So much Wildscreen Festival 2020 news ... So many reasons to attend! By Jason Peters
6 October 2020
Countdown to the Wildscreen Festival ... Happening virtually from 19 - 23 October, 2020
Wildscreen Festival Programme Announced!
Transforming this year’s festival into a virtual experience meant Wildscreen could include even more ground breaking content into their week-long celebration of the very best in wildlife film, conservation and photography. They’ve also drawn upon their expansive network to bring you an unmissable programme of award winning, world famous thought leaders of the industry.
These include heavyweight keynote and headline speakers from TV, film and photography, commissioners from channels such as Smithsonian, ORF & Nat Geo plus masterclasses developed just for our audience by world leading providers to the industry.
They didn’t want to stop there! In addition to their already jam-packed programme they have some yet to be announced sessions with globally revered household names, see announcements below and watch out for more on Wildscreen and our social channels over the next couple of weeks!
The live streamed programme will be available from 09:00 on Monday 19 October but if you can’t wait until then, buy your pass now to access their film library of over 200 tremendous pieces of work.
Reserve your place now to be amongst the enviable delegate list including notable and influential figures in the wildlife and conservation filmmaking genre, including ...
Vice President of Production and Development, Love Nature
Director of Creative Media, University of the West of England
Head of and Head of Development, BBC Studios Natural History Unit
SVP, Development & Production, Nat Geo WILD
Executive Producer, Natural History & Science, NHK Enterprises
Charitable foundation Synchronicity Earth
Award winning and Panda Award nominee representatives from production companies including Boothfilms (Violent Planet), Humblebee Films (Attenborough and the Giant Elephant), KEO West (War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita), Silverback Films (Our Planet), Plimsoll Productions, (Night on Earth), Felis Creations (Planet Earth II), Icon Films (Mysteries of the Deep), NDR Doclights (Serengeti) & Gripping Films (Nature Now).
CLICK HERE to buy your Full Industry Pass now! Or head to the Programme Page for more information.
More news below too!
Steve Backshall in conversation with Jeremy Darroch, Sky Group Chief Executive
Wildscreen festival 2020 is pleased to announce its first keynote: Jeremy Darroch, Sky’s Group Chief Executive will be in conversation with TV presenter, adventurer and wildlife expert Steve Backshall.
Under Jeremy’s leadership Sky has saved over a billion trees in the Amazon through its Rainforest Rescue Campaign, partnered with WWF to fight for healthy oceans, and has now set the ambitious target for its business to become net zero carbon by 2030 - two decades ahead of government targets.
BAFTA award-winning wildlife expert Steve Backshall has been passionate about the wild world ever since he could crawl. A veteran of the CBBC Deadly series and his global hit Expedition, Steve is currently in production with SHARK which is Sky Nature’s first premier natural history commission. SHARK with Steve Backshall is a three-part series from True to Nature for Sky Nature, with a companion series for Sky Kids.
The two will discuss their shared love of the natural world, the climate crisis and the role of nature programming, and what broadcasters can do to accelerate their own progress towards net zero carbon.
Jeremy Darroch said:
“Every company depends on and is fundamentally connected to the environment and we all have a responsibility to protect it. That’s what inspires Sky’s ambition to become net zero carbon by 2030 – two decades ahead of government targets. We are committed to using our voice through world-class nature programming, documentaries, and news reporting, to highlight the issues affecting our natural world and the threats that it is facing.”
Steve Backshall said:
“The power of nature programming and reporting to change viewers’ hearts and minds about the survival of our natural habitat never ceases to amaze me. We face a huge challenge in changing the way we work in order to reduce our impact on the natural world. We should all be nature and climate campaigners. I hope this interview inspires more ground-breaking nature programming and commissioning from broadcasters.”
Sky Nature is the home to breath-taking natural history programming, dedicated to exploring the beauty and wonder of the natural world and inspiring us all to do more to look after it. The channel features landmark Sky original series, including Sky’s existing David Attenborough collection, and is the home of Love Nature programming in the UK.
Sky’s sustainability journey – the story so far:
2006 – Sky becomes the world’s first carbon neutral media company
2015 – Sky protects 1 billion trees in the Amazon through Sky Rainforest Rescue
2017 – Sky put ocean health on the global agenda inspiring millions to take action with Sky Ocean Rescue
2018 – Sky commits £25million to fund alternatives to plastic through Sky Ocean Ventures
2019 – Sky partners with WWF to restore 20,000 sq km of seagrass
2019 – Sky made all its products single-use plastic free
February 2020 – Sky announces commitment to become net zero carbon by 2030
June 2020 – All Sky Originals from 2019 onward now certified CarbonNeutral® in the UK
July 2020 – Sky Sports become first broadcaster to sign up to UNFCCC’s Sports for Action Framework and a founding member of BAFTA albert Sports Consortium
July 2020 – Work begins on Sky Studios Elstree which will become the most sustainable film and TV production site in the world
September 2020 – Sky Sports announces all Premier League, EFL and Transfer Deadline Day live broadcasts will be BAFTA albert certified
Conservation icon to speak at Bristol’s Wildscreen Festival
Wildscreen Festival 2020 is thrilled to announce that pioneering Ethologist, Founder of The Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, Dr. Jane Goodall, will be appearing at this year’s event in conversation with conservation photographer Tom Mangelsen and wildlife filmmaker Sandesh Kadur.
At the world's leading international nature film festival’s biannual event from
19th-23rd October, Goodall and Mangelsen – longtime friends as well as legends in the conservation field - will discuss the impact of photography and film in bringing conservation issues to a wider audience, the changes in storytelling techniques over the years and how environmental threats and issues are fast evolving.
"Photography can play such a strong role in bringing the natural world into our lives and homes and introduces us to new species in wild places that most of us will never have the chance to witness. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to talk with Tom and Sandsesh on these issues - thank you iLCP and Wildscreen."
Jane Goodall
“We are proud and excited that Jane Goodall has joined our impressive Wildscreen 2020 speaker line-up. The world-renowned ethologist and conservationist who redefined 'what it means to be human' is relaxed and engaged but, as always, her message is clear: “What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.”
Sue Martineau, interim CEO Wildscreen
“iLCP is delighted to bring together two of our Senior Fellows in a conservation conversation with their friend Jane Goodall; conservation work can so often be solitary, so we are delighted that they can share this time to discuss the importance of conservation and photography.”
Susan Norton, Executive Director, International League of Conservation Photographers
Wildscreen Festival will take place from 19-23 October and tickets are currently on sale.
Oscar-Winning James Cameron announced to Headline at the Wildscreen Festival 2020
Wildscreen Festival 2020 is thrilled to announce that ground-breaking filmmaker and explorer James Cameron will be appearing at this year’s event in conversation with BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit producer Orla Doherty.
The acclaimed writer/director/producer of blockbuster hits such as Avatar, Titanic and The Abyss, Cameron is currently executive producing two National Geographic series - OceanXplorers and Secrets of the Whales. OceanXplorers, produced by BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit with OceanX Media, is a global cross-platform television event that will bring to life the magical worlds of our oceans across six ambitious episodes. Secrets of the Whales is a four-part natural history series for National Geographic from Red Rock Films. Filmed across three years in 24 locations, the series ventures deep into the world of whales to reveal life and love from their perspective.
At the world's leading international nature film festival’s biannual event in October, Cameron will reveal why he’s so passionate about our oceans and what drives him to explore them. Doherty will also quiz the moviemaking maestro about his love of adventure, science and technology, about the evolution of natural history documentary filmmaking and about the environmental themes that lie behind much of his storytelling.
Cameron has a longstanding relationship with National Geographic. As part of the Deepsea Challenge expedition, and in partnership with National Geographic, he famously made a record-breaking solo dive to the Mariana Trench’s Challenger Deep in a custom-built submersible that he co-designed.
He’s been a National Geographic ‘Explorer at Large’ for nine years and has also executive produced Akashinga: The Brave Ones, the story of a team of women-only rangers and their fight to protect some of Africa’s key species from poaching in Zimbabwe. The short film, winner of two Jackson Wild awards among others, will receive a special screening at Wildscreen.
James Cameron said: “I feel very much at home in the natural history film-making community, so I’m pleased to be joining everyone at Wildscreen to share some of my personal experiences working in the field. The oceans-related projects I’m producing all share elements I love – new tech used for scientific inquiry wrapped in great storytelling that visually excites and emotionally resonates. I’m proud to work with my longtime partner, National Geographic, as well as BBC Studios’ Natural History Unit, to bring viewers incredible and surprising new insights into our oceans and the rich and abundant life we need to protect and preserve.”
BBC Studios Natural History Unit producer Orla Doherty commented: “This is a rare and exciting opportunity to hear from one of the world’s best storytellers and film-making visionaries on his feature films and documentaries about our natural world. I’m eager to hear about what motivates him as a natural history filmmaker and where he sees tech and innovation taking us both as messengers and as residents of a fast-changing planet.”
Sue Martineau, interim CEO Wildscreen added: "We are honoured and delighted to have James Cameron the 'world's most successful director' appearing at Wildscreen Festival 2020. We know that he will appeal to an extremely diverse and varied audience. We can't thank him enough for taking time out of his very busy schedule to support Wildscreen."
Wildscreen is an award-winning not-for-profit conservation organisation. Our goal is to convene the world’s best filmmakers and photographers with the most committed conservationists to create compelling stories about the natural world and so inspire the wider public to experience it, feel part of it and protect it.
We are powered by an ecosystem of projects:
Wildscreen Exchange - a unique global hub, empowering conservation organisations by connecting them with world-leading filmmakers and photographers to create ground- breaking communications about our natural world.
Wildscreen Festival - the internationally renowned festival that celebrates and advances the art of natural world storytelling. The Wildscreen Festival takes place from the 19 -23 October 2020, supported by a three-month online film library from September to December.
Wildscreen Network - a membership organisation for the international wildlife film industry with over 380+ individual members and 25+ production and kit company members.
Wildscreen is based in Bristol, UK – the south west of England city nicknamed ‘Green Hollywood’ because it produces more natural history film and TV than any other city in the world. www.wildscreen.org
Since the late 1990s Wildlife-film.com has been the leading source of information for the wildlife filmmaking industry worldwide. For over twenty years the site has been Google's number one ranking site for 'wildlife film' and related searches. Our site is viewed in over 195 countries. Our newsletter, Wildlife Film News, is read every month by thousands of people involved in wildlife filmmaking - from broadcasters and producers, to cameramen - we encourage readers to submit their news. We also serve as an online resource for industry professionals and services. Find producers, editors, presenters and more in our Freelancer section, and find out about festivals, training and conservation in Organisations. We encourage amateur and professional freelancers to join our network and welcome all wildlife-film related organisations to join our team.
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