NGCI to Award Student Filmmaker Prize at Wildscreen Festival

WASHINGTON D.C., March 10:
National Geographic Channels International (NGCI) will present the first-annual
Nat Geo Wild Rising Star Student Prize at this year’s Wildscreen Festival, the world’s largest wildlife and
environmental film festival, set to take place in Bristol, U.K., from October
19 to 24.

The winner will be flown
to attend the festival, with the award ceremony to take place on October 22.
The award supports students who are passionate about wildlife and eager to
break through with filmmaking. The winning submission will be aired on Nat Geo
Wild, which is broadcast throughout the U.K., Italy, Central Europe, Hong Kong,
Singapore and Southeast Asia. Additionally, the recipient will receive a
three-month internship at NGCI’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.

Individual applicants
should submit short films up to 15 minutes in length by April 18 and the entry
fee is £20. Productions must have an aspect of the natural world as their
focus, such as revealing new facts about animal behavior, a natural habitat,
ecology or humankind’s relationship with the natural environment and with
animals.

Sydney Suissa, the
executive VP of content for NGCI, said, “It is an honor to recognize the
achievements of these bright young stars whose enthusiasm for the wildlife
genre will lead to tomorrow’s most captivating natural-history programs.”

Harriet Nimmo, the chief
executive of Wildscreen, added, “This is a wonderful way for young film
students to gain a foothold into the world of wildlife filmmaking—and a
unique opportunity to get their creative talents aired on the Nat Geo Wild
channel.”

—By Kristin
Brzoznowski