Event Profile: Wildscreen

Celebrating and encouraging wildlife and environmental filmmaking, the Wildscreen Festival returns to Bristol from Sunday, October 10, to Friday, October 15. The biennial event first took place in 1982, born from a need to honor the increasingly popular wildlife genre, which television awards ceremonies often overlooked at that time.

Harriet Nimmo, the chief executive of Wildscreen, explains that for nearly three decades attendees have gathered at the Wildscreen Festival to learn about the latest developments in working in this filmmaking genre, as well as to compete in the Panda Awards. "Delegates are drawn to Bristol by the week-long program of screenings, debates, keynote lectures, workshops, masterclasses and networking events," Nimmo adds. "In addition, the festival is a crucial marketplace, where films are bought and sold, where new commissions and contracts are awarded and where fresh ideas and skills are traded."

Nimmo says that while Wildscreen provides a host of opportunities for networking, the main reason often cited for attending the festival is the buying and selling of films. There are a number of pitching sessions that take place during the event to services this cause. One example is the Speedpitching strand, which gives delegates an opportunity to make a brief pitch to a commissioner. Nimmo explains, "The presentation time is very short, so delegates are told to keep their message concise! People are invited to sign up for Speedpitching places when they arrive at the festival." She adds, "Delegates can get a strong steer on what commissioners are looking for by attending the An Audience With… sessions. Top commissioning editors include Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC’s commissioning editor for science and natural history, and Geoff Daniels, the senior VP of development and production at Nat Geo Wild."

Confirmed speakers for this year’s festival thus far include Clark Bunting, the president and general manager of Discovery Channel, and George Schaller, nicknamed Nature’s Great Defender, a field biologist whose 50-year career has been dedicated to species conservation. Jim Leape, the director general of WWF International, and Julia Marton-Lefèvre, the director general of IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) are on the roster for this year’s Sir Peter Scott Debate.

Masterclasses this year cover topics such as storytelling, music and tapeless workflow. "Wildscreen is the only festival of its kind to offer an extensive workshop program," Nimmo notes. "This year there are over 20 workshops on offer, covering themes such as music, lighting, underwater filming, creating content for multiplatform and managing a production."

There is also a new strand called Wildscreen’s Got Talent, which aims to coach the best new wildlife presenters. Individuals will learn from the professionals in a workshop and then present a short piece to the camera. The eight best performances will go forward to a main session, where they will perform in front of a panel that includes industry experts and Wildscreen delegates. "Not for the fainthearted!," says Nimmo. "The overall winner will be mentored by Jo Sarsby, who specializes in managing factual TV presenters."

Film screenings also play a key role in the festival lineup. "Personally, I always love the quirky, wacky ones and those that tug at my heart strings," says Nimmo, who then cites her personal favorites from this year’s crop as Green, about the plight of orangutans by France’s Patrick Rouxel, and Love in Cold Blood, about an elderly Tuatara lizard love triangle, from New Zealand’s Jane Adcroft.

The Panda Awards are nicknamed the green OSCARS. This year boasts a record 446 films from 45 countries, including Armenia, Angola and Iran. "There have been an impressive number of both short and feature-length films entered, along with some real gems from newcomers," Nimmo says. "This year’s new Short Film category truly reflects the creativity of filmmakers and their enthusiasm for new audiences. The Panda Awards are the world’s most prestigious and influential awards for film of the natural world. Leading filmmakers from across the globe enter the competition for a chance to win the highest accolade a film can win, the coveted Golden Panda Award."

To watch a video containing highlights from Wildscreen, please click here.