2022 Panda Awards Winner Revealed

The winners of Wildscreen’s 2022 Panda Awards have been unveiled, with My Garden of a Thousand Bees leading the pack with four wins.

Following wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn as he explores the secret lives of over 60 species of bees in his own backyard, My Garden of a Thousand Bees took home the Plimsoll Golden Panda. It also won the deluxe editing, CVP producer/director and behavior awards.

The documentary comes from Passion Planet, The WNET Group and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films.

Terra Mater Studios and Bonne Pioche’s The Bastard King received a special jury award (the Panda in the Pocket) to recognize outstanding storytelling, alongside the category in which it was nominated—the music award.

Eric Bendick’s Path of the Panther, which shines a light on the threats to the elusive Florida panther, received awards for both categories it was nominated for: the Save Our Seas Foundation impact award and the Off the Fence production team award. The documentary is produced by Grizzly Creek Films, Wildpath and Common Pictures.

The first-ever sustainability award was given to BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s Springwatch 2021 to recognize the continued work and innovative measures to reduce the production’s carbon footprint.

The cinematography award went to Polar Bear, produced by Silverback Films, while the Tangled Bank Studios emerging talent award was given to the University of the West of England’s Snakes & Ladders. The UWE on-screen talent award winner was Tiger 24, from W Films and The Tiger Fund.

Historical Rescue of Caimans in Pantanal, from photographer Fernando Jara Faciole, was given the photo story award. The emerging talent photo story award went to The Lwiro Reserve and Guerchom Ndebo.

Netflix, Red Rock Films and Red Rock Films International’s Penguin Town: Hot and Bothered and its key scriptwriter Andy Mitchell won the scripted narrative award.

The Green Planet, from BBC Studios, PBS, bilibili, ZDF, China Media Group CCTV9, France Televisions and The Open University, walked away with the Terra Mater Studios series award.

The Films at 59 sound award went to Nutopia’s Welcome to Earth: The Silent Roar and its sound team of Sam Castleton, Tom Foster, Jay Price, Phil Bax, Sean Millar and Parker Brown.

Among the special awards, the lifetime achievement was given to the late Miles Barton, a BAFTA-winning series producer at BBC Studios Natural History Unit. The Chris Parsons’ outstanding achievement award was presented to Janet Han Vissering, senior VP of program development and production at National Geographic.

“As a key part of Wildscreen Festival for 40 years, the Panda Awards has continued to celebrate the best in natural world storytelling among the globe’s leading innovators and creators, as well as fresh talent entering the sector,” said Lucie Muir, CEO of Wildscreen Festival. “This year’s inspiring selection of shorts, features and series uncovered some of nature’s most fascinating and enduring stories, bringing them to a worldwide audience. Congratulations to everyone who was recognized, and we look forward to seeing the evolution of natural world storytelling over the next few years.”