 Wildlife Film News
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Welcome to our Newest Full Members! |
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Treehouse Films – a natural history production company based in Cyprus. Owner/Director: Constantinos Christou has been a freelancer member for a number of years but has now upgraded to an Organisation listing. He says: We focus in documentary making on land and underwater, we do high speed, infrared and thermal filming. We can also help as fixers in Cyprus and Greece. For our work please visit our website or contact us. Equipment:
His film, The Land of the Bear (2022) is available to watch here: waterbear.com/watch/the-land-of-the-bear
Website: www.treehousefilms.eu |
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As a full member of the site, you get a listing in all appropriate sections, a profile page and priority on your news across the site, this newsletter and our social media accounts. To become a full member ... email membership@wildlife-film.com for an application form. For more info, visit: Wildlife-film.com/freelancers (currently just £30/year!) or Wildlife-film.com/companies (only £100/year!) Membership fees help to keep the site going too ... Your support is much needed and appreciated! |
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The Festival de l'Oiseau et de la Nature call for film entries is open! Since 1991, the Bay of Somme is the place to be for nature lovers. Screenings, exhibitions, outings and children activities will be awaiting again from April 12th to 20th 2025. Every year ever since, professional as well as amateur filmmakers are welcome to enter their latest productions about birds, wildlife or environmental issues. THE FILM COMPETITION The Festival offers a selection of films dealing mainly with birds in their natural environment, wildlife, natural history or environmental issues. Professional films must be of 26 to 100 minutes duration. This competition is also open to amateur wildlife filmmakers who do sound recording, shooting or editing as a hobby and on a non-profit basis. (max duration: 3 to 13 minutes). Selected films will be screened by the Final Jury and the audience alike during the event, from April 12th to 20th, 2025.
ENTER VIA THE FESTIVAL WEBSITE (free!) here: festival-oiseau-nature.com/concours/en/film-competition ENTER VIA FILM FREEWAY (€2 / film) here: filmfreeway.com/AbbevilleBirdandNatureFestival Deadline: November 12, 2024 THE INTERNATIONAL PHOTO COMPETITION
Winning pix as well as best of competition will be exhibited during the event in Le Crotoy, from April 12th to 20th. RULES: festival-oiseau-nature.com/concours/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/08/2025-International-wildbird-photo-Competition-1.pdf Deadline: December, 2, 2024 Fees: €2 / photo - 15 photos maximum Profile Page: Wildlife-film.com/-/Abbeville-Bird-and-Nature-Festival.htm |
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Ankara International Wildlife Documentary Film Festival CALL FOR ENTRY Open until December 16th ANKARA INTERNATIONAL WILDLIFE DOCUMENTARY FILM FESTIVAL The capital Ankara will host a brand-new festival in 2025. For the first time in Türkiye, a documentary film festival about wildlife will be organized. Submissions for the competition section of the 1st Ankara International Wildlife Documentary Film Festival, which is planned to take place between May 15 - 18, 2025, opened on July 1st, 2024. Thanks to the interest of many filmmakers, 130 submissions from 36 countries have been received just in the first month. The festival is organized to draw national and international attention to Anatolia's wildlife, contribute to nature conservation efforts and support the developmen t of wildlife documentary filmmaking. It is aimed to bring together wildlife documentaries and teams from many countries of the world with both the audience and professional or amateur wildlife documentarians, to follow the innovations in the world, to be a pioneer in some areas and to be instrumental in collaborations and co-productions. The festival, which will include four days of documentary film screenings, Q&As with film crews, workshops and seminars, will also have a competition section where wildlife documentaries from all over the world will be evaluated in short and feature categories. Founded by director and producer Ece Soydam, who has been producing wildlife documentaries at TRT for nearly twenty years, the festival is organized in partnership with Çigdem Education, Environment and Solidarity Association and Nature Conservation Center, with the support of United Nations GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP), European Union Sivil Düs¸ün Programme and Ayten & Aycan. The search for resources continues in order to make the organization, to which various embassies will also contribute, more comprehensive. Submissions for the festival competition will be open until December 16th, 2024 through filmfreeway.com. Inviting all wildlife documentary filmmakers from Türkiye and across the globe to apply to the festival, the festival team continues to work to present a full program for the 1st Ankara International Wildlife Documentary Film Festival on May 15 – 18th, 2025. FESTIVAL PROGRAM
CATEGORIES
AWARDS
Enter here: filmfreeway.com/AnkaraUluslararasiYabanHayatiBelgeselFilmFestivali Follow: instagram.com/ank_yabanwildff, x.com/Ank_YabanWildFF & facebook.com/Ankyabanwildff |
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The 10th Anniversary Edition of WFFR is coming soon! The 10th Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam (WFFR)will take place from 4 – 10 November 2024. The 2024 festival will feature the best films from all over the world. We will be screening all of our official selections in the heart of Rotterdam at Cinerama Movie Theater. The WFFR Industry Days ’24 will take place on Friday 8 and Saturday 9 November 2024. Here you can meet/catch-up with other film professionals and participate in workshops, pitch sessions and social events. Filmmakers can pitch their (planned) project on Friday, November 8th in front of commissioners, producers, broadcasters and distributors from the wildlife film industry. Registration for the Pitch sessions is required. More info: wffr.nl/professionals-en/industry-days-overview Agenda for 2024:
Filmmakers (or representatives) of selected films receive:
Visit: wffr.nl |
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Billy & Molly wins three at Wildscreen Panda Awards Natural history festival, Wildscreen has named the winners of this year’s Panda Awards with the Golden Panda Award going to Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story, made by Silverback Films for National Geographic. A unanimous decision by the jury, Billy & Molly was considered the best production for its “level of emotion, ability to touch hearts, and how it illustrated the capabilities of the future of the wildlife genre.” Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story also won the Producer / Director Award and Scripted Narrative Award. Silverback Films, producers of Billy & Molly, also took home the Cinematography Award for Wild Isles: Ocean as well as being nominated in several categories. Queens, from Wildstar Films, took home two wins: the Series Award and Production Management Team Award. The jury noted that the production team “set up an innovative working practice and production model with an ethos of mentoring and being parents and job sharing.” The programme took home the Series Award for its innovation in moving the genre forward whilst inviting a younger audience with its structure and use of modern/pop music, and the theme of motherhood as a unifying thread between the episodes. Cinematographer and Director, Alastair MacEwen, was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award. With a career spanning more than 25 years, MacEwen has made significant contributions to the wildlife film and TV industry, with credits including Our Planet, Planet Earth II, Earth’s Tropical Islands, Perfect Planet and Wild Isles. The Impact Award went to PATROL (Juli Films and Perpetuo Films – Nicaragua / USA), a powerful film examining the role of cattle ranching in deforestation; whilst the Sustainability Award was given to The Watches 2023 (BBC Studios Natural History Unit – UK) in recognition of the production’s innovative sustainability efforts. Other winners include Raptors: A Fistful of Daggers (Behaviour Award), Erica Rugabandana for the film Living with Lions (Kuishi Na Simba) (Emerging Talent Award), and Chimp Empire (Editing Award and Music Award). Full list of winners and nominees Special awards Warner Chappell Production Music Golden Panda Award: Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story Lifetime Achievement Award: Alastair MacEwen Christopher Parsons Outstanding Achievement Award: Jo Sarsby Behaviour Award – sponsored by Off the Fence Winner: Raptors: A Fistful of Daggers – EP1: Meet the Raptors Children’s Award – sponsored by Wildscreen ARK Winner: A Real Bug’s Life, Ep. The Big City Cinematography Award – sponsored by Films at 59 Winner: Wild Isles: Ocean Editing Award – sponsored by National Geographic Winner: Chimp Empire EP1 Emerging Talent Award – sponsored by BBC Studios Natural History Unit Winner: Erica Francis Rugabandana for the film Living with Lions (Kuishi Na Simba) Field Craft Special Recognition Award – sponsored by Terra Mater Studios Winner: Sammy Munene, Specialist Filming Driver Impact Award – sponsored by Save Our Seas Foundation Winner: PATROL Music Award Winner: Chimp Empire EP1 On-Screen Talent Award – sponsored by University of the West of England Winner: Malaika Vaz in Sacrifice Zone Producer / Director Award – sponsored by Passion Pictures Winner: Charlie Hamilton-James and Jeff Wilson for Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story Production Management Team Award – sponsored by Humble Bee Films Winner: Queens Scripted Narrative Award Winner: Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story Series Award – sponsored by Doclights / NDR Naturfilm Winner: Queens Sound Award – sponsored by Films at 59 Winner: Secrets From a Forest Sustainability Award – sponsored by Aurum Kaleidoscope Foundation Winner: The Watches 2023 Visit: wildscreen.org/festival/panda-awards2024 From: televisual.com/news/billy-molly-wins-three-at-wildscreen-panda-awards |
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Wildscreen: Wildpitch winners announced Wildscreen Festival 2024 has named the winners of the $24k Wildpitch prize. Nine individuals/teams compete for a total prize pot of $24,000, split across three categories. The three winners get $8k each to develop their idea. This year’s competition was hosted by filmmaker, presenter and 2022 WildPitch winner Libby Penman. Wild Pitch was introduced as part of the 40th anniversary edition of the Wildscreen Festival back in 2022 to enable anyone with a story to tell about the natural world to have the opportunity to pitch in front of the world’s key wildlife film and TV decision makers and win a cash prize to bring their project to life. WildPitch 2024 was supported by National Geographic, and the judging panel comprised of Sabine Holzer (Head of Specialist Factual, Terra Mater Studios), Charlie Parsons (SVP, Global Development, National Geographic), Sara Edelson (Director, Original Documentary Series, Netflix) and Sarah Willingham (Entrepreneur, Investor and Dragon). WildPitch 2024 winners: Arctic Blue – Ismaele Tortella & Anita Norfolk Ismaele is in the Arctic wilderness to become a renowned wildlife cinematographer. Inspired by the people and wildlife that thrive in these extremes, he turns the camera on himself and confronts his stutter for the first time. Arctic Blue explores his evolving relationship with his dreams and his own voice. Seed – Andres Sehinkman Seed, a tiny, unidentified sprout born in a greenhouse, wants to discover what type of plant he is. To do so, he uproots himself from his pot and ventures deep into the jungle. However, the path to the world’s most endangered forest can be as wonderful as it is dangerous. American Lion – Lia Nydes American Lion is the first blue chip natural history film ever produced about Mountain Lions in the United States. The movie follows two lioness mothers overcoming incredible hardships to raise their kittens to adulthood and showcases the opportunities to better conserve Mountain Lions and their habitat. From: televisual.com/news/wildscreen-wildpitch-winners-announced |
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Wildscreen: What the BBC is looking for The BBC is looking for more natural history retrospectives, potential returnable series, and stealing tone and approach from other genres, such as entertainment, true crime and travelogues. The goal is to find narratives that will extend the reach of the genre. Delegates at this week’s Wildscreen Festival heard from BBC head of specialist factual commissioning Jack Bootle and head of natural history commissioning Sreya Biswas. The BBC has 26 natural history projects currently in production, equalling 110 hours of content. “Natural history remains vitally important to the BBC and Sreya and I are definitely open for business,” said Bootle. While inflation and production costs have forced a reduction in the number of original titles, this was a message of reassurance. Going forward, the BBC has invested £44m into original British natural history programming over the next four years. While needing content to play on digital, Biswas stressed that linear TV enables the BBC “to bring together millions of people in what is still event TV – one of the only factual areas to still do this.” That said, with digital appeal now vital, they continue to grapple with the change from traditional closed episodes, experimenting with narrative arcs, returning characters. Read more: televisual.com/news/wildscreen-what-the-bbc-is-looking-for |
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Missed the Wildscreen Festival 2024? Missed out on Wildscreen this year? You can now purchase a Post-Festival Online Pass for as little as £15 (for WildPhotos)! Brush up on your cinematography knowledge, delve into the world of digital content creation, find out how to fund your film and more at the touch of a button from now until January 31st 2025. Our Online Pass gives you post-festival access to our delegate app, allowing you to catch up and watch back live streams of dozens of sessions from this year’s festival including Headliners, Masterclasses, Decision Maker Clinics and more! PLUS access our full film library of this year’s Official Selection and Panda Award Nominees. That’s over 60 natural history films and episodes at your fingertips!
Buy your pass here: registration.crowdcomms.com/wildscreenfestival |
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‘Always outsiders, always men, always white’: how women are changing the narrative of wildlife film-making Three female film-makers talk about their pioneering work documenting nature in Africa, the Amazon and India, and paving the way for future generations to build a career in film. ‘Stories about wild Africa from our perspectives’: Fiona Tande, Kenya When Fiona Tande started in Kenya’s film industry after working in conservation, she was disappointed to find it laced with the same pervasive racism she had seen throughout her career. In her experience, both sectors on the continent were dominated by white men, and the only people who looked like her usually worked as cooks or guides. Even the smallest roles in production were usually filled by someone from the global north. “There’s that mindset that we won’t deliver because we’re Africans,” says Tande, 37. “It has been such a slap in the face because I really had faith in the film industry. There is still a lot of rampant and maybe closeted racism.” As a result, people have been “disenfranchised from wildlife”, she says, and rarely consider careers in either field because it is “seared in our minds that these are not spaces for us to speak”. After completing a film course in South Africa then working as a camera assistant and directing a short documentary, Tande decided to do something about the situation. In 2020, she set up Pridelands Films, a Kenya-based wildlife film company, to link foreign crews with film-makers already in the country. To celebrate and recognise the work being done on the continent, Tande then started the Pridelands Wildlife film festival (PWFF) in 2022. She has started to see change. “A lot of people are coming up in this space and really doing an incredible job despite the lack of belief in local talent,” she says. “There is a lot more interest in telling stories about wild Africa from our perspectives.” Read more ... ‘I want to pave the way for girls to build a career in film’: Priscila Tapajowara, Brazil Priscila Tapajowara mentions the river often as she describes her upbringing in Santarém, a rainforest city located where the Amazon and Tapajós rivers meet. “I grew up in close connection with the river, with nature. My childhood memories are of my family bathing in the river, doing laundry in the river, fishing, swimming,” says the Indigenous photographer and film-maker over a videocall, her face framed with colourful feather earrings. Tapajowara, 31, is a member of the Tapajó people, one of 13 ethnic groups from the Lower Tapajós region in the Brazilian Amazon. It was while observing activists fighting to protect their sacred river from the rapidly expanding soya industry and plans for a hydroelectric complex that she became interested in photography. She saw it as a way of documenting her people’s life and struggles. “People would come and take photos, records of our region … but they were always outsiders, always men, always white,” she says. Encouraged by her father, Tapajowara started photographing surrounding Indigenous communities just over a decade ago. She borrowed equipment, learned from people passing through Santarém, and worked in a dental surgery to save up to buy her first camera, before eventually moving to São Paulo to study photography then audiovisual production. Read more ... ‘I fell in love with making wildlife films’: Rita Banerji, India “I was hooked,” says Rita Banerji, who is talking about her first camera, an old Agfa analogue camera given to her by her father, in her adolescence. “I did a lot of photography with that camera,” the acclaimed Indian conservation film-maker reminisces fondly. Today, Banerji not only makes films, but is also the founder of Green Hub, a residential film-making fellowship programme in India. “That camera was my first point of contact [in the film-making journey],” she says. After graduating, Banerji joined Riverbank Studios in New Delhi as a production assistant, before eventually returning to her first passion, learning camera work, as well as film editing and directing. “The process of film-making is so beautiful,” says Banerji, “I fell in love with this field, especially with making environment and wildlife films.” During a decade at Riverbank, Banerji was involved in several award-winning films, including Shores of Silence (2000) which shed light on the slaughter of whale sharks by impoverished fishers in the state of Gujarat, west India. The documentary prompted the Indian government to accord the highest level of legal protection to whale sharks in 2001, on a par with the tiger. It was through her work at Riverbank that Banerji developed a wider understanding of wildlife conservation. “We cannot talk of conservation without the community, we cannot talk of rural development or community wellbeing without protecting natural resources,” she says. “It’s all very deeply connected.” In 2002, Banerji founded Dusty Foot Productions where she works with a like-minded team that understands the interconnectedness of wildlife conservation, community wellbeing and rural development. Their 2010 film The Wild Meat Trail, about the extent of hunting practices in north-east India at the time, has received several awards including the prestigious Wildscreen Panda, often referred to as the Green Oscar Banerji founded Green Hub in partnership with North East Network, a women’s rights organisation, in 2015, with the aim of creating a platform for young people in conservation. It trains Indigenous and rural Indian youths in environmental and wildlife film-making, and has grown to cover eight states in the north-east as well as central and north-west India. “Some of these youth have never been to school or touched a camera or computer,” says Banerji. Read more ... |
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Angela Bassett Wins First Emmy Award for Outstanding Narrator: ‘I’m Just a Girl Who Wanted to Act’ Angela Bassett is now an Emmy winner. Bassett won the award for outstanding narration on National Geographic’s nature documentary “Queens” on Saturday, the first night of the Creative Arts Emmys. Following her triumph, Bassett came backstage to the press room, where a reporter asked her what the win meant to her. “We don’t work for these, but we receive them for all the hard work that we do,” Bassett said. “Of course, it’s not work that you do alone, even though it’s for narration. There’s a whole team that pursued me and believed in me, fought for me, and worked with me to tell this amazing story of females in the wild kingdom, led by an all-female production team, a first in wildlife documentary filmmaking. So that was pretty inspiring to me in and of itself.” More here: variety.com/2024/artisans/news/angela-bassett-wins-first-emmy-award-narrator-1236137215 |
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WWT's Waterlands series 3, streaming now – Megan McCubbin returns to take things as they flow! The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's British Podcast Award nominated podcast returns for a third series all about the heartbeat of our lands, rivers. Join host Megan McCubbin to learn about how rivers and life have always been intertwined, providing vital homes for a host of our favourite species and shaping our way of life to this day. Immerse yourself in the sounds of the riverbank, crashing tides, wild marshes filled with birds and the underwater sounds of the humble pond as we bring to life our incredible wetlands - and reveal their power to shape our future for the better. Join zoologist and wildlife presenter Megan McCubbin as she explores the wonders of our watery worlds and how wetlands have fed, inspired and transported us from countryside to city, source to sea. Our wetlands bring us together across species and continents. They’re the source of life as we know it. Yet wetlands only cover about 6% of our planet, and they’re disappearing fast, despite the fact that people and 40% of all wildlife are reliant on them. This is a podcast all about the wonderful, sometimes surprising and often underappreciated watery places around us, and how they can help us with some of the biggest issues facing life on this planet. You’ll never look at a marsh or pond the same way again. Go here: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/waterlands/id1639907069 Care about our waterways? Read: The key to fixing the rivers crisis, that goes far beyond sewage – inews.co.uk – Agricultural waste accounts for 40 per cent of water pollution, compared to 36 per cent for sewage ... Campaigners have told i they are worried that the independent review into the water sector is sidelining the biggest source of UK river pollution – slurry from cattle and other agricultural waste. Watch POODUNNIT? from the Brock Initiative Please watch/share the Brock Initiative Wildlife Winners & Losers film POODUNNIT? – A Wildlife Detective Story ... the dying River Wye. Why? You'll have seen & heard about the bad conditions on our waterways. Clean water is precious, both to us & wildlife... the Wye/why is investigated in this film: brockinitiative.org/category/poodunnit-a-wildlife-detective-story
Please subscribe, like, comment... Richard Brock wants to hear from you... give him your feedback! Follow: facebook.com/brockInitiative, instagram.com/brock_initiative, tiktok.com/@brockinitiative Join the March for Clean Water – November 3rd! Water is life. Yet here, in Britain, it's on life support. We are marching to reclaim our right to clean, healthy and abundant water for all people across the UK. March for Clean Water is a national gathering of all those concerned and outraged about the state of our waterways. Together, we can resolve this public health emergency by demanding the new government enforce the current law and deliver new legislation that will end all pollution, and restore our rivers, waterways, seas and reservoirs to full health by 2030.
Sunday 3rd of November, 11:00, Albert Embankment, London. Will you be there? #JoinTheMarch #WearBlue #FloodTheStreets March for Clean Water in London is a one-off event organised by River Action to petition the government for clean water throughout the UK. Visit: marchforcleanwater.org Follow: x.com/MarchforWater, instagram.com/marchforwater |
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The Battle for Middlewick Ranges by Ross Birnie coming soon! In Colchester, a battle is raging for one of the last great wildlife refuges in Essex. Middlewick Ranges is home to rare acid grassland—the largest in the county—as well as breeding Skylarks, Barbastelle bats, and the UK’s second-largest Nightingale population. But now, the Ministry of Defence and developers are pushing to pave it over, risking everything these habitats support. This includes 1,500 species of invertebrates, many of which are threatened by local and national extinction. The real story? Key ecological data, warnings from Natural England, and an essential 2017 report highlighting Middlewick’s value were withheld from councillors before a decisive vote. Reports were manipulated by commercial consultants to downgrade habitats, prioritising profit over wildlife-rich green spaces. This isn’t just about one site; it’s a glimpse into a broken planning system where planning officers and developers ignore environmental guidelines; even legally safeguarded wildlife isn’t safe. National organisations like Buglife, RSPB, and Essex Wildlife Trust have joined grassroots campaigners in this fight, which has now become a stand for nature across the UK. In a time of biodiversity crisis, The Battle for Middlewick calls for action to save our wild spaces. Will you join the fight? Watch, share and help protect the irreplaceable.
Watch the trailer now and support the cause! How can you help? Sign our petition "Defend the wildlife of Middlewick Ranges" on 38 Degrees: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/defend-the-wildlife-of-middlewick-ranges
Write to Colchester City Councillors and MPS: Councillors and MPs · Colchester City Council Join our Facebook Group ‘Save the Middlewick Ranges’ for updates and fundraising: facebook.com/groups/692112914272789 Follow: instagram.com/savemiddlewick & x.com/SaveRanges Support: buglife.org.uk/campaigns/middlewick-ranges Visit: savemiddlewick.org |
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New Book: Land of the Tiger and Beyond: A filmmaker's extraordinary journey with wild animals, wild people and wild places. by Mike Birkhead Land of the Tiger and Beyond chronicles Mike’s remarkable journey from aspiring footballer to acclaimed filmmaker. After an unsuccessful final trial for Leeds United, Mike pivoted to studying zoology, dedicating a decade to the field before founding and running a production company for thirty-five years. Throughout his career, Mike has produced over 50 documentary films on wild animals, places, people, and science for renowned networks such as BBC, PBS, National Geographic, Terra Mater/Red Bull Media, and Pathé in Paris. His fascination with Indian tigers began serendipitously over three decades ago, leading to acclaimed programs like “Tiger Crisis,” “Land of the Tigers” series for BBC, “Tiger” (a BBC special), and “Battle to Save the Tiger” hosted by David Attenborough. Mike’s films resonate with scientists, conservationists, and anyone passionate about preserving our planet’s biodiversity. He earned his doctorate and post-doctorate at the Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Oxford University. Among his notable works are “H is for Hawk: The Next Chapter,” “The Tale of the Peacocks and Tiger,” “Thunderbirds,” “Ostrich: Life on the Run,” “Attenborough’s Wonder of Song,” “Attenborough’s Wonder of Eggs,” and “Attenborough’s Big Birds.” The ebook is available at Amazon.co.uk |
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Is the International Whaling Commission (IWC) a ‘zombie’ organisation that should be disbanded? As we approach the 40th anniversary of the moratorium on commercial whaling, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is more relevant than ever to the conservation of the world’s whales, dolphins and porpoises. A recent article in Nature claims the International Whaling Commission has outlived its usefulness and should be dismantled. Absolutely not, argues EIA’s senior campaigner, Clare Perry, who has fought for decades to maintain and strengthen the moratorium on commercial whaling and broaden action within the IWC. On 15th August, four authors led by Peter Bridgewater, a previous chair of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) published a comment in Nature entitled “Dismantle ‘zombie’ wildlife protection conventions once their work is done”. In it the authors argue that the IWC has outlived its usefulness and should be retired, devolving its responsibilities for managing commercial and subsistence whaling to national governments, while the Convention on Migratory Species could act as a ‘global whale observatory’ alerting the world to negative trends in any species. Although they acknowledge the “huge achievement” of the moratorium on commercial whaling, the authors lament that since that time, the IWC has “done little to help conserve the great whales” and failed to “encourage the sustainable harvesting” of whale populations. It’s hard to understand the motivation of the authors, but the argument to abandon a successful treaty is dangerously flawed – particularly given that more than a quarter of the 92 cetacean (whale, dolphin and porpoise) species are threatened with extinction (i.e., critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable) and 11% are near threatened. Watch Are Whales Winning? from the Brock Initiative Are Whales Winning? Our attitude to whales and dolphins is confused. We love them in their home, the sea. We (some) love them in SeaWorld performing tricks. But SeaWorld and its money is now threatened by public opinion, and Japan, Norway and Iceland are the latest survivors still fighting not to save the whales and dolphins in the wild. Who will win in this whale of a tangle? brockinitiative.org/category/poodunnit-a-wildlife-detective-story Please subscribe, like, comment... Richard Brock wants to hear from you... give him your feedback! Follow: facebook.com/brockInitiative, instagram.com/brock_initiative, tiktok.com/@brockinitiative |
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Nat Geo Explorer Bertie Gregory shares experience working with hero, making 'Animals Up Close' BAFTA and Emmy Award-winner Bertie Gregory stepped onto ABC's On The Red Carpet Storyteller's Spotlight stage at this year's D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event. Fresh off the plane from a shoot in South Africa, he was happy to share insights from Season 2 of National Geographic's "Animals Up Close" with the audience. Gregory's first opportunities in wildlife filmmaking came from meeting photographer Steve Winter through a youth photography contest. Winter invited the National Geographic Explorer to work with him on his upcoming shoots, later leading to a run-in with Gregory's creative idol, Sir David Attenborough, renowned British wildlife documentarian. "You know how people say, 'Don't meet your heroes?' Those people haven't met Sir David Attenborough" Gregory told ABC Owned Television Stations Executive Producer Nzinga Blake. After that stint, Gregory worked as a cinematographer for the BBC program, "Seven Worlds, One Planet," a series about the formation of the Earth's seven continents, with Attenborough serving as the series opener. As a member of National Geographic and the Disney family, Gregory finds it rewarding to continue the tradition of making animals the stars of his work, the same way he and Attenborough are. "It's amazing to see Star Wars and Marvel and all the Disney greats," Gregory said. "But it's just great that wildlife and the natural world can be showcased alongside those other things. Marvel has its superheroes. And at National Geographic, the animals are the superheroes." Read more/Watch: abc7.com/post/national-geographic-explorer-bertie-gregory-sir-david-attenborough-making-animals-up-close-d23/15267421 |
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Sir David Attenborough: 'The world would be worse off without our stories' Seventy years after he first fronted a wildlife programme, Sir David Attenborough is keenly aware of the impact they can have. "The world would be in a far, far worse situation now had there been no broadcasting of natural history," he said. "People have found it a source of fascination and beauty and interest, and this has become key to looking after the world." In September 2024, the BBC is marking 90 years of broadcasting from Bristol. We spoke exclusively to Sir David, who has presented many of the programmes made at BBC Bristol's Natural History Unit. When Sir David's broadcasting career began in 1954, just 3.2 million people had television licences in the UK. The goal of programmes like Zoo Quest was to capture wild animals for zoo collections, the accepted practice at the time. Now, Sir David's programmes all carry a strong message - that the natural world is at risk more than ever before. "People are aware of the problems of conservation in a way which could not exist without broadcasting," he said. "The perilous state that the natural world is in at the moment, these things are apparent to people all around the world. "You don't watch a natural history programme, I hope, because you think it's going to be good for the natural world; you do so because it is rivetingly interesting, and complicated, and beautiful. "The awareness of people around the world about ecological damage, that is due to natural history," he added. Bristol's association with wildlife programming goes back to the mid 1940s, when The Naturalist was produced on the Home Service by Desmond Hawkins from the city. "Desmond was the king of natural history broadcasting and an accomplished naturalist," said Sir David. Ten years later, in 1955, wildlife programme Look, presented by Peter Scott, featured pioneering German filmmaker, Heinz Sielmann, the first person to film inside a woodpecker's nest. "This was sensational, everyone in Britain was blown away by this, and because there was only one television network, it was all you talked about at the bus stop when you were going into work," recalls Sir David. The switchboard at the Lime Grove studios was jammed with viewers ringing in to find out more, and it gave the BBC the nudge to set up the Natural History Unit in Bristol in 1957. 'Shows on green slime' In 1979, Sir David presented Life on Earth, a landmark television programme made in Bristol, which attracted around 15 million viewers. "Bristol led the world to be truthful," he said. "It started this with radio, and when television came along, Peter Scott and Desmond Hawkins continued that tradition. "The other big mega power in broadcasting was the United States, and in the 1970s, viewers there thought natural history was just lions attacking antelopes. "Bristol's programmes taught them that termites could be just as interesting. "When we first started trying to get the subscriptions to finance the plans I had, I remember making the mistake in pitching this to an American network controller. "I waxed very eloquently about how the programme would be the history of life from the microscopic beginning, and the executive turned to me and said 'you mean it's going to be about green slime?' "I replied 'more or less,' but we managed to flog it in the end." Read more and watch: bbc.com/news/articles/c05j3q07p3yo In this report they say "it was the series "Life on Earth", made in Bristol, which gave the city's Natural History Unit Worldwide fame", of which our very own Richard Brock was a producer on!! Sir David Attenborough remembers filming perhaps one of the most ground breaking and well loved nature documentaries in the world, 'Life on Earth'. Great video from Michael Palin's interview with Attenborough and his colleagues filmed for BBC show 'Life on Air'.
Watch films from Richards Wildlife Winners & Losers film series here: brockinitiative.org/about/about-wildlife-winners-and-losers Also read: BBC Bristol celebrates 90 years of broadcasting – bbc.com |
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Watch the new powerful movie urging pension funds to #MoveTheMoney This oily guy has a message for you ... In a dark and misty forest, a head slowly breaks the surfaceof a pool of black, greasy oil. So begins a powerful and humorous short film targeting the massive fossil-fuel investments by the Swedish state pension fund AP7. After facing significant criticism and receiving a climate warning?, AP7 sold its stake in Saudi Aramco. However, they still hold over $4.5 billion USD in fossil fuel investments. The film is associated with the #MoveTheMoney campaign, now brought to Sweden as #FlyttaPengarna by the Fund Your Mother collective. The renowned Danish-Swedish actor David Dencik takes center stage in the film, which draws inspiration from the brilliant UK campaign #MakeMyMoneyMatter, featuring actress Olivia Colman. It is inspiring to see momentum building in Sweden for this important cause. Let’s continue to drive change by advocating for responsible investments and a healthier planet. Together, we can #MoveTheMoney towards a brighter, sustainable future!
Visit: fundyourmother.org/en |
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Watch Toxic Influence, the film exposing the dark side of Dove As Dove prepares to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their “Real Beauty” campaign, Greenpeace’s new film strips away Dove’s clean image to reveal two decades of ugly environmental destruction. What is Dove’s Toxic Influence? Dove, a brand that has long portrayed itself as a champion of ‘real beauty’, confidence, and environmental care, is hiding a dark secret. Every single day, Dove floods the planet with millions of items of throwaway plastic. This plastic is choking our oceans, killing wildlife, and fuelling an environmental disaster of unprecedented scale. The very communities Dove claims to support are drowning in a sea of single-use plastic, their neighbourhoods transformed into unofficial dumping grounds for corporate waste. This needs to change. A chance for real change Dove doesn’t just have the power to change its own business – it can change the whole industry. In just a few months, world leaders will gather to negotiate a Global Plastics Treaty, a once-in-a-generation opportunity to end the age of throwaway plastic. Unilever, Dove’s parent company, holds massive sway in these talks. If they feel the pressure from millions of people watching this film, they’ll be forced to back a strong treaty. This could mean all businesses phase out single use plastic in the next 10 years. This is our chance to make real change, but we need your help to make it work. Share the video in your group chats, on your social media – wherever people will see it!
More here: greenpeace.org.uk/news/dove-anniversary-video Check out these Brock Initiative Wildlife Winners & Losers films on Plastics: brockinitiative.org/category/issues/plastics
The Puffin Picture is a film about this charming seabird, and also about its up and downs over the years as we affect its survival. Its food at sea varies with the climate, so we also explore the worrying connections with the tiny plastics out there. Called nurdles and produced in their billions they're linked to a huge factory and one of the country's richest men. Nurdles may sound amusing, and the puffin is often called "comical", "like a clown", but this picture is definitely serious as well. Visit the website to see the many available Wildlife Winners & Losers films: brockinitiative.org Richard Brock says: “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.” Watch on our website or visit our YouTube channel: youtube.com/@brockinitiative |
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Sky, Prime Video and Left Bank bosses join NFTS board Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Chris Bird and Andy Harries among five new appointments to board of governors The heads of Sky Studios, Amazon Prime Video UK, and Left Bank Pictures have joined the National Film and Television School’s (NFTS) governing board. Sky Studios chief exec and chief content officer Cécile Frot-Coutaz, Prime Video UK managing director Chris Bird and Left Bank co-founder and boss Andy Harries are among five recruits to the NFTS board, alongside Bafta-winning filmmaker and NFTS alum Paloma Baeza and higher education consultant Paul Clark. The NFTS said the group’s specific expertise in global content production, animation, directing and higher education will play a key role in steering the school through its next growth phase. More here: broadcastnow.co.uk/news/sky-prime-video-and-left-bank-bosses-join-nfts-board/5196765.article |
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Attenborough to front BBC NHU Asia series BBC Factual has announced that Sir David Attenborough will present Asia, a seven-part natural history series for BBC One and iPlayer about the wildlife of the planet’s largest continent. Covering the length and breadth of Asia, the series “will reveal its most remarkable landscapes and animals, and feature dramatic, previously unseen behaviour.” Filmed over the course of nearly four years, this is the first time that Asia has been the focus of a major BBC wildlife series. From the vast Gobi Desert to the jungles of Borneo, and from the polar wilderness of Siberia to the coral seas of the Indian Ocean, this series will showcase the breath-taking variety of Asia’s wildest places. Seven one-hour episodes will feature wildlife stories from each corner of the continent. In Nepal, we’ll follow rhinos playing ‘kiss chase’ in a bizarre courtship ritual. In the foothills of the Himalaya, amidst forests of bamboo, we’ll meet Asia’s shyest and possibly cutest mammal: the red panda. Five thousand metres up on the Tibetan Plateau, we’ll witness a lone wolf relentlessly hunting a herd of antelope for hours on end. In Sri Lanka, we’ll join elephants that have learnt to become highway thieves – holding up buses to get food from the passengers. And in the rich waters of the Western Pacific, we’ll swim with sea snakes and fish that have learnt to team up in order to hunt together in huge shoals. Filming locations include Lake Baikal, the oldest and deepest lake in the world; the vast taiga forest that stretches across northern Russia; the Lut Desert in Iran; the Arabian Peninsula’s Empty Quarter; and several bustling Asian cities: Tokyo, Bangkok, Taipei, Bhopal, Hanoi and Singapore. More here: televisual.com/news/attenborough-to-front-bbc-nhu-asia-series |
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BBC Earth first ever live stream from the Natural History Units’ Big Cats 24/7 camp in Botswana For the first time ever, BBC Earth will be streaming live from the BBC Studios Natural History Units production shoot in Botswana. For the first time ever, BBC Earth will be streaming live from the BBC Studios Natural History Units production shoot in Botswana. Fans will have the unique opportunity to ask questions to the on-screen talent directly from the Big Cats 24/7 camp. The event is commissioned by the BBC Earth genre marketing and digital teams and scheduled to take place at 2pm (BST) on 29th September when BBC Earth will be live from camp in the Okavango Delta Botswana and live streaming exclusively to the BBC Earth YouTube channel with 12.9M subscribers (475.8M views across all videos in 2023). The live stream will feature four of BBC’s on-screen camera operators including, Anna Dimitriadis, Gordon Buchanan, Brad Bestelink and Sets Nthomiwa who are currently there filming series two of Big Cats 24/7. They will be ready to answer natural history enthusiasts’ questions during the live session. On Wednesday 18th September at 2pm (BST) the BBC Earth Instagram page will open to fans to pre-submit their questions ahead of the live stream on 29th September. During the event, the team on the ground will be ready to answer questions from natural history enthusiasts live from the camp. The Big Cats 24/7 live stream offers fans a unique experience with exclusive access to the NHU production teams and on-screen talent, deepening their connection with BBC Earth's natural history content through immersive, interactive engagement. By tapping into audiences' love for behind-the-scenes content, this initiative connects them directly to the on-location experience. The first series of Big Cats 24/7 is currently available to view on BBC iPlayer and PBS in the US, where an elite camera team follow a group of African big cats, day and night, for six months. Filmed using the very latest technology, Big Cats 24/7 gives viewers an unprecedented insight into the lives of the lions, leopards and cheetahs of Botswana’s awe-inspiring Okavango Delta – a place described as one of Africa’s last great natural sanctuaries. The team of camera experts, which includes wildlife cinematographers Gordon Buchanan, Vianet Djenguet and Anna Dimitriadis, and an award-winning local Botswanan camera crew lead by Brad Bestelink, must track the cats across unforgiving terrain, keeping their cameras rolling 24/7. It’s a mission that will push them to their limit, as they deal with wildfire and extreme weather in one of the wildest places on the planet. Cutting-edge tracking technology means the team can follow the cats’ movements more closely than ever before, and state-of-the-art low-light cameras allow them to capture previously unseen nocturnal behaviour for the very first time. Following on from series one, series two of Big Cats 24/7 will be broadcast in 2025 and continue to follow the stars featured in the first series, as well as introducing some new faces, allowing viewers a front row seat as the team document the lives of these beloved big cats. About Big Cats 24/7 Big Cats 24/7, a 6×60’ for BBC Two, iPlayer and PBS is made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and co-produced by PBS. It was commissioned by Jack Bootle, Head of Commissioning, Specialist Factual. The Executive Producers are Roger Webb and Tom Jarvis, the Series Producer is Rowan Crawford and the Production Manager is Gillian Goodlet. The Commissioning Editor is Sreya Biswas. The Executive in Charge for PBS is Bill Gardner. Watch: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002262z/big-cats-247 Read: Creating a production hub in the Delta – bbc.co.uk – "I’ve been working in television production for longer than I care to remember, and, just when I was about to hang up my TV boots, I somehow stumbled across “Big Cats 24/7”. It has turned out to be one of the highlights of my career. There have been many challenges, but we are blessed with an exceptional team, both here in the UK and in Botswana. There has also been the opportunity to spend time in the glorious Okavango Delta; to see firsthand the prolific wildlife, richly coloured birds, the beautiful sunlit grasses infused with the smell of wild sage and, of course – the cats. It’s hard not to fall in love with the cats, and to root for them as they face the daily perils and pleasures of life in the Delta." Gillian Goodlet, Production Manager
Above: The terrifying moment a change in wind direction turns a raging wildfire straight towards camp The Big Cats 24/7 team are on a six-month expedition following lions, leopards and cheetahs in the Okavango Delta. But a huge wildfire threatens both the big cats and the crew, and the team is forced to fight fire with fire. |
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Watch Dethroned by Aaron Gekoski – Free Online Screening “Dethroned” is coming Soon! Join the international online screening on November 26th! Join environmental photojournalist, Aaron Gekoski, as he examines mankind’s relationship with big cats. From Peru to Thailand, Aaron investigates our current relationship with big cats. “Dethroned” tells the story of how we went from revering big cats to commodifying them. Hope is not lost, however, as Aaron shows in the course of his journey. Don’t miss out on this unique collaboration between FOUR PAWS, Four Corners Film & Photography, and Terra Mater. Join the exclusive online screening and live Q&A on November 26th at 7 PM CET Dethrone Film - Online Screening Secure your spot now: help.four-paws.org/en/dethroned-online-screening-and-live-qna |
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BBC Studios launches BBC Earth FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus in EMEA The channel launches today (Wednesday, Sept 11th) in Benelux, France, Germany, Italy and the Nordics BBC Earth will include BBC Studios’ award-winning factual content, from natural history productions to investigative and inspirational documentaries. Programming includes, landmark natural history series Dynasties (available in Benelux), which follows five extraordinary animals fighting for their own survival and he future of their dynasties, multi-award winning Alaskan based documentary, Life Below Zero (available in Italy), BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s award-winning landmark series Frozen Planet (available in the Nordics) to Dolphins Spy in the Pod (available in France) where hidden cameras go into the heart of the dolphins’ world. The channel offers an exciting opportunity for advertisers to appear alongside each popular BBC show across EMEA. |
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BBC announces new diversity targets The BBC is launching “ambitious” new creative diversity commitments within programme making teams to “ensure that the stories told on-air are authentically reflective of audiences across the UK.” The new plan includes raising representation targets for TV production teams across ethnicity, disability, and socio-economic diversity from 20% to 25% across all production roles.. The BBC will also invest a minimum of £80 million annually in content that meets the BBC’s creative diversity criteria for TV and Radio. This investment will focus on aligning diverse on-air storytelling with stronger off-air representation in senior production roles and leadership within production companies. More here: televisual.com/news/bbc-announces-new-diversity-targets |
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BBC Studios Factual Productions hires from Banijay Kate Ward, Managing Director, BBC Studios Factual Productions has appointed Nischal Randev as Head of Growth and Business Development. The newly created role, which forms part of Studios Factual Senior Leadership Team, will develop, and implement strategic plans to broaden revenue streams for BBC Studios Factual through accessing new routes to market for content production, exploring new funding models and also drive audience engagement through multiple commercial avenues as well as expanding the portfolio through strategic partnership and growth of new production labels. Randev will also support editorial and commercial teams across BBC Studios’ factual production genre. The role will partner with other parts of BBC Studios to create and drive opportunities for Factual IP and Factual production units and labels, including partnership with StoryWorks and BBC Studios Brands & Licensing divisions. Nischal Randev joins the globally renowned factual production powerhouse known for leading natural history series shows like Planet Earth III and recently aired Big Cats 24/7 (BBC) and OceanXplorers (Nat Geo) as well as upcoming landmark Asia (BBC). Documentaries, such as Inside Our Minds (BBC) Sarah Everard: The Search For Justice (BBC), The Great Rhino Robbery (Sky) and Uncanny (BBC). And science shows, like Solar System with Professor Brian Cox (BBC), Einstein And the Bomb (Netflix) and brand new major landmark series Walking With Dinosaurs (BBC). As well as wholly owned label Voltage TV producers of Scoop (Netflix), Amanda and Alan’s Italian Job (BBC) and Tempting Fortune (Channel4). More here: televisual.com/news/bbc-studios-factual-productions-hires-from-banijay |
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The musician mixing filming wildlife with selling out gigs at Glasgow's top venues Fresh from selling out the O2 Academy for his gig in December, we spoke to the brains behind Beluga Lagoon, Andrew O'Donnell, who creates atmospheric music inspired by his day job. Beluga Lagoon isn't your normal Scottish band project, instead of seeking to create pop hits that top the charts, they are making their name thanks to connecting with a very different crowd. Inspired by his day job of filming wildlife around Scotland and beyond, Andrew O'Donnell, the brains behind the aptly named band, explained that his music is an extension of the journey he makes to film the native fauna found in Scotland's rugged landscapes. "I spend most days getting rained on," jokes Andrew when asked what inspires the moods for his songs. "For the past ten years, my work has seen me spend a lot of my time in nature. "I spend a lot of time away from the family working on my own, and that tends to inspire what I write about, that metaphorical stuff that comes out, meaning my music is legitimately set in the wild. The flavour and the sound are inspired by Scotland's outdoors and my adventures." From: glasgowlive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/musician-mixing-filming-wildlife-selling-29869522 |
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Wild Filming / Atomos - British Cinematographer WILD NINJA – Kristi Odom travels the world as a photographer and filmmaker to highlight wildlife stories and protect them. As an Associate Fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers, she has helped raise nearly $1m for conservation. On a recent trip to Bolivia, Kristi Odom visited La Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary to raise money for Jaguars involved in illegal trafficking. She spent time with the team and captured remarkable close-up shots of the Jaguars and other wildlife. “Being a one person show, who films, produces and edits videos to raise money for conservation is something that I am really proud of,” says Odom. When roaming some of the world’s most remote locations, a compact, yet reliable set-up is a must. As a Nikon Ambassador, the Nikon Z8 and Z9 are often Odom’s first choice of camera, supported by a wide range of lenses and accessories. Among her equipment is the Atomos Ninja monitor-recorder which has proved to be an essential tool in her kit bag. With its ability to record in ProRes RAW, the lightweight and portable Ninja makes it the ideal accessory for mirrorless cameras. In Bolivia, the Ninja played a fundamental role documenting a rare encounter with a hummingbird. Positioned on top of her Nikon Z9 camera, Odom set the monitor to record, waited patiently from a distance, and observed it capture the hummingbird’s fluttering movements as it drew closer to the birdfeeder at the edge of her cabin. “I love using my Ninja; it’s great that I can just hit record and let it do all the work,” she adds. Thanks to its compact size and recording ability, the Ninja enabled Odom to successfully capture incredible shots of animals in the rainforest at close range, without disturbing them in their habitat. Odom works with conservation non-profits and delivers educational workshops to photographers. She teaches skills from using the right equipment to adjusting camera settings to emotionally connect with wildlife through their images. “It’s such a rewarding experience developing the next generation of storytellers. I love being able to use a camera to serve and protect the planet, while teaching others how to help protect the wildlife and animals,” says Odom. Read more here: britishcinematographer.co.uk/supplement_posts/atomos |
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‘From Catapults to Cameras’: Looking at the wild through children’s lens It was in 2019 that filmmaker Ashwika Kapur got to know about the ritualistic hunting festivals, which take place in the seven south-western districts of West Bengal—also called jangal mahal, comprising areas such as Purulia, Jhargram and Bankura—between January and June every year. The region, which is home to a number of threatened and endangered species such as the pangolin, fishing cat and elephants, wolves, Indian porcupines, Bengal foxes, civets, painted spurfowl, and more, sees a bloody massacre of wildlife when armed hunting groups, comprising thousands of villagers, set out to kill whatever animal they can find. Kapur, who grew up in Kolkata, had been a long-term volunteer with the notfor-profit group, Human and Environment Alliance League, or HEAL, at that time. The latter, comprising passionate young individuals from Kolkata, including farmers, filmmakers, lawyers and homemakers, has been working on interventions, community engagement, wildlife and environmental crime investigations and filing of public interest litigations in pursuit of environmental justice in Bengal since 2017. The team has been filing PILs to get a ban on hunting festivals such as the Pakhibandh in places like Jhargram. |
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Marine art deepens our understanding of the oceans – here’s how it has evolved through the centuries From seascapes and ship portraits to underwater wildlife and coastal scenes, artworks on display this month at the Royal Society of Marine Artists Annual Exhibition 2024 illustrate the diversity of marine art. Over the centuries, this genre has moved beyond painting and encompasses visual media and even literary forms, such as drawing, etching, sculpture, textiles, photography, poetry and digital art. Historically, in a western context, marine art played a significant role in documenting naval battles and celebrating maritime history. In the 19th century, artists such as J.M.W. Turner and Winslow Homer became well-known for their depictions of dramatic seascapes and maritime life. Marine art illustrates people’s deep connections to the ocean beyond Europe and North America too. In the semi-desert Karoo region of South Africa, ancient rock art depicts merfolk. Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai’s 1831 work Under the Wave of Kanagawa, also famously known as The Great Wave, shows the diminutive Mount Fuji set against the crest of a huge wave. Maori artist George Nuku’s more recent installation Bottled Ocean 2123 is an imagined underwater landscape made from recycled plastic. Read more here: theconversation.com/marine-art-deepens-our-understanding-of-the-oceans-heres-how-it-has-evolved-through-the-centuries-237082 *the article get's on to film! Akshata Mehta’s Kelp: South Africa’s Golden Forests shed light on the environmental and social importance of kelp as a resource, a habitat, and a space of sanctuary for marine life and humans. |
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Love Nature Announces a New Slate of Original Productions Showcasing Stunning Wildlife Cinematography and Riveting Animal Stories New Love Nature greenlights include Tusker, My Best Friend’s an Animal Season 2 and Enchanted Waters Blue Ant Studios’ rights division oversees pre-sales and licensing outside of commissioning territories Love Nature, a wildlife and nature brand with linear and streaming channels available internationally, announced today a new slate of original programming. The new greenlights span a range of captivating natural history from cinematic blue-chip content to unexpected animal stories of resilience and affection. This diverse slate includes fully financed returning series and a new original co-production, illustrating Love Nature’s commitment to investing and collaborating on quality programming. Tusker,from Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Allison Argo and Bob Poole, chronicles the life of a bull elephant and his pivotal role in the wilderness of Kenya. My Best Friend’s an Animal returns with a delightfully adorable second season, while the Enchanted franchise expands with a spellbinding new installment, Enchanted Waters, from Oscar-winning factual production company, Off the Fence. “These titles demonstrate the breadth of Love Nature’s portfolio. Truly moving animal stories and fresh perspectives on wildlife give our audiences a fascinating look inside the natural world,” said Alison Barrat, SVP, Production & Development, Love Nature. “We’re continuing to work with natural history specialists on beloved returning series and ambitious new projects. This underscores our commitment to creating a line-up of high quality content that makes Love Nature a destination for natural history programming.” In addition to premiering on Love Nature’s branded linear and streaming platforms, the new programming will also roll out on Sky Nature in the UK, Germany and Italy. The slate leverages Love Nature’s relationship with Blue Ant Studios’ rights division, which oversees licensing opportunities for the new titles outside of the commissioning territories. |
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Meet the 2024 Earthshot Prize Finalists Discover the fifteen extraordinary innovators, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and advocates from around the world sparking hope and action and helping to repair our planet for future generations. Watch as Prince William introduces The Earthshot Prize Finalists for 2024..
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Netflix sets “Our Oceans” series with Barack Obama as EP and narrator Netflix has revealed that the new blue-chip nature series Our Oceans, featuring narration from former U.S. president Barack Obama, will premiere on the streamer on November 20. Each of the series’ five hour-long episodes focuses on a specific body of water — the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean — taking audiences on a 75,000-mile cruise across and beneath the oceans as they are today, using cutting-edge research and newly developed underwater filmmaking technology to showcase several never-before-seen animal behaviors. Our Oceans is produced by Freeborne Media, Wild Space Productions and Barack and Michelle Obama’s Higher Ground Productions, which previously collaborated on the 2022 Netflix series Our Great National Parks (also narrated by the former POTUS). Jonathan Smith is the series producer, and the executive producers are James Honeyborne, Barack Obama and Michelle Obama From: realscreen.com/2024/09/24/netflix-sets-our-oceans-series-with-barack-obama-as-ep-and-narrator |
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Nature's 43rd Season Showcases the Resilience of Wildlife at Home and Abroad, Wednesdays at 8/7c Beginning October 23 on PBS NATURE’S 43rd season features brand-new documentaries on gorillas, big cats and hummingbirds, plus a retrospective on Sir David Attenborough's career ... Explore the survival strategies of animals all around the globe, from the most remote and harsh parts of the planet to our own backyards, in the new season of the Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning series NATURE. New episodes premiere Wednesdays at 8/7c beginning October 23 on PBS (check local listings), pbs.org/nature and the PBS app. Select episodes will also be available to stream on the NATURE YouTube channel Opening with SILVERBACK on Wednesday, October 23 Follow filmmaker Vianet Djenguet as he documents a grueling but vital mission to habituate a notoriously protective 500-pound silverback, in a last-ditch effort to save the critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas from extinction. Read more and Preview Season 43 at pbs.org/nature |
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Botswana to set up film commission, create film fund with help from Steve Harvey Botswana's government is working to create the country's first-ever film commission, as well as a film fund, and is also busy with building out film studio capacity to rapidly expand the Southern African country's film and TV output capability. The government is working with the American entertainer Steve Harvey and his Steve Harvey Global company, as well as Duncan Irvine, the founder and CEO of Forge Ignite Media & Entertainment, a film and TV consultancy. Irvine is the director of the Botswana Ignite project. T he aim of Botswana Ignite is to rapidly expand the country's TV and film sector, to make it commercially viable, to create local content and to aggressively attract international production work. The project has also set up a TV academy for Botswana in the capital of Gaborone that just started offering courses in scripted and unscripted content, as well as a specialist wildlife film school in Kasane that specialises in natural history film production. "Botswana has diamonds but we want to expand our creative industry. Steve Harvey visited and decided to help us with our vision," Goitsemang Morekisi, secretary for the ministry of state president, said at MIP Africa 2024 in Cape Town, South Africa. "In 10 years Botswana will become one of the top film industries on the African continent," Harvey said. "Nigeria and South Africa have a headstart by leaps and bounds in capability - make no mistake about it. They have a real film and TV industry, everything is here, they have real production companies and infrastructure - everything is here." "What I'm trying to get Africa to understand is how to take advantage of all this rich talent that is on this continent and to get the opportunity to work," he said. Read more: teeveetee.blogspot.com/2024/09/botswana-to-set-up-film-commission.html |
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UNDERCOVER On A Faroese Salmon Farm with Megan McCubbin A few weeks ago Megan McCubbin visited a salmon farm on the Faroe Islands ... What she saw shocked her – it's an environmental and social disaster, it cannot go on. Yet Bakkafrost in the UK are certified RSPA Assured. What will it take for the RSPCA to suspend the Assured Scheme?
Also visit: instagram.com/meganmccubbinwild See/Support: neptunespirates.uk/blood-salmon |
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Insect Advocacy at the Animal Vegan Advocacy Summit Did you know that there are over 10 quintillion insects alive in the world at this very moment? Find out how we advocated for them at the Animal & Vegan Advocacy Summit! In Defense of Animals’ Wild Animals Campaigner Katie Nolan attended the Animal & Vegan Advocacy Summit in May where she participated in a panel focused on Crustacean and Insect Advocacy. Her focus was on the often-overlooked world of insects and how critical their protection is, not just for their own wellbeing but for the wellbeing of the environment and humans too! The sheer number of insects on the planet is just one of the many reasons why it is so important to extend our advocacy to them. Insects also play a vital role in maintaining a healthy ecosystem, and they provide the food we humans need to survive as well through their industrious activities! According to the USDA, around one in every three bites of food we take is thanks to an animal pollinator. More and more evidence is surfacing proving that insects are sentient, intelligent, feel pain, and experience other emotions like joy. In light of this, it is more important than ever that we extend compassion to these small beings by treating them with respect and thoughtfulness. There are so many ways we can do this in our everyday lives! More here: idausa.org/campaign/wild-animals-and-habitats/latest-news/ava-insect-advocacy |
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Hottest Summer on Record, First Human H5 Bird Flu Case, Tyson's Lawsuit & more | Month in a Minute The September 2024 edition of Sentient Media's popular Month in a Minute series is here! Watch their 60-second recap of the top stories in animals, food and farming. Summer 2024 is officially the hottest on record, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, with calls for urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A judge in Brazil orders slaughterhouses to pay for Amazon reforestation, after buying cattle from a protected area of the former rainforest. Meat giant Tyson Foods is sued over deceptive ‘Net-Zero’ and ‘Climate-Smart’ beef claims, with the lawsuit alleging Tyson omits key sources of emissions including grazing and animal feed production. A report on transforming land use finds that a 50% shift toward alternative proteins requires 47 million fewer acres of cropland to produce the same amount of protein. The CDC confirms a human H5 Bird Flu case in Missouri, the first case of H5 without a known occupational exposure to sick or infected animals. US pressure weakens global commitments on antimicrobial resistance, with targets to cut the use of antimicrobials in animal agriculture dropped from a key United Nations political declaration. Kevin Hart’s vegan restaurant chain Hart House closes all locations. And a new study on vegan versus meat-based dog food finds that dogs fed vegan diets had the best health outcomes, and this trend was clear and consistent. Narration by Jasmine C. Perry Watch all this and more in the September media recap!
Have a little more time? Browse more top stories here: sentientmedia.org/the-month-in-a-minute-september-2024 |
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