Japan’s NHK Commissions 8K Natural History Film Okavango

Icon Films in the U.K. and Botswana’s Natural History Film Unit have been commissioned by NHK in Japan to make Okavango, an 8K documentary feature.

The doc, which will explore Africa’s Okavango Delta oasis, will be filmed over a full seasonal cycle by veteran history filmmaker Brad Bestelink and his team at Natural History Film Unit. To offer a never-before-seen view of the delta, they’ll use specially developed underwater camera technology and gyro-stabilized cinematography, capturing views down below and up above.

Okavango will be told from the perspective of the region’s indigenous people over the course of more than a year, covering the annual flooding that precipitates the sudden creation of 150,000 islands and how that impacts the lives of the delta’s denizens.

Icon Films CEO Laura Marshall said: “Brad Bestelink’s extraordinary talent and craftsmanship allows him to reveal and share this magical water world as never before.”

Bestelink added: “Revealing the epic beauty of both the people and animals of the Okavango is a great subject to be shooting in 8K; it’s a time to see it in its full aesthetic glory.”

Lucy Middelboe, commercial director at Icon Films, commented: “NHK has previously acquired several films from the Icon Films/Natural History Film Unit partnership, but this is our first direct commission from NHK. It is is a great pleasure and privilege to be working directly with NHK.”