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)