators to hone their skills in furthering science and conservation communication. The nine-day fellowship is highly competitive—2022’s 16 participants were chosen from a pool of 350 applicants, including Brazilian native Laura Pennafort and Tennessean Johnny Holder. Jackson Wild pairs scientists with filmmakers who dive right into conceiving and executing a project within a short time frame (four days). In addition to a crash course in production using professional grade tools and equipment, media fellows are exposed to input and advice from seasoned filmmakers and other experts.
Pennafort began her academic studies in biology, eventually doubling up to study filmmaking. She completed her education in England, where she has lived for five years. Increasingly focused on wildlife documentaries, Pennafort finds in them a perfect merging of her passions for science and nature.
I have a deep impression now of a whole world I’ve been neglecting.
Holder’s life experience includes eight years in Army Special Operations, an earth science and geography undergraduate degree, and “by serendipity,” enrollment in Montana State University’s Natural History Filmmaking program. Holder’s thesis film for Montana State, “Sonora,” won the 2022 special jury award for Diversity and Inclusion in the Jackson Wild Media Awards (it was also an overall finalist). During his time as a media fellow, Holder and his colleagues made “Sound of the Lake” focused on bird life in Europe’s second-largest reed bed.
Nautilus caught up with Pennafort and Holder to talk about their films, their passions, and their experience with Jackson Wild.
Laura Pennafort
You are originally from Brazil, and now live in England. Do these locations influence your filmmaking?
I’ve been in England for five years. I moved here because things were getting uncertain in Brazil and I didn’t know if I could finish my education there. I studied biology and then combined it with filmmaking. Wildlife documentaries combine these passions for me, and England is a great place to pursue this work. Blue-chip documentaries are often produced here. These films show nature as mostly untouched, animals doing beautiful things. It’s a bit of a fantasy, but it serves a real purpose, to engage the viewer.
At the same time, I am committed to sharing the amazing biodiversity of Brazil with the rest of the world. People don’t realize what’s there and how threatened it is—the situation calls for a more straightforward call to action.
During the Jackson Wild summit 2022, four young talented teams made films about the scientific work that is being done here in the Nationalpark Neusiedler See - Seewinkel. This is one of them: The bird ringer by Media Lab Fellows Jane M. Yang, Laura Pennafort, Luyanda Shabalala, and Jordan Chapman.
2023 Media Lab
September 19-29, 2023
– Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming
The Jackson Wild Media Lab is an immersive, cross-disciplinary science filmmaking workshop that brings scientists and media creators together to learn from leaders in the profession and work together to develop effective tools to communicate about science, nature and conservation with diverse audiences across the world’s evolving media platforms. For nine days, Media Lab fellows will work side-by-side with instructors and industry-leading mentors to gain intensive hands-on film making experience, learn the science of science communication, get a crash course using professional-grade tools and equipment and expand professional networks with peers and industry professionals.
This highly competitive program will accept fellows covering all expenses associated with travel, food and lodging during the workshop and the Jackson Wild Summit.
The Jackson Wild Media Lab is a collaboration between Day’s Edge Productions and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, a proud sponsor of the Jackson Wild Summit.
Sunny Side of the Doc is launching
its 2023 Call for Projects!
Looking for partners and financing for your next documentary? Submit your project to Sunny Side of the Doc’s pitching sessions and join one of the most impactful markets for documentary and digital storytelling (La Rochelle, France, June 19-22, 2023).
WHY PITCH AT SUNNY SIDE OF THE DOC?
Sunny Side of the Doc is the international market dedicated to supporting the international financing of documentary projects and the circulation of completed programs. Every June, the 4-day event brings together 2,200+ participants (decision makers, producers, filmmakers, sales agents, foundations and funders) from 60+ countries.
With 300+ top-level international decision makers in attendance, representing leading broadcasters, streamers, foundations, sales agents and other funders looking for impactful stories, pitching at Sunny Side is a unique opportunity. Please check the complete list of attending decision makers in 2022.
Key benefits also include: accessing a qualified and diverse professional audience, mentoring from industry experts, sealing financial deals, finding potential partners, meeting with peers for potential co-production discussions, and much more.
Our pitching sessions will be held on-site and online as well in order to accommodate participants who may not be able to travel to France. Wherever you are, you’ll have the same chance to pitch, so make sure to submit your project!
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR?
Side of the Doc 2023 will offer 7 pitching sessions, including our 5 specialist factual categories. A growing number of documentaries mix different genres, and not everyone agrees on where certain sub-genres belong (is archeology science or history – or both?). If in doubt in which category to enter your project, do reach out to us.
#SSD23 Pitching Sessions
Specialist Factual
Science: we welcome all types of science projects, from blue-chip and hard
science to popular science
History
Arts and Culture
Nature & Conservation: natural history, environment, climate related stories
Global Issues: current affairs, investigation, social issues, human interest
Focus of the Year
Sunny Side 2023 will focus on viewers. Who watches what, where and why? Documentary is currently enjoying a Golden Age. Streamers have certainly impacted the documentary space, by boosting the exposure and popularity of the genre and pushing for new forms of storytelling. At the same time, with a profusion of content and entertainment options, the audience is ever more fragmented.
What does it take to address and reach an audience, particularly a younger and more diverse audience? We wish to provide the industry with two key elements in order to adapt to a rapidly changing environment: including new talents who can bring their own fresh perspective and engaging audiences beyond the screen life of documentaries.
To that effect, Sunny Side of the Doc will hold two specific pitching sessions this year:
New Voices: we are looking for first and second time filmmakers/content creators holding projects with international potential. We welcome emerging filmmakers, new issues inspiring stories and hidden gems, etc.
Impact campaigns: documentary is a powerful tool for change. Is the topic of your film highly social, political, environmental or does it offer a new vision that you want to share in order to raise awareness and trigger social change? This new pitching session is looking for such kind of activism.
Your film project is in the development, production or even finished phase and you are developing an impact campaign. How to finance it, with whom and for what result?
The impact campaign pitching session will select 6 impact campaign projects that will be pitched to an audience of impact specialists and funders. This session is specifically set up to develop and finance impact campaigns and not the production of the films. The requested budget and provisional financing plan should only relate to the impact campaign.
Special report: What’s happening in kid-friendly factual
Necessity is the mother of invention, as the saying goes, and as COVID-19 kept the world indoors for the better part of three years the dramatically increased demand for home viewing spurred both streaming and linear platforms to deliver content to fill that need. As a result, what came to be known as “pandemic programming” stretched across genres, and demographics.
One of the many genres that benefited from this surge in viewer demand has been factual programming for kids. As the pandemic led to a rise in children’s daily screen time (as noted by the New York Times and CNN, among others), and as many parents and caregivers naturally preferred that the programming being viewed by kids should be relatively enriching, both linear and streaming outlets responded with a plethora of content that was both educational and entertaining.
In the U.S., public broadcaster PBS saw traffic to PBS Kids rise significantly as lockdowns began. According to Forbes, PBS Kids’ broadcast reach grew by 15% among kids in the 2-8 age group, while streaming numbers grew by nearly 30%.
PSBs in the UK saw a similar explosion in engagement for kids content. “During lockdown everyone had more time to spare, so we had figures that were unprecedented,” notes Patricia Hidalgo, director of the BBC’s children’s and educational programming. “There was a 99% increase for iPlayer requests and 217% uplift for BBC Bitesize, so the weekly users of our video entertainment, online education and gaming content was far higher than the year before.”
“COVID-19 and the restrictions around going out were a huge impetus for increased family viewing,” says Richard Bradley (pictured right), co-founder and CCO of Lion TV. “The BBC had a large chunk of children’s programming with an educational or factual element on every day.”
One such title was Lion’s BAFTA-winning Horrible Histories, which ran for multiple seasons on the BBC’s kids channel, CBBC. Based on a kids book series from author Terry Deary, the show employed live-action sketch comedy and musical numbers to recreate key moments in history, taking as many elements from Monty Python as traditional kids programming. Lion’s expertise in specialist factual content might have given the series an educational edge, but its entertainment quotient was perhaps the key to its longevity.
“Factual content is an invaluable educational tool, as well as being entertaining, and can be a very important part of helping kids understand a world that can feel scary and overwhelming,” says Jo Shinner (pictured left), executive producer at the BBC’s Natural History Unit (NHU).
Besides the landmark series that the NHU is known for, which are textbook examples of content made for co-viewing, the division has also produced or coproduced shows specifically for CBBC, including such series as 2021’s Planet Defenders and the “mockumentary” kids series The Zoo with DHX Media.
“Our Natural History Unit content is always a classic Reithian combination of ‘educate, inform and entertain,'” says Shinner, referencing principles laid out by the pubcaster’s first director-general, Lord Reith. “I feel like kids content generally has become massively skewed towards animation and drama in recent times, but it is really important for all territories to try and maintain factual content on screen for our younger viewers so they have a range of output to enjoy, as we all do.”
“Factual for kids, particularly beyond preschool, faces real challenges,” states Bradley. “There is less of it being commissioned, in part because of the dominance of other genres in young people’s lives: animation, YouTube UGC content, games. As producers of kids factual, we have to be creative and smart and find ways to make our content irresistible.”
Eyes of the Orangutan Premiere Screening at the Royal Geographical Society an huge success!
What a fantastic way to kick off the new year! Last week, we hosted our first live event of 2023: the UK premiere screening of the Eyes of the Orangutan documentary.
This important film sheds light on the realities of the wildlife trafficking industry by highlighting real-life stories. Thanks to your support, this inaugural screening event was an incredible success. Read About The Event: eyesoftheorangutan.com
A Big Night, A Big Impact
The premiere UK live Eyes of the Orangutan screening drew a crowd of almost 500 supporters for an immersive evening that included not just the film but a Q&A, a reception, and more. Thanks to your support, all items in the silent auction sold, with proceeds going directly to our orangutan-saving work. We also had over 200 new sign-ups for our wildlife pledge to take a stand against the illegal trade!
Aaron Gekoski is an internationally acclaimed photojournalist who has spent more than a decade documenting human-animal conflict. Over recent years he’s turned his lens on the Wildlife Tourism industry; a mission that’s taken him to dozens of countries.
But it was a trip to Vietnam that changed everything. At an amusement park in Ho Chi Minh, he spent time with a large male orangutan. Kept in a 4x5m enclosure, the orangutan had little more than two boulders for stimulation, no trees to climb, no place to escape the glare of visitors.
Orangutans are star attractions at Wildlife Tourism attractions. Sharing 97% of our DNA, they are sentient and intelligent animals. When kept in captivity, at places that cannot cater to their complex physical and emotional needs, they often suffer from stress and depression. The scene stayed with Gekoski: If we can do this to one of our closest living relatives, what hope is there for any other animal?
After Vietnam, Gekoski brings is his colleagues and friends – director Chris Scarffe, cinematographer Will Foster-Grundy and editor Damian Antochewicz – and a four-year investigation into the orangutan tourism industry begins.
In Thailand, they see orangutans forced into grotesque boxing shows, and others kept in dirty cages at the top of a shopping mall. And in Indonesia, they document orangutans on display at lavish breakfast buffets, and crowded by groups of tourists at National Parks.
Shocking revelations from poachers reveal how the orangutans ended up at these attractions. Stolen from their natural habitats – their mothers killed in the process – they are then smuggled across international borders. Once at their final destination, they are then trained to perform using cruel techniques or locked in cages for the rest of their lives.
On their journey, the team witnesses untold pain and suffering. Thankfully, there are groups working to mitigate this crisis. At Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation, they meet local heroes who rescue and rehabilitate rescued orangutans, ready for release back into the wild.
A Sea of Hope: Chronicles from the
Frontlines of Ocean Conservation – SeaLegacy
New series “A Sea of Hope: Chronicles from the Frontlines of Ocean Conservation" lets you join Paul Nicklen, Cristina "Mitty" Mittermeier, and Andy Mann on their journey to spark hope for life beneath the surface ...
Life on earth is not going anywhere without a fight! And although the obstacles that stand between us and a healthy, thriving planet may seem insurmountable, the truth is we already have the solutions we need to start #TurningTheTide for the future.
We read the doomsday headlines on a near-daily basis: ice caps are melting, sea levels are rising, and global biodiversity is plummeting. Across the world, communities are facing historic droughts, floods, wildfires, and hurricanes fueled by global warming. Yet, there are still glimmers of hope within our reach. Through the depths of the ocean, we have seen a different story unfolding, one of life flourishing against all odds.
It’s time to write a new story together, one where we choose people and the planet over profit and power by restoring biodiversity, saving marine species, and giving back to the ocean that has given everything to us. Join us on our YouTube channel and watch inspiring stories from our underwater heroes. Hear firsthand about their incredible journeys in marine conservation and learn how you can help us rewrite our blue planet’s story.
Join The Tide – a community of action-takers for our planet, wildlife, and people ... Become a part of the global ocean movement with Paul and Cristina: donate.sealegacy.org
New York WILD is the first annual documentary film festival in New York to showcase a spectrum of topics,
from exploration and adventure to wildlife, conservation and the environment, bringing all things WILD to one of the most urban cities in the world... and the 9th Annual Festival is coming soon: March 2 – 5, 2023, at The Explorers Club.
More than ever, people are fascinated with all things connected to the planet and aware of the urgency to save it.
Through powerful, exhilarating films and conversations, the festival presents an extraordinary opportunity to exchange ideas, celebrate the wild and effect change.
New York WILD is a platform to create excitement, identify critical issues, build partnerships, and reach audiences that care about exploring, discovering and protecting our planet.
On a remote coast of the Russian Arctic in a wind-battered hut, a lonely man waits to witness an ancient gathering. But warming seas and temperatures bring an unexpected change, and he soon finds himself overwhelmed.
Nominated for Documentary Short at the 2023 Academy Awards, "Halout" will be screened at this year's New York WILD Film Festival, and the Director Maxim Arbugaev and biologist Maxim Chakilev will be attending from Russia.
Mexican film-maker member Karla has interviewed Naude Dreyer, from Ocean Conservation Namibia, on their work to remove plastic and other stuff from around the necks of Cape Fur Seals on the Namibian coast.
Español: Les presento a Naude Dreyer y a su extraordinario equipo de trabajo. Todos los días, Naude, Denzil, Willy y Tony se dedican a perseguir focas enredadas en líneas de pesca, redes y hasta prendas de vestir.
Conoce más de Ocean Conservation Namibia con esta entrevista en Semilla del Cambio.
English: I present to you Naude Dreyer and his extraordinary team. Every day, Naude, Denzil, Willy and Tony are dedicated to chasing seals entangled in fishing lines, nets and even clothing.
Learn more about Ocean Conservation Namibia with this interview in Seed of Change.
The interview is conducted in English with Spanish subtitles:
We’re on the highway to climate hell with a methane-emitting meat burger in one hand and our foot on the fossil fuel gas pedal. In 2022, global warming became increasingly dangerously close to spiraling out of control.
As we bear witness to the impacts of animal farming on the climate, we demand that politicians stop ignoring the cow in the room.
The Plant Based Treaty offers hope and a plan for addressing the much-needed changes to our food system at the local and global levels.
Please join us and campaign for a Plant Based Treaty in your city.
You can work on a school campaign, establish a community garden, lobby government, build alliances, or help create bottom up pressure by collecting endorsement.
National Geographic Greenlights UNDERDOGS, New Natural History Series That Puts Nature’s Background Actors Center Stage, From Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort in a Partnership With Emmy® and BAFTA Award-Winning Wildstar Films
– Reynolds Set To Narrate, Adding His Distinctive Voice and Humor to the Series
National Geographic Content President Courteney Monroe today announced the greenlight of UNDERDOGS, an unconventional natural history series that will tell the story of the heroic underdogs of the natural world - the good, the bad and the frankly ugly. The 10-part series is co-produced by Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and multiple Emmy®- and BAFTA Award-winning Wildstar Films (“America The Beautiful,” “Epic Adventures with Bertie Gregory”).
Monroe unveiled UNDERDOGS, with a tongue-in-cheek teaser video narrated by Reynolds, during Nat Geo’s TCA session. Reynolds will narrate the entire 10-episode series, bringing his distinctive voice and humorous take to the natural world through a groundbreaking partnership that bakes humor into the storytelling from the ground up.
From their hidden talents to their bold hygiene choices, unsavory courtship rituals, devious camouflage techniques and “tough love” parenting skills, UNDERDOGS will celebrate and champion the unique and unpredictable behaviors of a little known and surprising cast of animal characters. These overlooked superstars come in all sizes, shapes and smells. They’re the outcasts and the troublemakers, brash, unsophisticated, flatulent, incontinent and often unhinged. But they’re also warriors, team players and evil geniuses. They’re out there 24-7 giving it maximum effort, keeping the natural world in working order for all those showboating polar bears, sharks and gorillas.
"UNDERDOGS represents an entirely fresh take on the natural history genre that is sure to delight and inform audiences of all ages,” said Monroe. “With Ryan and Maximum Effort’s irreverent spirit and Wildstar’s award-winning expertise in wildlife storytelling, we have assembled the perfect team to tell the entertaining stories of nature’s unsung heroes with both humor and heart.”
“I love nature series and I love making things my kids can actually watch,” said Reynolds. “We’re already having a lot of fun trying to bring a new voice to animal docs. Wildstar has the expertise, experience and cutting-edge film tech to help us chew up that healthy National Geographic budget. We’ll deliver a show that is entertaining, surprising and will do justice to animals usually stuck as supporting cast.”
Added Dan Rees, Wildstar executive producer, “UNDERDOGS explores the animal world with a fresh, fun and highly entertaining perspective. Partnering so closely with Ryan and Maximum Effort has allowed us to bake in their inimitable humor every step of the way - from conception to delivery of this unique series. As a result, UNDERDOGS will make you snort with laughter and possibly even spill your coffee on your lap, but ultimately it puts a new spotlight on some of the weirder and less explored denizens of our planet, and all underpinned by sound science and research.”
From National Geographic Content, UNDERDOGS will be produced by Wildstar Films and Maximum Effort. For Maximum Effort, Ryan Reynolds and George Dewey are executive producers. For Wildstar, Vanessa Berlowitz, Mark Linfield and Dan Rees are executive producers; and Dave Denny is series producer.
The fourth Ireland Wildlife Film Festival was held virtually from the 10-20th of December 2022. Many submissions came in from all around the globe, resulting in a great collection of films in three categories, Feature Film, Short Film and Student Short Film, and I was asked to be a judge for a fourth year running!
The Ireland Wildlife Film Festival is the first of its kind in Ireland and seeks to bring stories of conservation and species preservation to the big screen while also striving to create a community of filmmakers and audience members who care deeply about environmental issues.
Today we are witnessing habitat destruction and extinction at rates never before seen on our planet. Now, more than ever, it is of the utmost importance to advocate for the well being of the earth and our neighboring species.
The winner for best Feature Film will receive 500 Euro and laurels.
The winner for best Student Film will receive 200 Euro and laurels.
The winner for best Short Film will receive 300 Euro and Laurels.
The film that receives the most popular votes will receive the "Best of Fest" award, this can come from any category. The "Best of Fest" will receive a special laurel.
Twenty one films were selcted for screening during the virtual event:
This year all of the spectacular wildlife and conservation films were free for all to watch from December 10-20th.
Wildlife cameraman Colin Stafford-Johnson returns home on a very personal project - to turn his old childhood garden into a haven for native wildlife. After 30 years of filming the world’s most iconic creatures, Colin heads back to Ireland and a garden he spent his childhood summers spraying and mowing into a perfect lawn. But now he wants to transform his old playground into a sanctuary for the native plants and animals now struggling to survive on these islands and inspire viewers to do the same.
Finalists:
Part of the Pack, directed by Isabelle Groc ahd Mike McKinlay. The Witness is a Whale, directed by Nick Dean and Cheryl Dean.
Best Short Film
Winner: Takeaway Directed by Lou Sumray.
A hand drawn tale inspired by the antics of the Bowerbird, that gives an insight into what really happens to all that single use plastic that we use and so recklessly discard.
Finalists:
Hatchets & Hope - The Killarney Mountain Meitheal, directed by Aoibheann O'Sullivan. Little Ox, directed by Raf Wathion and Patrick Vandebroeck.
Best Student Short Film
Winner: Ghost Ponds Directed by Amanda Sosnowski.
In the farmland of England, a search and rescue mission is underway. A team is working to excavate land haunted by ghosts… but these are not ordinary ghosts… they are ghost ponds. Norfolk used to have a record number of ponds, but modern-day farming is burying England’s wetlands at an exponential rate. With a looming biodiversity crisis, a grassroots movement is reviving farmland ponds as an unexpected last hope to protect freshwater wildlife.
Finalist:
My Neighbour is a Bear, directed by Mattia Cialoni.
Audience Choice Popular Vote Winner:
Winner: Hatchets & Hope - The Killarney Mountain Meitheal
Directed by Aoibheann O'Sullivan
PBN’s Annual Film ‘Vegan 2022’ Is Out Now – Here’s How To Watch It
The environmental conversation tends to focus on fossil fuels, but is it missing something? Vegan 2022 addresses the elephant in the room
Plant Based News (PBN) has today (16th December) released Vegan 2022, a short film that spotlights animal agriculture’s impact on the climate crisis. And, highlights and celebrates the rapid growth of the vegan movement.
Despite the fact that livestock farming is one of the most environmentally destructive industries, it is often completely left out of the conversation. Its impact was barely mentioned at COP27 this year, with the annual United Nations Climate Change Conference even serving beef to guests.
With a runtime of 33 minutes, Vegan 2022 deep-dives into this hidden industry, exploring the “elephant in the room” of the climate crisis.
“This year’s film will focus on the missing link to hit net zero,” said PBN founder Klaus Mitchell. “It will look at how we need to shift away from animal agriculture, or at the very least start talking about it, because at the moment the conversation is just around fossil fuels.
“While there’s no doubt fossil fuels are important, livestock farming is also a necessary part of the solution. It really is the missing link.”
The short film features clips from author and social psychologist Dr Melanie Joy and IPCC expert Dr Peter Carter, as well as climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Animal agriculture is responsible for at least 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This figure has been disputed by many, however, with some experts arguing it’s much higher. It is also a leading cause of deforestation, having been responsible for around 91 percent of Amazon destruction.
On top of this, our global food system has been identified as a “primary driver” of biodiversity loss. A 2021 UN report found that a shift to a “plant-heavy” diet was essential to combat this.
Each December, PBN releases a short film that looks at what’s happened in the plant-based and vegan movement that year. They celebrate the increasing awareness of ethical consumerism, plant-based business, animal rights, environmentalism, the health of our planet, public health, personal health, and more.
The films include the biggest voices in the plant-based space, showcasing the developments and challenges that the movement has seen.
“Despite the fact that veganism has become even more normalized this year, the movement has also come under increased pressure from the media and meat industry, who are trying to push back,” said Mitchell. “This year’s film will provide a birds eye view of all the developments, good and bad, in an entertaining feature-length format.”
In an effort to reinforce the importance of supporting the creative and informative works of BIPOC creators, the Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital (DCEFF) has established the DCEFF Vantage Grant to provide pitch training and funding to emerging BIPOC filmmakers. This $12,500 grant will be awarded to a qualifying filmmaker to assist with a short film or first feature in any stage of production that addresses a timely environmental issue.
The Vantage Grant responds to the need for representation in reflective works that are created by members of the very communities most impacted by environmental issues. DCEFF recognizes that racial inequities should be considered when addressing environmental issues such as climate change, food security, sustainability, etc. These issues impact underserved communities at a disproportionate scale, yet many films that highlight these topics are created by filmmakers who do not identify with communities most impacted.
The Vantage Grant has become an extension of DCEFF’s commitment to expanding the storytelling pipeline, amplifying the voices and supporting the works of BIPOC creators.
An open call for applications will be launched on December 12th, 2022 for eligible filmmakers or producers to submit their proposals. Finalists will receive extensive pitch training from Judith Helfand, co-creator of Chicken & Egg Pictures, filmmaker (A Healthy Baby Girl, Blue Vinyl, Cooked: Survival by Zip Code) and professor at the Columbia University School of Journalism. Judith Helfand will emcee the live pitch program on March 26, 2023.
The DCEFF Vantage Grant will be the culminating award given to a winning pitch determined by an industry panel of environmental leaders and subject experts.
The DCEFF Vantage Grant is made possible through the support of Prince Charitable Trusts.
Since the late 1990s Wildlife-film.com has been the leading source of information for the wildlife filmmaking industry worldwide. For over twenty years the site has been Google's number one ranking site for 'wildlife film' and related searches. Our site is viewed in over 195 countries. Our newsletter, Wildlife Film News, is read every month by thousands of people involved in wildlife filmmaking - from broadcasters and producers, to cameramen - we encourage readers to submit their news. We also serve as an online resource for industry professionals and services. Find producers, editors, presenters and more in our Freelancer section, and find out about festivals, training and conservation in Organisations. We encourage amateur and professional freelancers to join our network and welcome all wildlife-film related organisations to join our team.
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