Jurors for the world’s biggest festival of natural history film and television have warned the industry not to sacrifice content for style simply because new technology is providing increased scope for innovation.
Presenting the report from the Nominations Panel for WILDSCREEN 2006, jury chair and festival trustee Carol Haslam, said many of this year’s record 412 entries from 46 countries for the biennial Panda Awards showed the exciting possibilities changing technology offers.
“At the high end, new ways of achieving aerial shots and new lenses for microphotography are giving us spectacular advances in imagery. At the newcomer end, small, inexpensive cameras and desk-top editing systems are bringing wildlife and campaigning films within the technical and financial reach of many aspiring filmmakers. Excitingly, new technologies are affording filmmakers with the opportunity to observe previously documented animal behaviours afresh and open up entirely new worlds for the first time. The quality of the films focussed on invertebrates was particularly impressive.
But she added that several entries proved there is no guarantee that big budget techniques result in a well-told wildlife story. “The jurors expressed concern that the ever-increasing demand for innovation meant many films sank under the weight of their stylistic conceits – style over content.”
The panel chose 78 films, from 16 countries, to go through to the finals for the Panda Awards, to be presented during WILDSCREEN 2006, which takes place in Bristol, UK, from 15-20th October. For the first time in the festival’s 25-year history, the final line-up includes films from Belgium, Czech Republic, Korea and Serbia/ Montenegro.
The full-line up is:
GRANADA WILD AWARD FOR ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR
Life in the Undergrowth: The Silk Spinners
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Animal Planet
Meerkat Manor – Daisy’s Choice
Oxford Scientific Films (UK)
Commissioned by Animal Planet International
The Queen of Trees
A Deeble and Stone Production (UK) for NHK, WNET, Granada International, BBC & ZDF
Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo
Dereck & Beverly Joubert, Wildlife Films (Botswana)
CAMPAIGN AWARD
Bearing Witness
The Humane Society of the United States (USA)
Lethal Sound
Produced by Imaginary Forces (USA) for the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) & the International Fund for Animal
Welfare (IFAW)
Saving the Big Cats: Stopping the Skin Trade
Environmental Investigation Agency (UK)
Co-produced with WPSI and Global Tiger Patrol
World Naked Bike Ride
High Altitude Films (UK)
UWE CHILDREN’S CHOICE AWARD
Hawaiian Blue - Hawaii Reef Etiquette PSA
For The Sea Productions (USA)
Lost in the Woods: The Movie
Carl R Sams II Photography, Inc. (USA)
Really Wild Show: Reef Special
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Sophia & the Terrific Forest
Nature for Kids (Netherlands)
KODAK AWARD FOR CINEMATOGRAPHY
Life in the Undergrowth (Series): Programme 1
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Animal Planet
Camera: Keith Brust, Rod Clarke, Martin Dohrn, Nick Hayward
& Richard Kirby
Mississippi - Tales of the Last River Rat
@ GB Films Ltd (UK)
Co-produced with the BBC Natural History Unit & Discovery
Channel
Camera: Neil Rettig
Planet Earth (Series): From Pole to Pole
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Discovery Channel & NHK
Camera: Doug Allan, Barrie Britton, Richard Burton, Simon Carroll, Rod Clarke, Martyn Colbeck, Wade Fairley, Ted Giffords, Mike Holding, Michael Kelem, Simon King, Toshihiro Muta, Tim Shepherd, Andrew Shillabeer, Peter Scoones, Warwick Sloss, Paul Stewart & Gavin Thurston
Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo
Dereck & Beverly Joubert, Wildlife Films (Botswana)
Camera: Dereck Joubert
EARTH SCIENCES AWARD
Europe: A Natural History – Ice Age
ORF (Austria)
Co-produced with ZDF and the BBC Natural History Unit
Global Dimming
Dox Productions (UK)
Commissioned by Matthew Barrett/BBC Horizon
Tsunami – A Wave Shakes the World
ZDF German Television (Germany)
Commissioned by Medi-cine
The Year Without Summer
Cicada (UK)
Commissioned by Discovery / BBC Timewatch
EDITING AWARD
Earthling
Wolfgang Bayer Productions, Inc. (USA)
Editors: Tristan Bayer & Leslie Getty
From Orphan to King
Tigress Productions (UK)
Co-produced with the BBC Natural History Unit & WNET
Editor: Charles DaviesGrizzly Man
Discovery Networks (USA)
Co-produced with Lion's Gate Entertainment
Editor: Joe Bini
Paranormal Pigeons
Icon Films (UK)
Commissioned by Channel 5 & Animal Planet
Editor: Matt Meech
PARTHENON ENTERTAINMENT AWARD FOR INNOVATION
Killers in Eden
ABC Natural History Unit (Australia)
Co-produced with Granada International
Meerkat Manor – A Family Affair
Animal Planet International (UK)
Produced by Oxford Scientific Films
Ocean Odyssey (Episode One)
Impossible Pictures (UK)
Co-produced with Discovery, Pro Sieben & BBC Worldwide
The Wild and the West
ORF (Austria)
Co-produced with Discovery Channel and NDR
ARKive INTERACTIVE AWARD
Springwatch Website
BBC Science & Nature Interactive (UK)
Co-produced with The Woodland Trust & Internova
Big Foot: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle CD-Rom
Center for Global Environmental Ed. Hamline Univ. (USA)
Wildkey
Oxford Brookes University / Adit Ltd. (UK)
The Revealed
Czech Radio (Czech Republic)
LARGE FORMAT AWARD
Deep Sea 3D
IMAX (USA)
Co-produced with Warner Bros Pictures
Forces of Nature
National Geographic TV & Films (USA)
Co-produced with Graphic Films
Mystery of the Nile
MacGillivray Freeman Films (USA)
Co-produced with Orbita Max
Sharks 3D
3D Entertainment Ltd. (UK)
Co-produced with McKinney Underwater Productions
Wild Safari 3D: A South African Adventure
nWave Pictures (Belgium)
MUSIC AWARD
Europe: A Natural History (Series): The New Millennium
The BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with ORF & ZDF
Music: Barnaby Taylor
March of the Penguins
Produced by Warner Independent Pictures, National Geographic Feature Films, Bonne Pioche Production & Wild Bunch
Music: Alex Wurman
Mississippi: Tales of the Last River Rat
@ GB Films Ltd (UK)
Co-produced with the BBC Natural History Unit & Discovery Channel
Music: Andrew Graham-Brown & Nigel Buck
The Queen of Trees
A Deeble and Stone Production (UK) for NHK, WNET, Granada International, the BBC & ZDF
Music: Guy Michelmore
BBC NEWCOMER AWARD
Exhuming Adams
Filmmakers: Brant Backlund & Thassilo Franke (New Zealand)
Grey Seals: Life on the Edge
Filmmaker: Jacquie Cozens (UK)
Operation Jumbo
Threefold Films
Filmmaker: Brad Cone (Australia)
There’s No Leopard Like a Snow Leopard
Beastly Productions
Filmmaker: Rupert Merton (UK)
Wolverines – Hyenas of the North
Filmmakers: Oliver Goetzl & Ivo Nörenberg (Germany)
NEWS AWARD
Challenge from the Arctic
Channel 4 News/ITN (UK)
Countryfile: Albatross Deaths
Countryfile, BBC1 (UK)
Last Dance of the Sarus
Global Broadcast News Pat. Ltd (India)
Norwegian Whaling
BBC Ten O’Clock News (UK)
NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM ONE PLANET AWARD
Being Caribou
Leanne Allison (Canada)
Bonobo - Missing in Action
The BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Conflict Tiger
Sasha Snow Film Production (UK)
A Scandinature Films production, in co-operation with Discovery Channel, BBC & Arte/France. 'Director's Cut'.
Village of Dust, City of Water
Moving Images (India)
Commissioned by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust
FIVE AWARD FOR POPULAR BROADCAST PROGRAMMES
Deep Jungle: New Frontier
Granada Wild (UK)
Co-produced with National Geographic Channels International, ITV, WNET & Granada International
Deviants (Wild Sex)
Granada Wild (UK)
Co-produced by Granada International (UK) and National Geographic Channels International
Jane Goodall: When Animals Talk
Tigress Productions (UK)
Commissioned by Animal Planet
Meerkat Manor – A Family Affair
Animal Planet International (UK)
Produced by Oxford Scientific Films
SCRIPT AWARD
Ant Attack
The BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Discovery Channel
Scriptwriter: Michael Bright
From Orphan to King
Tigress Productions (UK)
Co-produced with the BBC Natural History Unit & WNET
Scriptwriters: Sophie Cooper & Harvey Jones
Life in the Undergrowth (Series): Programme 1
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Animal Planet
Scriptwriters: David Attenborough & Peter Bassett
Tiger Zero
Animal Planet International (UK)
Produced by BBC Wildvision
Scriptwriter: Mike Birkhead
e.tv SERIES AWARD
Amazon Abyss
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Discovery Channel
Equator
NHK & NHK Enterprises Inc. (Japan)
Co-produced with NHNZ
Europe: A Natural History
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with ORF & ZDF
Planet Earth
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Discovery Channel and NHK
SOUND AWARD
The Meadow
Studio Hamburg Produktion GmbH/NDR Naturfilm (Germany)
Co-produced with Parthenon Entertainment Ltd.
Sound: Frank Casaretto, Joe Dinkelbach, Jan Haft, Robert Morgenstern & Kay Ziesenhenne
Relentless Enemies: Lions and Buffalo
Dereck & Beverly Joubert, Wildlife Films (Botswana)
Sound: Beverly Joubert
Planet Earth (Series): Caves
BBC Natural History Unit (UK)
Co-produced with Discovery Channel & NHK
Sound: Kate Hopkins
Satoyama - Japan's Secret Watergarden
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
Sound: Miwako Ikezawa, Akira Fikada & Hiroyuki Shimizu
WILDSCREEN’S AWARD TO PROMOTE FILMMAKERS FROM DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
A Green Agony
i Stylus (India)
Commissioned by The British Government
Cherub of the Mist
Bedi Films (India)
My Friend, the Goldfinch
Institute for Nature Conservation of Serbia (Serbia & Montenegro)
Co-produced with the Bird Protection & Study Society of Vojvodina
Wild Dog Diaries
Krupakar Senani Features (India)
Commissioned by National Geographic Channel International, & Economic Development Board, Singapore (NGCI-EDB)
JURY’S SPECIAL SELECTION FOR SCREENING
The judges recommend the following films for screening at the Festival, and they are therefore eligible for consideration for the 'Panda in the Pocket' award. This open-ended award enables the final judges to consider films that either do not fit comfortably into the main categories, or that demonstrate some outstanding creativity or potential.
Barcelos Ornamental Fish Festival
Miami Museum of Science (USA)
Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real
Animal Planet (USA)
Darlow Smithson for Animal Planet in association with Tandem
Jake’s Story
Viva! (UK)
The Last Leopard
NHK (Japan)
Co-produced with NDR Naturfilm & Studio Hamburg Documentaries
The Last Survivor, Water Deer
KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) (Korea)
Perfect World
Sundog Media (UK)
Commissioned by Bristol Natural History Consortium
Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea
Tilapia Film Ltd. (UK)
The Spoilt Earth
Paradise Pictures (UK)
Wild Trials
Crossing the Line Films (Ireland)
Commissioned by RTE
Carol Haslam is a freelance Executive Producer who spent many years working as a producer/ director for the BBC before becoming the founding Commissioning Editor for Documentaries on Channel 4. She also devotes much time to non-executive roles in a range of NGOs and trusts, primarily concerned with environment and sustainable development. She was joined on the Nominations Panel by:
Ralf Blasius - Commissioning Editor for Science and Natural History, ZDF (Germany); Bethan Corney -Wildlife Editor and Factual Acquisitions Executive (UK); Terje Dale - Director of Nature Department, NRK (Norway); Damon Foster - Filmmaker (South Africa); Alison Garrity - Director of Development, Natural History Unit, National Geographic TV & Film (USA); Ted Giffords - Cameraman (UK); Dr Martha Holmes - Series Producer, BBC Natural History Unit (UK); Dr Walter Koehler- Head of ORF Natural History Universum, ORF (Austria); Cristina Mittermeier - Photographer & Conservationist (USA/Mexico) SCUBA diver; Stephen Roberts - UK/EMEA Planning Manager, Animal Planet International (UK); Swati Thiyagarajan - Senior Special Correspondent, New Delhi TV (India); Peter Venn - Series Producer, Granada Bristol (UK)
Chatelin Bruno 
