The Power of Wildlife Film
By Janet Rose
December 2013

At this time of year, as thoughts turn to giving, generosity and the world around us, many of us who work in the field of wildlife conservation, also turn our thoughts to the plight of wild creatures – the threatened, the endangered, the vanishing species. But never doubt the power and impact of wildlife film on this sometimes sorrowful landscape.

After leaving IWFF a year ago to return to active conservation and a senior role in development, one of the elements of major fundraising that I took with me, was film. The impact of media cannot be overstated. While still often under-utilized in the conservation realm, it remains one of the most influential tools we have.

Read the full feature here...

The Natural History Unit of Africa Calls for Film Proposal Submissions by 31st January 2014 From NHU Africa18 November 2013

The Natural History Unit of Africa (NHU Africa) is announcing the last call for submissions in 2013.

Commissioning takes place throughout the year at NHU Africa, but producers submitting proposals for this call will be reviewed soonest.

All production companies, independent producers and filmmakers are invited to submit proposals before the deadline by 31 January 2014. NHU Africa will review all proposals that meet the commissioning criteria (see brief below)

The NHU Africa is a commissioning body and production house that produces and commissions some of Africa's finest natural history and wildlife programming. All proposals submitted should adhere to the NHU Africa commissioning brief and include one or more of the following points: Human-Animal Interaction, Adventure/Exploration, The Natural World and Pure Animal Behaviour, Investigation of the Natural World.

Commissioning Editor of NHU Africa, Vyv Simson outlines what is most likely to make up a successful pitch;

"A successful pitch will contain some or all of the following: a strong story intriguingly told; engaging human and animal characters; a dramatic visual style; a sense of something we have not seen before; a fresh insight or approach to something we thought we'd seen before."

See the Commissioning Brief here...

Festival de Ménigoute 2013 – Winners announced! From Marie-Dominique Couturier 5th November 2013

The 29th International Ménigoute Festival was held from 29th October to 3rd November 2013 and during these six days, a large number of the public came to participate in the various activities offered as parts of this event. Some screenings welcomed up to 1200 people!

Belles d'images du 29e Festival from Mainate

The winning films awarded by the jury at the ceremony on Saturday, November 2 were:

Le Lirou d’or – Grand Prix de Ménigoute (4 000 €)
Offered by the « Pays Ménigoutais Community » along with a Trophy offered by the Ornithological group of Deux-Sèvres area.

THE MOOR
Filmmaker : Jan Haft - Production : Nautilus Film – 50 mn Allemagne

2nd position : O PAPILLONS by Marie Daniel & Fabien Mazzocco - France
3rd position : DIE NORDSEE, UNSER MEER by Thoralf Grospitz & Jens Westphalen – Allemagne

See the full list here...

On behalf of the Menigoute Festival Team, Marie-Dominique Couturier, contact@menigoute-festival.org Visit: www.menigoute-festival.org

Project Wild Thing Released! By Project Wild Thing

David Bond is a filmmaker and a father. Things have really changed since he was a kid. His children are hooked on screens and don't want to go outdoors. They want iPads, TV and plastic toys. The marketing departments of Apple, Disney and Mattel control his children better than he can. Determined to get them up and out, David appoints himself as the Marketing Director for Nature. With the help of branding and outdoor experts, he develops and launches a nationwide marketing campaign to get British children outside. But the competition is not going to lie down and let some upstart with a free product steal their market. PROJECT WILD THING is the hilarious, real-life story of one man's determination to get children out and into the ultimate, free wonder-product: Nature.

"A gripping story of the desperate struggle to lead our computer-crazed children back to nature." - Harry Mount, The Daily Telegraph

Read the full Press Release here.

The New Wilderness From Dick Harrewijn

Three years in production and with more than 600 shooting days in the field, The New Wilderness is a spectacle, an ode, a visual tone poem, celebrating the wildness, stark beauty and sheer majesty of a unique natural monument. Shot in 4K cinemascope, the film charts the cycle of life through the course of four seasons, from birth through death to new life, forging a direct sensory and emotional connection with this thriving wetland and the many wild creatures that have made it their home — including 1,200 Koniks, that make up the largest herd of wild horses in Europe. Read the full Feature here... De Nieuwe Wildernis - Trailer - 26 september in de bioscoop from De Nieuwe Wildernis.

"It went into cinemas on the 26th of September and around 65.000 people went in the first weekend, which is HUGE for a documentary in the Netherlands. In the first week we reached 100.000! Then the film recieved a Platinum Film Award which means 400.000 visitors in Dutch cinemas (and thats huge for a Dutch film!)." Said Dick

Update from Richard Brock 19 October 2013

… Continuing my campaign about the brutalizing and degradation of predators by television (WFN October 2013) I now, sadly, add National Geographic’s pathetic offering at 7pm on the Nat Geo Wild Channel on 8/10/13: 20 Animals That Will Kill You, followed by the desperate Wilds 7 Deadly Sins at 8pm, “Examining sinful species of the animal kingdom”. Two stupid shows at peak time, probably with a large young audience.

In a recent Radio Times about the new series Deadly Pole to Pole, the crass “deadly” word is overworked again in a two-page feature about Steve Backshall on children’s BBC at 5.40pm… MY DEADLIEST ENCOUNTERS with… “Deadly animals are dangerous to each other but not us”… as a subtitle. Then follows a polar bear “hunting me”, a shark “grabbed hold of my whole hand”, and bullet ants… “trial by agony… pain”. If those experiences are animals being only dangerous to each other, surely the great hero Steve Backshall needs to think again about his use of the wretched word “Deadly” on which he has built his dubious reputation. The subtitle of the feature claims one thing and then goes on graphically to illustrate exactly the opposite. Surely those images and Backshall’s macho quotes do a lot more harm than good, especially with younger viewers who will probably grow up with a fear of the various innocent species that Backshall decided to select as the “Deadly 60” in the past. He may have a lot to answer for. Read more from Richard here...

And the JHWFF 2013 Winners are...
From Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival 27th September 2013

The Grand Teton Awards Gala was held last night, Thursday, September 26th, at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park. This year’s entries included 540 films entering more than 900 categories to compete for 23 special awards. The 2013 award winners were selected by a distinguished panel of judges and here are the results:

Congratulations to all the 2013 Winners!

GRAND TETON AWARD
On a River in Ireland (Secret Life of the Shannon) Crossing the Line Production for RTÉ

See the winners feature here!

Highly Commended Films at the BWPAwards! By Jason Peters for the British Wildlife Photography Awards 25 September 2013

The British Wildlife Photography Awards proudly announced the 2013 winners on the 2nd of September.

The Awards were created to celebrate the talents of both amateur and professional photographers, while simultaneously highlighting the great wealth of British natural history. With twelve separate categories including a special category for Wildlife in HD Video, the Awards beautifully reveal the splendour of Britain’s wildlife.

Highlights of all the commended winners: BWPA Highlights of Commended Wildlife in HD Videos 2013 from BWPAwards.

The quality of submissions this year was particularly high, and so the judges found it necessary to reward the following fifteen entries with an 'Highly Commended' accolade. Six of these entries (embedded here) were submitted by Wildlife-film.com members. We are very proud of them and asked these members to tell us a bit about their films and what they thought of the overall winner. Read the responses below each of the films.

See the full feature here...

Kim Shillinglaw, BBC Head of Commissioning, Natural History and Science.

BBC announces range of natural history programming From the BBC Media Centre 23 September 2013

Kim Shillinglaw, BBC Head of Commissioning for Natural History and Science, today announces more than 50 hours of exciting natural history commissions across BBC One, BBC Two and BBC Four.

These range from mega-landmark series and innovative television events using new deployment of fresh camera techniques, to popular animal narratives and programmes uncovering the science of the natural world.

Kim says: “At the BBC, we’re determined to bring ever more ambition to our natural history programmes. By using new filming techniques, peerless research and great storytelling, the next few years are all about shows that will delight our UK and global audiences. From new discoveries in Oceans and never-before-filmed behaviour in The Hunt, to assembling 75 cameras in one place for Countdown To The Rains and the ground-breaking spirit of our Sleepover At The Zoo Event, we’ve never had as much range, scale and innovation to offer.”

Read the full press release here...

Nat Geo must take the ‘con’ out of conservation.
By Richard Brock 22 September 2013

The Wildlife Oscar for a Disservice to it’s Subjects (WODS) goes to National Geographic.

As I have continued to protest, as National Geographic have continued to brutalise their subjects, and to degrade themselves from a respected international organisation to one that is now recognised as sensational, exploitative and downright misleading.

Future generations who are unfortunate and misled enough to see Nat Geo productions can only be badly affected in their attitude to the natural world. That is the National Geographic Disservice, from a country, the U.S., in which violence and aggression is endemic – as recent shootings show.

Their latest emotive, humanised word is “sinful” (26/9/13), 7 Deadly Sins.

Read more from Richard here...

Also see Richard's further comment on the subject of OVERKILL? Wildlife on TV:

Since when have gorillas been “deadly in their own world” – BBC Wildlife piece about Steve Backshall, (p64) October 2013?

Is this King Kong revisited, with a tiny woman as a snack? Ever since the late Steve Irwin wrangled with terrified animals, the use of “deadly” has been exaggerated, misused, and to the detriment of the unfortunate species involved. The “deadly” approach may well be commercial and an aid to Backshall’s success but what kind of attitudes does it instil in the young audiences he brags about?

As far as being a “legend” with a “global brand”, and compared to the real thing, David Attenborough and his early series like Zoo Quest, try modesty and accuracy for a change Steve. Talk about delusions of grandeur!

Happenings at the Beyond Borders Film School
From Sebastien Rombi of Beyond Borders Film School 20 September 2013

Beyond Borders Film School is now working in conjunction with Ingwe Forest Adventures to offer a more affordable and more practical package.

They have cancelled their packages with Trogon House and Rocky Road Backpacker and now offer only one location on the Garden Route. Situated on a privately owned farm of 200 hectares, Ingwe Forest Adventures is heaven for plant, bird and animal wildlife. The perfect venue to learn everything about wildlife filmmaking!

Their August 30 day course was a success with some great short wildlife documentaries produced in 2D and 3D by their students.

Read the full feature here...

Richard Edwards, chief executive of Wildscreen.

Wildscreen charity searches for new CEO to take the helm By Lucy Doyle for Wildscreen
17 September 2013

Wildscreen chief executive, Richard Edwards, is to step down after 13 years with the internationally renowned wildlife media charity to take up a new opportunity with WWF-UK.

During his time at Wildscreen, Edwards has been instrumental in steering the growth and strategic direction of the charity, building strong professional relationships with some of the most eminent names in natural history broadcasting, conservation biology, technology and academia.

He has been responsible for the creation and development of ARKive, the multi award-winning digital project promoting the conservation of the world’s threatened species to a global public audience. Launched to worldwide critical acclaim by Wildscreen Patron, Sir David Attenborough, the ARKive project now attracts many millions of visitors from around the world each year.

Wildscreen Film Festival has also grown from strength to strength, with the 2012 Festival seeing a rise in international delegates attending the week-long conference in Bristol, the world’s capital of wildlife filmmaking, and a record number of entries to the acclaimed Wildscreen Panda Awards film competition. Wildscreen’s nature photography symposium, WildPhotos, has also grown under Edwards’ guidance and is now internationally recognised as one of the world’s leading wildlife photography events.

Read the full feature here...

Also required:

Festival & Events Assistant
Full time The Festival & Events Assistant will support and facilitate the coordination and administration for the delivery of the Wildscreen Festival, WildPhotos and other events. To find out more and apply, visit: www.wildscreen.org.uk/about-jobs.html
Deadline for completed applications: Wednesday 9 October 2013 Interviews to be held: w/c 21 October 2013

Wildscreen Festival Runner (apprenticeship)
This is an exciting opportunity to become a Festival Runner for the 2014 Wildscreen Festival and gain a wide variety of creative and administration skills within a small team. This is a 12 month contract starting at the end of November 2013 and running until the end of November 2014. To view the job description and details of how to apply for this position, please click here.
Deadline for applications: Monday 21 October 2013 Interviews to be held w/c 28 October 2013

BWPA 2013 Winners Announced! by Maggie Gowan of British Wildlife Photography Awards 2 September 2013

The British Wildlife Photography Awards 2013

A Celebration of British Wildlife

The British Wildlife Photography Awards proudly announce the winners for 2013.

The Awards were created to celebrate the talents of both amateur and professional photographers, while simultaneously highlighting the great wealth of British natural history. With twelve separate categories including a special category for Wildlife in HD Video, the Awards beautifully reveal the splendour of Britain’s wildlife. There are also two junior categories to encourage young people to connect with nature through photography.

“These stunning images by so many talented photographers highlight the diversity, breadth and beauty of our precious wildlife and the need to protect their habitats. The British Wildlife Photography Awards are without doubt one of the most important photography awards in the UK. Anything that raises the public's awareness of the importance to conserve and protect British wildlife is very close to my heart and these awards afford a spectacular insight into the habitat and behaviour of our British wildlife. From blue tits to badgers, never has Britain's wildlife looked more beautiful", Chris Packham, Naturalist and TV Presenter.

See the winners here...

Henry and the Waxwings from BWPAwards.

WILDLIFE IN HD VIDEO Winner – Liz Musser, “Henry and the Waxwings” (Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland)

Congratulations to the following Wildlife-film.com members who's entries were 'Highly Commended' by the BWPA Judging Panel:

The Otter by Jim Manthorpe
Spin by James Dunbar
Waxwings Feeding by Mihali Moore
Deep Colour by Andy Jackson

The Awards Ceremony, hosted by Chris Packham, will be held at the Mall Galleries in London on Wednesday 4th September!

Read the full feature here...

Wild About New Zealand premiere: an epic reminder of why we live in NZ by Rebecca Wilson at NHNZ30th August 2013

Production house NHNZ’s latest series Wild About New Zealand goes to air on TV One in New Zealand next Tuesday, 3rd of September at 8:30pm. A six-part series Wild About New Zealand takes in all the beauty and idiosyncrasies of nine of New Zealand’s stunning and unique National Parks, and also profiles Hauraki Gulf Marine Park, our unofficial National Park of the sea. The series showcases this country’s dramatic topography, unique species, spectacular stories and the cast of thousands that fight every day to maintain and preserve the rich history and future of our national parks. Executive Producer John Hyde describes the series as “an epic reminder of why we live in one of the most beautiful countries on earth”.

Wild About New Zealand - Trailer from NHNZMedia.

See the full Press Release here.

Sharks By Richard Brock 29 August 2013

Whilst I was filming with the BBC Natural History Unit in the Bahamas and Florida, a leading shark biologist said something like “We’ve saved the gorilla from the King Kong image, helped the reputation of lions and tigers as not all being man-eaters, but the biggest challenge of all is the shark.” And that remains the case today, many years later.

The famous movie Jaws and its’ endless sequels didn’t help of course. Author Peter Benchley was said to be surprised by the worldwide audience response. And greatly regretted he had done such a disservice to sharks. “We’ll need a bigger boat” will never be forgotten.

Since then we’ve been reassured that the chances of being killed by a shark are the equivalent of being hit by a falling statue of Saddam Hussein, trampled by a Dodo, or run over by a drunken goldfish. Bad publicity has always been a problem for sharks. How can you hope to stop the cruel ‘finning’ of sharks for the greedy Chinese, with millions being killed every year for tasteless shark fin soup? How can you save a beautiful, ancient fish when it’s labelled so predictably? Why are the waters always “shark-infested”?

Read the full feature here...

Wildlife and Forest Crime Infographic From Environmental Investigation Agency 27 August 2013

Drug dealing, arms trade, money laundering and human trafficking, are widely recognised as serious transnational crimes. But did you know that wildlife and forest crime is the 4th largest international crime in the world? It's worth $17 billion a year, and it's growing.

But what is wildlife and forest crime?

EIA are proud to present a new animated info-graphic film, which details some shocking statistics on wildlife and forest crime, and other environmental abuses. The film also demonstrates how EIA works on the ground, sometimes undercover, and often face-to-face with traders, as well as listing some of our major achievements.

Wildlife and Forest Crime Infographic from youtube.com/EIAInternational

See the film and full feature here...

Exciting new Wildeye course announced for 2014! From Wildeye - International School of Wildlife Film-making 20 August 2013

Check out Wildlife and Northern Lights of Norway :: 13-16th March 2014

A brand new adventure from Wildeye for 2014 - film, photograph and experience the stunning wildlife and Northern Lights (aurora borealis) from Sandsøy Fort (an abondoned coastal fort now fitted out for visitors) on the northwest coast of Norway (see the map). Amazing scenery and light - this area is known for its etheral 'blue hour' periods at dawn and dusk. You will be accompanied by experienced Wildeye tutors and film-makers Mike Linley and Adrian Cale, as well as Norwegian host Bernhard Pausett, who will help you get the most from your cameras in these spectacular surroundings.

Find out more here...

World's Sharpest Whales
by Pawel Achtel of Achtel Pty Limited 17 August 2013

Award-winning Tassie film-maker and inventor has, last week, captured the most extraordinary video of whales ever seen.

Shooting with underwater housings that he himself created - and that won the top international award for innovation earlier this year in the USA (See: Aussie film-maker’s invention wins major international award) - Pawel Achtel, and fellow film-makers Jon Shaw and Philip Barthropp, have managed to get extraordinary 3D footage of mother and calf behaviour and other dramatic footage.

Read the Full Press Release here!

The 2013 Japan Wildlife Film Festival Winners are... From Japan Wildlife Film Festival 11th August 2013

The Japan Wildlife Film Festival was held from the August 8th to 11th in Toyama, at the Toyama International Conference Center.

35 films of the 46 nominated have been given awards.

Congratulations to all of the 2013 Winners!

1. Grand Award – River Dog (James Muir, New Zealand)
This stunning film shows the river as a place of great beauty- it’s scenery, plants, insects and animals. Grants life style and his thoughts reflect this. It brings a new chapter to our world. We learnt how to live it nature and people felt it and were moved by it. We are very honored to give the grand prize to this piece of art.

See the full list of winners here!

Wildlife-film.com congratulates all of the winners, especially member NHU Africa for All the President’s Elephants! :)

Award Winners of the NaturVision Film Festival 2013 From Ralph Thoms and Kay Hoffmann of NaturVision Film Festival August 2013

Four days (18-21 July 2013) packed with over 100 films, exciting encounters, great conversations and a light-hearted award ceremony with happy winners – the NaturVision Film Festival 2013 was a superb success with positives all round:

• For the first time we were able to show all films in cinemas – and so properly appreciate their filmic qualities.
• The "NaturVision Grand Prix" award was complemented by the equally prestigious "German Conservation and Sustainability Film Prize".
• Our activities in the field of environmental education were incredibly successful.

We would like to say a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who supported us, to our partners and colleagues, our fantastic public and of course the brilliant filmmakers – without whom the thrilling and diverse festival programme would not have been possible! Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the award winners once more. We look forward to seeing you again in 2014!

Best wishes, Ralph Thoms and Kay Hoffmann on behalf of the whole team.

NaturVision Grand Prix - 1st prize: The Unlikely Leopard

See the full list of winners here!

And the 2013 Finalists are....
From Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival 2nd August 2013

The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is delighted to announce the outstanding finalists selected for the 11th biennial 2013 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. This year’s entries included 540 films entering more than 900 categories to compete for 23 special awards. More than 100 international judges screened an aggregated 2500+ hours in order to select the finalist films. Finalists in the Sound Category, as well as programs that will move forward for “Special Consideration,” will be announced on August 12, 2013. The 2013 award winners will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges immediately preceding the five-day industry conference hosted at the Jackson Lake Lodge in Grand Teton National Park, September 23-27, and will be announced at the Grand Teton Awards Gala on Thursday, September 26th.

See the finalists feature here!

Local flavour flies at wildlife Oscars
From Wild Talk Africa 26 July 2013

Two Wings, Many Prayers, the story about two crazy guys from Joburg who designed and built their own light aircraft and flew it around the world, scooped up two awards at this year’s Roscar Awards, which took place at the Sibaya World of Entertainment in Durban last night. Saving Rhino Phila, which looks at a new breed of poachers that have declared war on South Africa's billion-dollar rhino trade, won the coveted environmental award at the event, which was attended by the Mayor of Durban, Councilor James Nxumalo and a number of filmmakers and broadcast experts from across the world.

Conservationist Dr Ian Player received a lifetime achievement award at the red carpet event; world-renowned for fighting to save the white rhino from extinction, he highlighted South Africa’s rhino poaching problem during his acceptance speech.

Affectionately known as the Rhino Oscars, the event forms part of Wild Talk Africa, the largest international wildlife and natural history film festival and conference in Africa. “The standard and quality of this year’s submissions proves that natural history and wildlife is a growing genre,” Director of Wild Talk Africa, Donfrey Meyer said. A record breaking 445 Roscar entries from 32 countries were received this year; almost double the amount from entries received in 2011.

Read the full feature here...

This Year's Winners of the Mavis and Sidney John Palmer Scholarship
By Jeff Rutenbeck, Dean - AUSOC 24 July 2013

This year’s recipients of the Mavis and Sidney John Palmer Scholarship: Sarah Gulick and Erin Finicane.

The scholarship was recently set up by Professor Chris Palmer and his wife, Gail Shearer, to honor Chris’s parents. Chris and Gail made a $50,000 donation to SOC to establish an endowment to support the scholarship. Income from the fund is awarded annually, based on merit, to outstanding SOC graduate students with an interest in environmental, natural history, or wildlife filmmaking.

Sarah and Erin, both MFA students, have fellowships through the Center for Environmental Filmmaking with the National Park Service, and are completing their thesis work in partnership with the NPS. They have developed an award-winning web film series titled America's Wilderness that celebrates the diversity of ecological values and human experiences within wilderness designated areas, the highest level of federal land protection in this country.

Read the full message here...

Environment Films announce launch of trailer and website for Shadow Trade – The Price of Loyalty
From Ella Todd at Environment Films 03 July 2013

Directed by Richard Elson and with music by Michael Nyman, Shadow Trade follows the journey of investigative journalist John Keeble from Thailand to Vietnam and Laos.

It gives a unique perspective on a grave problem that begins with animal cruelty and ends in political corruption and public deception. Millions of dogs have been killed and eaten in Thailand or transported abroad, force-fed and brutally butchered. Many of these animals are domestic, stolen from their homes, whilst others are often harmless street dogs. Their fates are gruesome – many die in transit, squashed in oven-like cages and the rest are slaughtered in a disgusting fashion.

Read the full feature and see the trailer here...

Sirocco the Kakapo Finds Love in an Unusual Place
By Barbara Heidenreich July 2013

Crocs shoe company I hope you are listening because I have a story for you. Those of you who have been following my blogs on training Sirocco the very rare and endangered kakapo may recall he has a little behavior problem.

Male kakapo are very unique parrots. They double in size in preparation for breeding season. They climb mountains and build bowls in the ground. They sit in these bowls and “boom” for females eight hours every night for three months. They hope their exquisite vocalizations will draw in females for a midnight rendezvous. They will mate with as many females as they can in a season. Once mating is over the males go back to being solitary, nocturnal parrots, discretely roaming the forest floor of their predator free islands. They have nothing to do with the chicks or their mothers. In other words a male kakapo has only one thing on his mind when breeding season rolls around….mating!

Read the full feature here...

Film-makers' reply to the Palmer Veltre Chimpanzee Debate From Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield June 2013

Last month, filmmakers Tom Veltre and Chris Palmer published their debate on issues stemming from an article in a German magazine about the film Chimpanzee - Read it here. The directors of the film, Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, have asked us to publish their response:

The last addition of Wildlife Film News published an email conversation between Chris Palmer and Tom Veltre concerning a recent article in the German magazine Der Spiegel about the DisneyNature movie Chimpanzee. It is unfortunate that before their email conversation was published neither of Chris or Tom contacted the directors as we could have given them better information. We feel it important now that the readers of Wildlife Film News get the truth behind the Der Spiegel article and Chris and Tom’s speculations.

Read their full response here...
Also see a further reply from Thomas Veltre...

OVERKILL?  Wildlife on TV by Richard Brock

Steve Backshall recently presented a series called Deadly Sixty – on a Mission, at 6pm on Sunday on BBC1, probably with many children watching. He travels the world showing various species that may qualify for his notorious list. The question is, yes it may be good for ratings, appeals to children, but in the end, does it do the animals themselves any good? I doubt it.

Should the spotted flycatcher be one of the Deadly Sixty? This inoffensive little brown bird migrates to Europe from Africa every summer and, surprise surprise, catches flies, not only spotted ones. According to the Deadly Sixty wide-ranging criteria it is a formidable flyer, picking off insects in mid-air and eating them alive – yes, yet another “deadly predator”, that worn out phrase. “Slayer” and “assassin” appeared on April 4th, words more applicable to humans than to the animals who need all the help they can get. So Steve Backshall treads a tricky line between attracting ratings and showing respect and admiration for the species he chooses.

Let’s hope Steve can help rectify his reputation as a wrangler of so called “deadly” species by the promotion of his well-observed, well-promoted, and well-narrated series Microworlds repeated on BBC2 from a small audience slot on BBC4 (4 viewers?). That is the truth about nature, not a countdown of species whose future may be threatened by misleading sensationalism.

Read the full Article here...

Palmer Veltre Chimpanzee Debate From Chris Palmer and Thomas Veltre

Filmmakers Tom Veltre and Chris Palmer have recently been debating the controversial issues stemming from the Spiegel revelations about the film Chimpanzee - Rainforest Fiction: Disney 'Chimpanzee' Film a Splice of Life By Jörg Blech.

Read the colloquy here...

© Charlie Hamilton James (UK) TREADING WATER

National Geographic Channels brings the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition to Durban this July By Christopher Mason of Wild Talk Africa

After a hiatus of seven years from the sunny city, the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Exhibition is finally set to land back on the shores of Durban this July.

The internationally renowned exhibition will take place at Durban’s uShaka Marine World from the 25 July to the 25 September this year. The exhibition launch forms part of the Wild Talk Africa Film Festival and Conference, South Africa’s premier natural history film event, which will be running from the 23-26 July.

Read the full press release here...

Save 20% with Beyond Borders Film School New Specials in Kruger National Park By Sebastien Rombi

Beyond Borders Film School is proud to announce a joined venture with Ecotraining. Established in 1993 with a mission to raise the standard of guiding in Africa, EcoTraining is the pioneer and leader of professional Field Guide and other nature training programs. www.ecotraining.co.za

Alongside with Ecotraining, Beyond Borders Film School now offers two packages situated in two Big 5 game reserves in South Africa. Minimum 4 students, Maximum 6 students A 30 days course about wildlife filmmaking in the wild with extra lectures about African animals behavior, guiding ethics and ecology! A unique opportunity to make your own short documentary about any of the African wild animals!

Plus an August Special on the Garden Route - R17,250 per person - Save 50% off our luxury package - a last minute special about our course in August!!

Read the full Article here...

Fund Raising campaign for OPERATION JUKANI: www.indiegogo.com/projects/operation-jukani--2

Operation Jukani is Beyond Borders current production about the translocation of more than 120 big cats on the Garden Route of South Africa.
Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary, which is a sanctuary that homes large wild cats (lions, leopards, cheetahs, black panther, tigers, mountain lions...), African Wild Dogs, Hyena's, snakes and Zebras, is currently situated outside Mossel Bay, approximately 150km from Plettenberg Bay. The animals at the sanctuary have been confiscated from hunting operations, circus's, and also over populations from zoos. Without organizations like Jukani these animals would have most probably been put down. Jukani has created a retirement village for their wildlife and they are in the process of moving their operation to a better location very close to where Beyond Borders Productions is based.

Read more here...

36th Annual International Wildlife Film Festival Award Winners Announced

The 36th Annual International Wildlife Film Festival is thrilled to announce this year’s award winners. The IWFF is the first festival of its kind and the longest running wildlife film festival and conservation conference in the world. Awards were presented at a First Friday ceremony on May 3rd at the Roxy Theater in Missoula, MT.

2013 IWFF AWARD WINNERS

Lifetime Achievement Award Natural history filmmakers and photographers Howard and Michele Hall
Conservationist Hero of The Year Award Mateus Mutemba, for his extraordinary work with the Gorongosa Restoration Project
Save Our Seas® Award Hot Tuna (2012) Rick Rosenthal
Best Cinematography – a tie The Last Lions Dereck and Beverly Joubert, 2011
Best Cinematography – a tie Siberian Tiger Quest Mike Birkhead and Joe Loncraine, 2012
Best Score Kangaroo Dundee Andrew Graham-Brown, 2013
Best Editing The Last Lions Dereck and Beverly Joubert, 2011
Sound Design The Last Lions Dereck and Beverly Joubert, 2011
Best Film The Last Lions Dereck and Beverly Joubert, 2011
Best in Category: Presenter/Host Siberian Tiger Quest Chris Morgan, 2012
Best in Category: Human/Wildlife Interaction Siberian Tiger Quest Mike Birkhead and Joe Loncraine, 2012
Best in Category: Environmental Wild Things Daniel Hinerfeld and Molly O’Brien, 2013
Best in Category: POV and Conservation Battle for Elephants John Heminway, 2013
Best in Category: Television Program Over $500,000 Cold Warriors: Wolves and Buffalo Jeff Turner, 2013
Best TV Program: $250,000-$500,000 An Original DUCKumentary Ann Johnson Prum, 2012
Best Television Program Under $250,000 Hunting the Ice Whales Max Quinn, 2012
Best TV Series Kangaroo Dundee Andrew Graham-Brown and Tom Mustill, 2013
Best Theatrical Release The Last Lions Dereck and Beverly Joubert, 2011

See more here: IWFF 2013 Award Winners

Abbeville Bird and Nature Festival 2013

The Abbeville Bird and Nature Festival 2013 ran from 20-28th of April.

See the winning films on this Feature Page!!

Congrat's to member Oliver Goetzl for his SPECIAL DISTINCTION for Jungle Book Bear! :)

www.festival-oiseau-nature.com

Close Your Eyes... by Anneke Emery from Wingbeat, the magazine for RSPB teenagers

Anneke Emery attended a Wildeye Sound Recording Course last year and then wrote about her experience in Wingbeat:

Close your eyes for five seconds and imagine a whooper swan... Now open them and say out loud what you thought of... Ok, so you saw a white body, long neck and a yellow and black bill. What about the SOUND, asks Anneke Emery?

Go on, look it up on the RSPB's website or YouTube and give it a listen... awful isn't it!

It's ok to use your eyes for bigger birds but things can get tricky when it comes to LBJs (Little Brown Jobs). This is one of the reasons why I went in hot pursuit of a bit of sound recording training. You couldn't do better than to learn with a tutor like Chris Watson. Chris has worked closely with many high-profile natural history presenters, including David Attenborough and Bill Oddie and is Oddie's favourite sound man.

Read the full Article here...

Animals in Action with Derek & Sarah Solomon - Mashatu’s Eighth Giant by: Derek Solomon & Sarah Solomon of Kuyimba Trading

Mashatu Game Reserve is located in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve of Botswana bordering South Africa and is internationally recognized as the “Land of the Giants”, home to the world’s largest mammal – the Elephant, the world’s tallest mammal – the Giraffe, the world’s largest antelope – the Eland, the world’s largest bird – the Ostrich, and the world’s heaviest flying bird – the Kori Bustard. Add the lion – the king of the beasts, and the iconic baobab…and you have Africa’s Big Seven. YouTube

Read the full Article here...

Aussie film-maker’s invention wins major international award by Pawel Achtel of Achtel Pty Limited

Competing with Canon, Sony and other multi- national companies, Tasmanian film-maker, Pawel Achtel, has just won top prize at a prestigious international award ceremony, held in Las Vegas overnight.

With the Oscars over, the latest inventions in the film industry – the products used to make the movies – take centre stage each year at the huge NAB trade show in Las Vegas, USA. It’s the world’s most prestigious annual show of film and TV technology. And this year two of the nineteen finalists for best invention in film production were the creations of Achtel’s small, Australian company. In an industry dominated by large multi-nationals, his company has produced the most innovative underwater filming system in years – revolutionary new housings: DeepX and 3Deep® for shooting in 2D and 3D underwater.

“It’s an extraordinary honour,” said Achtel after being told the results from the USA. “I’ve put hundreds of hours of work, and a lot of thought, into designing these new systems for filming underwater. None of the existing equipment did justice to the magic of the underwater world.”

Read the full press release here...

Pitch Your Film at Wild Talk Africa 2013

The open pitching sessions are back due to popular demand. This year filmmakers need to submit their ideas in advance. Only the best proposals will be awarded a slot at the Open Pitching Sessions.

You will have the chance to pitch to some of the top commissioning editors and funders. All documentary formats and all natural history subjects are eligible to submit. Past years’ pitching panels have included commissioning editors from Animal Planet, NHK Japan Broadcasting Corp. , BBC NHU, National Geographic, SABC, NFVF, Smithsonian Networks, NHU Africa and more.

Commissioning editors will critique and comment on each pitch. Who knows, they may be interested?

Read more here...

A very sad farewell to the late great Richard Matthews

Member and friend, Richard Matthews, of Wild Images and Table Mountain Films, has tragically been killed in a plane crash whilst filming aerials over Namibia. He went missing on Sunday the 3rd of March and, after a wide search, his aircraft was sadly then found crashed on the following Tuesday morning. Richard was with his pilot, Mark Berry, who also died. All our thoughts are now with Richard's wife Samantha and their two children.

"Richard was doing what he loved and was very excited about his new improved aerial system when he set off for Namibia. He will be missed sorely." Joe Kennedy & Katharina Pechel, Table Mountain Films

Read more here...

Local Producer Revitalizes 36th Annual International Wildlife Film Festival
Come Back to the Wild, April 27 – May 4, 2013
by Kate Rutledge Jaffe of IWFF

The International Wildlife Film Festival is the first festival of its kind and the longest running wildlife film festival and conservation conference in the world. We have a longstanding international reputation for finding and nurturing the best wildlife films from around the globe, and facilitating dialogues on issues of nature and conservation. This year, we aim to make a local splash: entice Montanans back into the Roxy by offering a rich variety of fun screenings and events, and creating opportunities for the community to engage with luminaries from the fields of wildlife filmmaking and conservation.

Our secret weapon: incoming IWFF producer Mike Steinberg. Mike joins the festival after transforming the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival into a nationally acclaimed event. Steinberg dramatically grew the audience with inventive ideas to engage the community, found opportunities to connect local groups with films, and turned that small, underground festival into a highly anticipated, celebrated annual event. After raising the stature of one community event, he’s now bringing his vision and energy to the IWFF.

Read about his three main focal points this year and more...

Aussie film-maker’s inventions nominated for major award by Pawel Achtel of Achtel Pty Limited

With the Oscars over for another year, the latest inventions in the film industry are about to take centre stage at the huge NAB trade show in Las Vegas, the world’s most prestigious annual show of film and TV technology. And Tasmanian film-maker, Pawel Achtel is one of this year’s finalists.

Competing with Canon, Sony and other major manufacturers, two of the nineteen finalists for best invention in film production – to be awarded on 9 April – are the creations of Achtel’s small, Australian company. In an industry dominated by large multi-nationals, his company has produced the most innovative underwater filming system in years – revolutionary new housings for shooting in 2D and 3D underwater.

Read the full Press Release here...

HASP Training Courses Coming Up this Summer!
By Rupert Godesen of HASP Training Ltd

HASP Training have opened a new site near Bournemouth in Dorset and we would like to offer Wildlife-film.com members an opportunity to attend our summer 4 day Hostile environment courses for as little as £300. Dates are 3-6th of June and the 15-18th of July...

Read more and see the itinerary here...

Can we Save the Red? by Richard Brock of Brock Initiative/Living Planet Productions

We are very fond of our native red squirrel, part of our culture, part of our countryside. But how long will they be with us? Much is working against them, including the introduced tougher non-native grey squirrel, which carries a disease that kills reds but not the greys themselves. And there’s traffic, cats, lack of suitable woodland.

On the other hand, there is much working for them; dedicated volunteers, biologists, in fact many organised groups all over the country trying hard to keep the red squirrel and reduce the greys, so unfortunately introduced from North America in 1876. There are signs of success in the fight to save the reds but it is a controversial subject that raises issues about our countryside and our attitudes to wildlife. The question for the red squirrel is: can we help it make a comeback? If so, how?

This unique film travels the length of Britain through one year to assess progress and considers the future.

The film will be shown at the National and International Perspectives on Red Squirrel Conservation - 2013 National Conference on Friday the 19th of April 2013, where Richard will be present to discuss.

Read more here...