Wildscreen Festival’s WildPitch Names Three Winners

WildPitch, which took place on the third day of Wildscreen Festival 2024 and is supported by National Geographic, has awarded three projects $8,000 each to aid in bringing the titles to life.

Arctic Blue, from Ismaele Tortella and Anita Norfolk, took home a win. The title follows Tortella through the Arctic wilderness as he is inspired by the people and wildlife that thrive in these extremes and turns the camera on himself to confront his stutter for the first time.

Seed, from Andres Sehinkman, sees a tiny, unidentified sprout born in a greenhouse itch to discover what type of plant he is. To do so, he uproots himself from his pot and ventures deep into the jungle.

American Lion, from Lia Nydes, is a blue-chip natural history film produced about mountain lions in the U.S. The movie follows two lioness mothers overcoming incredible hardships to raise their kittens to adulthood and showcases the opportunities to better conserve mountain lions and their habitat.

WildPitch was introduced as part of the 40th anniversary edition of the Wildscreen Festival back in 2022 to enable anyone with a story to tell about the natural world to have the opportunity to pitch in front of the world’s key wildlife film and TV decision makers.