Wildscreen Festival Unveils First Ever Official Selection Programme
By Wildscreen
30th July 2020

Wildscreen, the not-for-profit behind the world’s biggest festival of natural history storytelling, today revealed the line-up for its inaugural Official Selection Programme.

The charity introduced the Official Selection in 2020 to discover and honour bold, authentic and diverse stories that speak to different audiences with urgency about the natural world. The programme was established to open up the Festival to a wider range of documentary makers, embracing independents, with a more relaxed entry criteria compared to that of the Wildscreen Panda Awards which focuses on the craft of the wildlife genre.

The 2020 Official Selection honours 35 productions, 17 feature length and 18 short films, that are as diverse in style and subject as the natural world. The entries hale from 14 countries across 5 continents, each bringing a new perspective to the natural world and humanity’s relationship with it.

The myriad of complex relationships that exist between humans and nature features heavily amongst the selections which Wildscreen hopes will make a powerful contribution to the discussion on inclusion and diversity within the wildlife and conservation sector globally.

© Bayandalai's team

Rebecca Kormos and Kalyanee Mam’s CRIES OF OUR ANCESTORS, puts women’s voices at the forefront, documenting the peaceful relationship between people and chimpanzees in Guinea that have lived side by side for generations and threat of bauxite mining to both of their futures.

Aner Etxebarria Moral and Pablo Vidal Santo’s BAYANDALAI - LORD OF THE TAIGA, tells the story of the last elder of the Dukhas tribe, the great reindeer herders of the Taiga, questioning modern custodianship of nature through living testament of ancient ways of co-existence. In contrast, Ofelia de Pablo and Javier Zurita’s SHARING THE LAND, explores the conflict between shepherds and wolves, co-existing in Europe.

© Bayandalai's team

James Byrne’s OUR GORONGOSA shines a spotlight on what it means for people and wildlife to coexist, addressing intersectionality and exploring how Gorongosa is redefining the identity and purpose of an African national park.

Chelsea Jolly and Whit Hassett’s THIS LAND tells the story of land access in the U.S told through a journey of inclusion and empowerment, following runner and advocate Faith E. Briggs as she covers 150 miles on foot through three U.S. National Monuments that lay in the thick of controversy around public lands.

Our Gorongosa – © Gorongosa Media

Experimental technologies and storytelling techniques also feature in the line-up, with Joseph Purdam’s ECOSPHERE, a VR experience that spotlights indigenous and community led efforts to protect the natural world through experiential stories, and EARTHSONGS, a joyful celebration of wild soundscapes, utilising spatial computing technology from Mitch Turnbull and Ollie Lindsey.

The selections also feature films from established heavyweights of the natural history genre, including Victoria Stone and Mark Deeble’s THE ELEPHANT QUEEN, Apple TV+’s first documentary, and BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s EARTH FROM SPACE and PANGOLINS: THE WORLD’S MOST WANTED ANIMAL

© EarthSongs

Hundreds of submissions were received from over 40 countries, selected by an international and diverse team of over 30 pre-selectors and programmers, curating a screening programme that features original and creative stories about the natural world. The team of programmers, LUCY MUKERJEE (USA), KEVIN MWACHIRO (Kenya), EMMA HUGHES (UK), LYNN NWOKORIE (UK), JONATHAN PEYNET (Germany) and PETER VENN (UK) had the tough job of curating the final selection.

Lucy Mukerjee, Senior Programmer at the Tribeca Film Festival and cofounder of the Programmers of Colour Collective said: “These engaging, emotionally impactful films eloquently and urgently present the state of planet Earth today in a way that feels both informative and inspiring. By putting the spotlight on little-known places and species, this cinematic collection reveals the high stakes of survival, and the delicate balance necessary in order for nature and humanity to coexist.”

© EarthSongs

Audiences will be able to stream the Official Selection films with selected director Q&A’s during the first ever virtual edition of the Wildscreen Festival which launches in September. Wildscreen announced back in May that it would taking the industry-leading event online, seizing the opportunity to make it the most inclusive and accessible Festival in its 38-year history. Three-month industry passes are on sale now at £125, with concessions offered at £50. Tickets can be purchased here.

Kokoly – © Blue Ventures, Garth Cripps, Ben Honey

Stories about the natural world have never been more important - we are the first generation to understand humanity’s impact on nature and the last to be able to protect and restore it. Wildscreen believes in the power of visual storytelling to spark positive and restorative action for our natural world, globally. Bold, authentic and varied stories that speak to different audiences with urgency and hope have never been so necessary. The Official Selection call for entries was open to anyone with a story about nature to share - and the submissions did not disappoint!

We received hundreds of submissions and worked with a team of pre-selectors and programmers to curate a screening programme that features original and creative stories about the natural world. The natural world is beautifully diverse and this strength will be reflected through the voices heard, tools used and stories shared within the Wildscreen Official Selection.

We are very proud to announce the first ever Wildscreen Official Selection films, they are...

	A Voice Above Nature Annie Moir United Kingdom
	Bayandalai - Lord of the Taiga Aner Etxebarria Moral, Pablo Vidal Santos Spain
	Clorofilia Andrés Sehinkman, Jonathan Barg and Leandro Vital - Planta Alta TV Argentina
	Cries of Our Ancestors Rebecca Kormos, Kalyanee Mam United States
	Earth From Space: Ep 1 A New Perspective Barny Revill United Kingdom
	EarthSongs Producer/Director: Mitch Turnbull Creative Technologists and Designers: Ollie Lindsey, Adam Child, Olie Kay, Robin North, Chris Linington Sound Design: Mitch Turnbull, Luke Reed, Olga M. Reed Commissioner: South West Creative Technology Network United Kingdom
	Ecosphere Joseph Purdam Australia
	Ecuador’s Hidden Treasure Kata Karáth, Ana Naomi de Sousa United Kingdom, Ecuador
	Eye of the Pangolin Bruce Young South Africa
	Flying Elephants - A Mother's Hope Prakash Matada India
	Guardians of Ua Huka Ben Cherry United Kingdom
	Horse Tamer Hamid Sardar France
	Kokoly Blue Ventures, Garth Cripps, Paul Antion United Kingdom, Madagascar
	Last Wild Places: Gorongosa Director: Sarah Joseph Executive Producer: Vanessa Serrao United States, Mozambique
	MY 25: The Ocean Between Us Inka Cresswell United Kingdom
	Ophir Alexandre Berman, Olivier Pollet France, United Kingdom
	Our Gorongosa James Byrne Mozambique
	Pangolins: The World's Most Wanted Animal Victoria Bromley United Kingdom
	Pushed up the Mountain Julia Haslett United States
	Rewilding Vincent Perazio France
	Serengeti Nature’s Living Laboratory Day's Edge Productions for HHMI Tangled Bank Studios United States
	Sharing the Land Ofelia de Pablo, Javier Zurita Spain
	She Walks with Apes Caitlin Starowicz, Mark Starowicz Canada
	Sockeye Salmon. Red fish Dmitriy Shpilenok, Vladislav Grishin Russian Federation
	STROOP - journey into the rhino horn war Director: Susan Scott Producers: Bonné de Bod, Susan Scott South Africa
	That's Wild Michiel Thomas Belgium, United States
	The Condor & the Eagle Sophie Guerra, Clement Guerra United States, Germany, France
	The Deep Med Gil Kebaïli France
	The Disappeared Kim Stewart United Kingdom
	The Elephant Queen Victoria Stone & Mark Deeble Kenya
	The Octopus in My House Anna Fitch & David Allen United Kingdom
	This Land Chelsea Jolly, Whit Hassett United States
	Voices of the Pacific Flyway Eric Liner United States
	Wild & Wool Phillip Baribeau United States
	Zimbrul Emmanuel Rondeau France

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