2007 Keynotes & Screenings
PRE-FESTIVAL EVENTS
In prelude to the Wildlife Film Festival, JHWFF will present two extraordinary programs at the Center for the Arts, in Jackson: the musical theatre performance, Truth in Translation and a discussion with Sudanese refugee and humanitarian, John Bul Dau. As the Festival focuses on the role of the media to inspire, educate and affect change, we recognize the human challenges that stand in the way of habitat and nature conservation and preservation.
Truth in Translation: September 28-29
Presented in partnership with the Colonnades Theatre Company, the Center for the Arts & Off Square Theater Company
This musical dramatizes the work of translators at South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission following the end of the civil war and apartheid. Since opening in Rwanda last August, the musical has played Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Northern Ireland, and is now set for runs in Liberia, the Balkans, and Dallas, before ending up in Jackson Hole on its way to the Washington, D.C. Director Michael Lessac says his aim is to tell the story of an "evolutionary step for humanity, a time when South Africa did something that no other country in the world has ever done: forgave the past to survive the future." With music by Hugh Masekela, a cast that includes some of South Africa's leading actors and a script that uses verbatim testimonies from the two years of hearings that began in April 1996, Truth in Translation is innovative, surprisingly funny in places and consistently moving. Still, Truth in Translation is more than a remarkable stage production. It is a testament to the human need to reconcile, and an examination of our capacity to do so. The stage performance and ancillary workshops in Jackson will be filmed for inclusion in a theatrical documentary examining the cultural shift catalyzed by the performances and workshops as they are presented in conflict zones around the world.
Performances:
Friday, Sept. 28 & Saturday, Sept. 29 7:30 PM, Center for the Arts, $35
Saturday Matinee, 1:30 PM, $20
For Tickets: Center for the Arts Box Office (307) 733 4900 or toll free (877) 733 4901
or visit: www.jhcenterforthearts.org
John Bul Dau, Sudanese Refugee and Humanitarian:
September 30
A gripping ambassador for personal activism on a global scale, John Bul Dau explores territory few can imagine—the depths of inhumanity and the boundaries of endurance. In 1987, at age 13, John fled his home in southern Sudan narrowly escaping troops sent to exterminate all black Christian males. As his village was burned, Dau began a perilous journey spanning more than 1,000 miles and 14 years. He joined thousands of boys, now known as the "Lost Boys of Sudan," crossing sub-Saharan Africa on foot pursued by armed soldiers, wild animals, starvation, dehydration and disease. As one of the older boys, Dau led and cared for younger children, more than half of whom died. Many were killed or abducted before reaching a refugee camp in Kenya, where Dau spent the next 10 years. Then, 7,000 miles away, a United States church volunteered to sponsor several Sudanese refugees. A few weeks later in 2001, Dau, who had never seen electric lights or flush toilets, landed at the Syracuse, New York, airport. The story of his cultural relocation and assimilation is traced in the 2006 Sundance Film Festival award-winning documentary God Grew Tired of Us. Helping his people has become a focus of Dau's American life, along with working 60 hours a week to cover expenses while taking classes toward a degree in Public Policy from Syracuse University. "I was helped by so many people," he says, "I want to give something back—not just receive, but give." Through Dau's initiative, the Sudanese Lost Boys of New York Foundation was established, raising tens of thousands of dollars to cover the academic and medical expenses of Sudanese refugees. Determined to focus his efforts to directly touch lives in Sudan, Dau created the John Dau Sudan Foundation, raising money to build and operate health clinics and education programs in southern Sudan.
Sunday, Center for the Arts
Private Cocktail Reception and Booksigning 6-7 PM, $50 (includes book and lecture)
Lecture only 7:30 - 8:30 PM $10
For Tickets: Center for the Arts Box Office (307) 733 4900 or toll free (877) 733 4901
or visit: www.jhcenterforthearts.org
FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS
This year, we anchor the Festival in keynote events with two individuals whose lives and work epitomize the standards that natural history filmmakers strive to achieve.
EO Wilson: October 1
Every so often a giant emerges on the stage of science, someone who transcends the narrow boundaries of a particular line of research and alters our perspective of the world. E.O. Wilson is such a man. While studying ants, Wilson struggled to comprehend the evolutionary forces that have led workers to forage and soldiers to fight, and in doing so defined the concept of biodiversity and became the architect of a new discipline: sociobiology. EO Wilson is an icon of our times: the ant man who explained creation... and who now fights for its survival. His scientific contributions as a biologist and naturalist are unmatched, and his understanding of the magnitude of biodiversity, and the threats facing us, have placed him in the forefront of environmental activism. We open the Festival with the world-premiere of Windfall Films' high definition biography of Ed Wilson, The Naturalist, followed by a conversation with Wilson on his latest effort: The Encyclopedia of Life.
The Encyclopedia of Life
Festival delegates will hear directly from Wilson on how they might contribute to the creation of the world's collective Encyclopedia of Life. "Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on earth available everywhere by single access on command," describes Wilson. Technology has finally caught up to make his long-held dream a reality. As described on its website: The Encyclopedia of Life is an ecosystem of websites that makes all key information about life on Earth accessible to anyone, anywhere in the world, with contributions from scientists and amateurs alike. Ultimately, the hope of this project is to increase our collective understanding of life on Earth, and safeguard the richest possible spectrum of biodiversity.
Global Environmental Summit: October 6
Targeting the imperative for media to educate and empower action, this year’s Festival will feature a Global Environmental Summit – a gathering of scientific and social innovators with visionary and practical models for addressing the urgent environmental challenges confronting the world today. Filmed for subsequent video podcast for free distribution after the Festival, this series short presentations will present a public forum for provocative initiatives endeavoring to transform ideas into action. Held at the Center for the Arts in downtown Jackson Hole, this will be a remarkable day of idea exchange and environmental empowerment.
Sylvia Earle and Friends: October 6
In an appropriate conclusion to a week filled with insight, inspiration and challenge, we close the Festival with an evening celebration featuring Sylvia Earle. This year's JHWFF Lifetime Achievement recipient, Earle will be honored for several decades of unflagging commitment to research and advocacy for marine ecosystems and species. Indeed, as an oceanographer, marine botanist, explorer, ecologist and writer, she has worked tirelessly for the preservation and exploration of the world’s marine ecosystems for over 50 years. Recognized by the Library of Congress as a “Living Legend,” Earle set the women’s depth record for solo diving at 1,000 meters and logged more than 6,500 diving hours—feats that garnered her the moniker “Her Deepness.” Formerly chief scientist for the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, she is author of five books and more than 125 scientific and popular publications. Named Time magazine’s first "Hero for the Planet,” she has been an Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society since 1998. Earle has pioneered research on marine ecosystems and has led more than 50 expeditions with the Society. Most recently, she was project director of the Sustainable Seas Expeditions, a five-year project to explore and photo-document the geology and creatures in the deep waters of each of the U.S. marine sanctuaries. An internationally renowned expert who has received countless awards and honorary degrees, Sylvia Earle’s lifetime commitment to environmental advocacy makes her a true ambassador for the world's most precious resource.
Screenings
A Year on Earth
Thursday, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Childrens)
Bahati Productions, Animal Planet, Discovery Kids, 120 minutes Three teenagers, five continents, one mission: To take the pulse of our planet and report back to their generation. Jamie (18), Arsen (17) and Tyler (16) have little in common except for a shared concern that time is running out for the planet. Nominated by their respective science teachers, the teens join research projects around the globe to work with scientists supported by Earthwatch Institute. These three teens traded a year at school for a classroom without walls to study the largest, most pressing environmental issues of our time.
Arctic Tale
Friday evening, Downtown Jackson
See Wild Night Postcard for details.
From National Geographic Films, the people who brought you March of the Penguins and Paramount Classics, the studio that brought you An Inconvenient Truth, Arctic Tale is an epic adventure that explores the vast world of the Great North. The film follows the walrus, Seela, and the polar bear, Nanu, on their journey from birth to adolescence to maturity and parenthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness. Once a perpetual winter wonderland of snow and ice, the walrus and the polar bear are losing their beautiful icebound world as it melts from underneath them. Narrated by Queen Latifa.
Bird Quest with Vern and Bob
Tuesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Presenter-Led)
Shribes Productions, 9 minutes Vern Laux and Bob Shriber are your hosts as they guide us through the fascinating world of birds. In this episode they travel to one of the best birding sites on the planet, The Platte River in central Nebraska. An incredible bird spectacle occurs where hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes can be seen during their spring migration every year. Despite a snowstorm, Vern and Bob have fun and share with the viewer their sandhill crane experience.
Buddha, Bees, and the Giant Hornet Queen
Tuesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Animal Behavior)
BBC Natural History Unit, 49 minutes Yamaguchi is a Buddhist monk, an orchid grower and a beekeeper. His insight into the world of insects brings him into direct conflict with the biggest wasp on the planet, the giant hornet. When he discovers one lurking among his prize plants, he realizes death and destruction will soon come to the valley. Despite this, he believes nature must take its course. The slaughter begins and soon the monk’s own honey bees fall victim. Yamaguchi must endure the whole summer to find out whether or not he was right to put his faith in the balance of nature.
Building the Planet
Faces of Earth, Episode 3
Monday, 3:00 – 4:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Earth Sciences)
Evergreen Films, American Geological Institute, Science Channel, 60 minutes The only thing constant on Earth is change and Faces of Earth examines this phenomenon through the eyes of those that know it best - geoscientists. Explore how the forces of nature have continuously remade Earth - giving it many distinct faces through history, and many new ones into the future. Building the Planet explores the birth and evolution of our world, and how it has changed through time, giving us the world and resources we use today. Follow geoscientists as they learn how each part of Earth interacts together through time, protecting us from solar winds to the energy and mineral resources that drive our society.
Can We Save Planet Earth?
Climate Chaos Season, Episode 2
Monday, 3:00 – 4:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Environmental, Limited Series) BBC Natural History Unit, 60 minutes
After a long career as a naturalist, David Attenborough still cares passionately about the world he is passing on to coming generations. In the second of his two programs for the Climate Chaos Season, he looks into the future to find out what needs to be done to save planet Earth from the worst impact of global warming. He discovers what could happen to the planet once a “tipping point” of carbon emissions is reached, and searches for the solutions we can adopt to prevent catastrophic change.
Challenge of Change
Friday, 1:30 – 2 :30 PM , Forum Room
(Finalist: Original Musical Score)
NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp.), 52 minutes
While most equatorial regions are distinguished by dense rainforests and a year without seasons, the opposite is true of the Africa Savannah. For much of the time the land is parched by the unforgiving equatorial sun, only to dramatically and suddenly come to life with the annual rains. Created by the rain shadow from the Great Rift Valley, the Savannah is a product of the intense geological history of Africa. Here, at this site where prehistoric Africa met prehistoric Eurasia the great mammal species of the continent converge to play out the endless struggle between predator and prey.
Chimpanzees: An Unnatural History
Tuesday, 1:30 -2:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Editing)
Argo Films and Nature/WNET in association with National Geographic Channels International and Granada International, 57 minutes The history of chimps in our society is a history unlike any other. We have sent them into space, dressed them in costumes and demanded that they entertain us. Some have been adopted into human families until they “outgrew” their cuteness. Many have been used to test our drugs or to help develop our vaccines, while others have been infected with our most frightening diseases. While we are mesmerized by their likeness to our species and we have continually found uses for chimps, we never considered what they wanted or needed. But their side of the story is starting to emerge.
Christmas in Yellowstone
Thursday, 11 :00 AM – 12:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Original Musical Score) Nature/WNET, 57 minutes
Stretching across more than 2.2 million acres of Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, is one of the greatest expanses of unspoiled nature and wildlife anywhere on Earth-Yellowstone National Park. Designated America’s first national park in 1872, Yellowstone now receives almost three million visitors each year. Yet only a small fraction of those who glimpse the park’s stunning vistas, geological wonders and animal residents do so during the winter months, a time when
nature’s inhospitality is matched only by its serenity.
Climate Chaos Season
Mon, 2:00 – 3:00 PM, Theater, Episode 1
Mon, 3:00 - 4:00 PM, Forum, Episode 2
(Finalist: Limited Series) BBC, 60 minutes
These two films achieved record breaking audiences, for environmental films, in the UK, five million each. David Attenborough comes off the fence making it very clear that we, humankind, are changing our planet by burning of fossil fuels. The first film sets out the conclusive evidence for climate change. The second looks at the implications for the future, how we are all contributing to global warming and positively addresses some of the actions that we can take to reduce our impact. Britain’s Secretary of State for the Environment stated that these films had a ‘profound effect on the climate change debate in the UK’, recommending that it be shown in every school and household.
Cold Comfort
Meerkat Manor, Episode 2
Monday, 5:00 – 5:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Original Musical Score)
Oxford International Films, Animal Planet International, 23 minutes
It’s winter and there has been tragedy in Meercat Manor. Our hero, Shakespeare, hasn’t reappeared since the Lazuli attacked the babysitting burrow and it’s presumed that he died defending Flower’s pups. Big Si, the dominant male of archrivals the Lazuli, also died, leaving the dominant female, Cazanna, without a mate. Beaten by his mother Zaphod once again, hapless Yousarrian heads in her direction and looks likely to become the Lazul’s new dominant male.
Crude
Wednesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Earth Sciences, Writing)
Australia Broadcasting Corporation, 90 minutes
Crude is an elegant and gripping saga of oil. Where does it come from? When will it run out? Where is it driving us? This extraordinary documentary sweeps through the ages; from the birth of oil deep in the dinosaur-inhabited past, to its ascendancy as the indispensable ingredient of modern life. Now, as we crest the peak of production, Crude reveals a disturbing irony. The latest scientific evidence suggests that our headlong rush to exploit the remaining resource will lead us down a dangerous road to the future- a road the planet has traveled before.
Deep Sea 3D
Tuesday, 4:30 – 5:30 PM, Forum Room
(screened in HD, 2D)
(Finalist: Theatrical)
Howard Hall Productions, Imax corporation, Warner Brothers, 40 minutes
Filmed in the IMAX 3D format, Deep Sea 3D reveals the beauty and behavior of myriad and unusual marine animals, establishing value for these creatures and habitats with audiences, especially for those who would otherwise never have known they existed. Using animal behavioral sequences, the film also explores the importance of ocean biodiversity by demonstrating that nearly all species survive only through interrelationships with other species. The effect of global overfishing is then linked to the collapse of not only target populations but related species and even entire marine ecosystems. Deep Sea 3D was made for general audiences and especially children.
Discover Hetch Hetchy
Wednesday, 3:30 – 4:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Nonbroadcast, Interactive)
Backcountry Pictures, Environmental Defense, 26 minutes
In 1890 the Hetch Hetchy Valley was preserved as the most beautiful natural feature in the northern half of Yosemite National Park. Like its renowned twin, Yosemite Valley, Hetch Hetchy was carved by glaciers and is ringed by sheer granite cliffs and waterfalls. Tragically, this national treasure was dammed and flooded under 300 feet (100 meters) of water for use as a reservoir in 1923. Hosted and narrated by Harrison Ford. Discover Hetch Hetchy is the centerpiece of a national campaign to drain the reservoir and restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley.
Ecogeeks: Science Video
Podcast and Website
Tuesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: New Media) The Wild Classroom, 5 minutes
A group of young scientists and wildlife filmmakers have made it their mission to inspire the next generation about the wonders of our natural world. They prove that you don’t need a big film budget, or any budget for that matter, to make a difference. Through their website, www.thewildclassroom.com, and its high-energy video podcast, Ecogeeks, the message is clear, “Never stop exploring!” This podcast is geared toward youth and is a terrific resource for teachers to show in the science classroom.
Elephants Having Tales to Tell
Tuesday, 9:00 – 10:00 AM , Forum Room
(Premiere Screening) NHK, Japanese Broadcasting, 52 minutes
Recent studies are showing that elephants produce various sounds to communicate with one another. Elephant expert Dr. Joyce Poole discovered that elephants use over 70 different types of vocalization. They even use infrasound that is below human hearing. A “sound camera” that can visualize infrasonic sound was used to decode the rumbles. Through a close look at human-raised orphan elephants acquiring communication skills as they are released back into the wild, this program reveals just how important language is to the elephants.
Extreme Animals: Sports Stars
Tuesday, 12:30 – 1:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Childrens) BBC Natural History Unit 28 minutes
On your marks, get set, go! Extreme Animals are off! Today it’s the turn of the animal sports stars. They’re all competing to become your favorite and earn their gold prize, a place in Extreme Animals Grand Final! From super speedy cheetahs on the plains of Africa, to tree-top gymnastics from a troop of Asian gibbons, to a surprisingly stinky weightlifter and a squirrel that flies, this is the Animal Olympics and you are their judges! You are sure to be out of breath watching this lot!
Eye of the Leopard
Wednesday, 3:00 – 5:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Writing)
Wildlife Films Botswana and National Geographic Channel, 96 minutes
The film follows the life of a single African leopard from her 8th day of life to adulthood: A remarkable and intimate journey that reveals the character and personality of this one cat.
Fish and Cow: A Story of Restoring
Upper Big Hole Valley
Tuesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Newcomer)
Phlogiston Media, 16 minutes
The Big Hole Valley lies in the southwest corner of Montana. High, cold and remote, it is home to one of the last surviving populations of a unique and sensitive species of fish, the fluvial Arctic grayling. This film is a story about a group of dedicated ranchers and biologists coming together not only to try and help save this fish, but also to try and help preserve the ecological health of the Big Hole Valley itself.
From Pole to Pole
Planet Earth, Episode 1
Wednesday, 2:30 – 3:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Cinematography, Limited Series)
BBC Natural History Unit, 59 minutes
This is a totally fresh take on our world. Using the latest technology together with unrivaled access and experience, the BBC brings you a portrait of your planet as you have never seen it before. Follow the sun across the planet, discovering how its seasonal journey affects the lives of all who live on earth. No stone is left unturned to bring you the rarest creatures on earth. Revolutionary new aerial cameras capture the migration of millions of animals, and the predators that hunt them. Great elemental forces of our planet, sandstorms and hurricanes, are captured from ground and space.
Gabon: Eden on Edge
Wednesday, 9:00 – 10:00 AM , Forum Room
(Anatomy of a Production)
National Geographic Channel, 52 minutes
It is a place as surreal as it is beautiful, like something out of a child’s dream. On a timeless coast, elephants appear to be beachcombing while hippos surf the waves and humpback whales breach in the distance. Step into the forest spilling onto this beach, where mandrill baboons, faces splashed with spectacular color, join in a mass migration to find food and mates. Clouds of rosy bee-eaters careen in display as red-capped mangabeys move through the canopy like rain. This is the Eden called Gabon. Gabon: Eden on Edge embarks on a wildlife odyssey, telling a story of hope, and the courage and conviction of one nation’s people to preserve their own legacy.
Galapagos: Born of Fire
Wednesday, 4:00 – 5:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Earth Sciences, Cinematography)
BBC Natural History Unit, 49 minutes
This opening episode travels with the islands through the fascinating stages of their lives, and reveals how creatures have found the most enterprising ways to get to grips with the restless Pacific outpost. Witness the dramatic eruption of the largest of all the Galapagos volcanoes, Sierra Negra, blowing smoke and ash 7 miles in to the sky, Galapagos giant tortoises, the largest on Earth, being groomed by Darwin’s finches, and the magical courtship display of the waved albatross.
Ham, Astrochimp #65
Tuesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:30 PM, Theater
(Kids’ Choice, Special Screening)
Boreales Films, NHK, BBC, Animal Planet International, France 2, 73 minutes
January 31st, 1961: A Mercury rocket lifts off from Cape Canaveral. The astronaut on board is a three-year-old chimpanzee named Ham. The young chimp is shot into the stratosphere where he manages to resist both the high pressure and the strong temperature variations before splashing back down in the Atlantic Ocean. He is thus the first “earthling” to come back alive from space. This movie relates the chimp’s incredible journey, starting from his birth in the African jungle, and the story of Jeff, his handler, who supported and loved him through the two long years of training. Their victory opened the way to the stars for the subsequent NASA astronauts.
How to Save the World
Wednesday, 9:00 – 11 :00 AM, Theater
(Finalist: Nonbroadcast)
Cloud South Films, Ltd., 104 minutes
A biodynamic revolution against agricultural control is sweeping the globe. How does an environmentally friendly food system, capable of feeding everyone, actually work? Can biodynamic agriculture be the answer to the pressing problem of world food? A blueprint for a post-industrial future, How to Save the World takes you into the heart of the world’s most important renaissance. This story focuses on marginal farmers across India, who are reviving an arcane form of agriculture through the teachings of an elderly New Zealander many are calling the new Gandhi.
In the Valley of the Wolves
(Premiere Screening Event)
Friday, 12:30 – 1:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Animal Behavior)
Nature/WNET and National Geographic Television, Inc., 57 minutes
As the first wolves reintroduced into Yellowstone, the Druids are the most celebrated wolf pack in North America. New pioneers in the wilderness, they were at the heart of a massive scientific experiment to restore an entire ecosystem which began to break down without its wolves. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Bob Landis spent over three years with these remarkable wolves, creating a spectacularly dramatic and intimate record of their lives, their great battles with rival wolf packs, and the changing fortunes of the coyotes and foxes who share their home range in Yellowstone’s beautiful Lamar Valley.
In the Womb: Animals
Monday, 12:00 – 2:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: CGI/Animation)
Pioneer Productions, Fox Television Studios, Channel 4, National Geographic Television,100 minutes
Since mammals first evolved more than two hundred million years ago, they have spread across the globe and conquered every part of the planet. Yet, perhaps the most dangerous and difficult journey that any mammal ever undertakes is the one inside its mother’s womb from fertilization of the egg, through to birth. We follow this incredible and hazardous journey in intimate detail, with three different mammals: the elephant, the dog and the dolphin. State of the art visual effects, computer graphics and 4D real-time ultra-sound pictures give us never-before-seen images from inside the mammalian womb.
Invasion of the Land
Life in the Undergrowth, Episode 1
Monday, 4:00 – 5:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Presenter-Led)
BBC, Natural History Unit, 58 minutes
David Attenborough returns to the screen in a new landmark series, revealing that he has yet to show viewers most of the animals in the world - the insects and their allies. The latest cameras can take us to where the real action is, the amazing hidden world beneath our feet, and bring us face to face with the most fascinating creatures on earth. Now we can march alongside millipedes, squirm with giant 2 meter worms, dance with creatures smaller than a dot and witness how velvet worms use glue guns to capture their prey - who needs science fiction?
Jaglavak, Prince of Insects
Tuesday, 4:30 – 5:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: People and Animals)
ZED, France 3, Equator TV, 52 minutes
In northern Cameroon, in the Mandaras Mountains, the Mofu people live a unique relationship with insects. This year however, the termites have invaded the huts and granaries. To fight back, the Mofu have no choice but to call for Jaglavak, a ferocious army ant having the body of a dragon and terrifying pincers. Produced in High Definition, Jaglavak tells the fascinating story of the villagers, who organize a battle between ants and termites. Using high technology macro shooting techniques, this film presents an inside look at a termite’s fortress and at the striking war that rages between termites and Jaglavak.
Longfin
Tuesday, 1:00 – 1:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Newcomer)
Lindsey Davidson and Milissa Salpietra Longfin Films, 24 minutes
This mystical film spotlights the little-known life of an endemic New
Zealand eel, and takes you on an epic journey through the life of this intriguing creature. From its beginnings in the dark corners of the ocean to its transition into the river, Longfin follows the eel’s journey through a changing land as it encounters dangers its ancestors never faced. The filmmakers weave a modern day allegory of man’s relationship with his environment in the context of one eel’s 84-year life cycle, resulting in an evocative piece that conveys the power and the spirit of this mythical creature.
Loose at the Zoo: Golden Lion Tamarins
Tuesday, 12:30 – 1:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Childrens)
Smithsonian Networks, 30 minutes
A monkey family is LOOSE AT THE ZOO! Meet one special Golden Lion Tamarin family that roams free in the trees at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and find out how the zoo helped bring this species of Brazilian monkeys back from the brink of extinction. Follow a day in the life of Eduardo, the Tamarin dad; Laranja, the Tamarin mom, and their rowdy twin Tamarin daughters. Learn what these agile little monkeys eat, how they navigate, how they live and even how they play. At the National Zoo, monkey business is serious stuff, but also a lot of fun!
Nature Tech
Wednesday, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Theater
Wednesday, 1:00 – 2:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Limited Series)
MR-Film Production for ORF
In the last decade a new way of thinking has opened up startling new possibilities for the future of science and technology. Biomimetics uses nature as a starting point for ideas. Life has existed on our planet for nearly 4 billion years, and in that time natural selection has had to solve all the varied problems of life. Nature has to be efficient in the way it processes information and uses energy so when scientists began to look at nature with biomimetic eyes, it’s not surprising that they started to see entirely new visions for our future.
Ocean Odyssey: Secrets of the Deep
Tuesday, 1:30 – 3:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: CGI/Animation, Editing)
Impossible Pictures, BBC, Discovery Channel, 120 minutes
Come with us on a fantastic journey through the largest habitat on earth, into areas that have remained impenetrable until now. Through the eyes of a bull sperm whale, the ocean’s largest predator, infinite vistas and alien life forms are revealed against a violent, volatile and treacherous landscape. This is the abyss, a place where the whale must navigate erupting volcanoes, pack hunting killer whales, earthquakes and landscape changing mudslides every day of its life. By the end of the film, this whale will have taken the audience on a first-ever tour of totally uncharted territory.
Ocean Voyagers
Tuesday, 8:00 – 9:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Theatrical)
Feodor Pitcairn Productions, 70 minutes
The luminously detailed Ocean Voyagers explores familiar themes of motherhood and parenting in a world as unfamiliar as it is breathtaking. Featuring a precocious newborn humpback and his enormous 40-ton mother, these remarkable images will prove to be a revelation in our understanding of one of nature’s most enigmatic animals. Watch as our calf plays near the seabed floor while his mother rests. Catch a glimpse of milk dispersing into the water around him as he nurses. Wonder at the tenderness of the interaction between mother and infant as she embraces her baby in her gigantic flippers.
Our Oceans, Ourselves
Tuesday, 3:30 – 4:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: New Media)
Science Bulletins at the American
Museum of Natural History, 8 minutes
In 2000, building on its pioneering efforts in establishing Land and Sea Parks, the Commonwealth of the Bahamas initiated one of the world’s first networks of marine reserves. This designation provided an international team of researchers with an unprecedented opportunity to study the physical, biological and socio-economic impacts of such a network, and to integrate all of these aspects into recommendations for future conservation strategies. The project, which is focusing on the Bahamas as a model system, will hopefully be extended to other marine areas in the Caribbean and across the globe.
Paranormal Pigeons
Wednesday, 11 :00 AM – 12:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Editing)
Icon Films, 50 minutes
The mystery of how animals navigate over thousands of miles is something that has baffled scientists since ancient times. Today there are several contending theories, but none have a conclusive answer. In the race to solve this last great mystery of the natural world, the humble homing pigeon is king. We meet scientists who study the pigeon’s reliance on sight, smell and even magnetism for navigation. Finally, we test one of the most outlandish theories of all: that pigeons and other animals have a form of telepathic link between themselves and their homes, an idea put forward by Dr. Rupert Sheldrake.
Planet Earth
Wednesday, 2:30 – 3:30 PM, Forum Room, Ep 1
Thursday, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Theater, Ep 4
(Finalist: Limited Series)
BBC Natural History Unit, 59 minutes
Four years in the making, Planet Earth has stretched the boundaries of natural history television. Planet Earth is the first natural history series to be filmed entirely in high definition, providing an unparalleled view of awe-inspiring landscapes from all across the globe and incredible footage of the rarely spotted, almost mythical creatures that live in these habitats. Revolutionary ultra-high speed cameras and detailed images from the air enabled the series to capture the most amazing footage ever seen.
Raptor Force
Thursday, 9:00 – 10:00 AM , Theater
(Finalist: Achievement in Sound)
Nature/WNET and National
Geographic Television, Inc., 57 minutes
Humans have had a unique relationship with raptors, nature’s aerial killing machines, for more than four thousand years, first through the ancient sport of falconry, and more recently, as scientists and engineers have used these mighty birds as the inspiration for the latest in aircraft design. With the help of engineer and falconer Rob MacIntyre’s ingenious miniature television station (a camera, transmitter, and battery small enough to be harnessed onto the backs of raptors), you’ll see for yourself what it’s like to fly with these deadly aces.
Red Velvet
Thursday, 1:00 – 2:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist: People and Animals)
Compass Films, 58 minutes
In Southern Siberia, in the heart of the Altai Mountains, thousands of maral deer live in gigantic protected reserves. Forcenturies, every spring, their velvet antlers have been cut off in a bloody ritual to provide the Koreans with a natural sought-after aphrodisiac. Throughout an entire year in Russian Altai, Red Velvet recounts the fate of the maral deer and follows the unlikely journey of their antlers to South Korea.
Ribbon of Sand
Wednesday, 5:00 – 5:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Nonbroadcast)
Harpers Ferry Center, 26 minutes
The Outer Banks of the Carolinas are a slim and moving line of sand in the open Atlantic. Many travelers think they know these islands – but south of Ocracoke Inlet rises a luminous bar of sand sixty miles in extent, with no roads, no bridges: the wild, remote beaches of Cape Lookout, one of the few remaining natural barrier islands in the world. Both exaltation and elegy, Ribbon of Sand profiles this seascape and the transitory islands doomed to disappear. The film features quotes by Rachel Carson, readings by Meryl Streep and an orchestral score by Academy Award-winner Todd Boekelheide.
Safari
Wednesday, 4:00 – 5:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Short)
Catherine Chalmers, 7 minutes
Safari is an evolutionary melodrama. Here the American cockroach, a primeval creature that has skillfully infiltrated urban environments and is, therefore, despised by humans, emerges from the primordial sea, crawling on land for the first time. Then, navigating the lush, verdant jungle alongside Chalmers’ ground-hugging camera, the cockroach encounters oversized insects, amphibians and reptiles. When two gigantic rhinoceros beetles lock horns in aggressive combat, it’s like 1950’s sci-fi movies in which irradiated insects rule the earth. Yet this intimate vantage point also magnifies the striking physical beauty of these tiny creatures, inviting an appreciative reappraisal of numerous species we typically overlook or devalue as mere pests.
Saving Grace the Otter
Tuesday, 1:00 – 1:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Short)
Halcyon Media, 5 minutes
Saving Grace follows the personal and powerful story of TV presenter Philippa Forrester and her husband, wildlife cameraman Charlie, as they attempt to save an abandoned baby otter called Grace. A series of five minute shorts track Grace’s progress as Philippa and Charlie attempt to teach her how to survive in the wild, from swimming lessons in the bath to teaching her how to fish. Philippa and Charlie’s ultimate aim is to release Grace back into the wild, in the river that runs through their garden. Saving Grace is an emotional and personal story. Can Grace survive in the wild?
Saving Luna
Tuesday, 9:00 -11 :00 AM , Theater
(Finalist: People and Animals)
Mountain Side Films Ltd., 110 minutes
Saving Luna is a feature-length documentary about Luna, a baby male killer whale who gets separated from his family in a remote Vancouver Island fjord. When the lone young orca seeks companionship from people, he becomes beloved. As years pass, he becomes both treasured and feared. To natives he’s the spirit of a chief. To boaters he’s a goofy friend. To conservationists he’s a cause. To scientists he’s trouble. To officials he’s a danger. As conflict and tragedy stain the waters, Luna becomes a symbol of the world’s wildest beauty: wonderful to know, but so hard to save.
Seafood Watch Training Program
Internet Café
(Finalist: Interactive)
Monterey Bay Aquarium, 20 minutes
The Seafood Watch Training Program DVD is a video outreach tool produced by the aquarium to educate partner zoos, aquariums, museums, consumers, chefs and businesses about the urgent issue facing our oceans with regard to seafood consumption and what they can do to make a difference. By purchasing seafood from environmentally responsible sources, we can create marketplace demand for ocean-friendly seafood. This DVD is mass distributed and free of charge. There is an online version of this program on our website at www.seafoodwatch.org. The mission of Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program is to empower consumers and businesses with the information and tools they need to make choices for healthy oceans.
Sharks: Crime Scene Wild
Tuesday, 3:30 – 4:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Environmental)
Cicada Films, 49 minutes
The illegal trade in protected wildlife is booming; it’s now second only to drugs in volume and money. Steve Galster, a former special agent, applies counter insurgency techniques to saving wildlife. He has forged key partnerships with the Wildlife DNA Service, forensic scientists based in the UK who specialize in wildlife crime and with the Wildlife Crime Unit. Crime Scene Wild is a six-part series highlighting some of the worst crimes in the wildlife world from the culling of sharks for their fins to the trading and illegal sale of animal skins and ivory.
Showdown at Elk Town
Wednesday, 1:30 – 2:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Short)
BBC Natural History Unit, 9 minutes
Every year in the heart of Yellowstone National Park, the small town of Mammoth plays host to an unusual gathering. Hundreds of elk take over the town during their annual rut. This is light-hearted look at the mayhem they bring.
TERRA Video Podcast & Website
Wednesday, 12:30 - 1:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: New Media)
Montana State University, 7 minutes
100 short films. 50 filmmakers. One Webby Award. TERRA is a collaborative indie filmspace and laboratory exploring the cutting-edge of science and the farthest horizons of the natural world. We are a worldwide crossroads, a forum for compelling issues, and a stage for the awesome diversity of our planet. Our non-profit mission is to raise global environmental consciousness via digital distribution of compelling documentary films. TERRA: The Nature of Our World was the first ever online science and nature film series. Since 2005, TERRA films have been viewed over three million times.
The Alps
Wednesday, 1:30 – 2:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Theatrical)
MacGillivray Freeman Films, 45 minutes
Celebrated as one of the most magnificent mountain ranges on the planet, the Alps are a vital source of life and energy. Produced by MacGillivray Freeman Films, The Alps is the moving story of John Harlin III, a writer and mountaineer, on a personal mission to climb the storied North Face of the Eiger forty years after the same mountain claimed the life of his famous father, John Harlin II. The Alps was originally created for IMAX Theatres.
The Curse of Copper
Wednesday, 12:30 – 1:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Environmental)
True Nature Films, 34 minutes
A Canadian Mining Company is in the process of obtaining the rights to mine copper in one of the world’s biological hotspots – a pristine cloud forest in the heart of the Andes Mountains of Ecuador. Local communities strongly oppose the mine as it will ruin their livelihood and destroy their environment, which is home to many endangered species. The mining company is ignoring their heart-felt pleas and pushing forward with the project, with disastrous consequences.
The Living Desert
Friday, 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM, Forum Room
(Keynote Screening Event)
Walt Disney Pictures
Winning the first Academy Award@ for Best Documentary in 1953, The Living Desert was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry for the film’s “cultural significance.” The film follows a day in the life of creatures living in a desert in the southwestern US. Toads, reptiles, wild pigs, insects, mice and birds are followed going about their daily routine and the struggle to find food (while not becoming a meal for others) themselves.
The Meadow
Tuesday, 2:30 – 3:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Cinematography)
Studio Hamburg Production GmbH / NDR Naturfilm, 43 minutes
We all know it, we all love it – the breathtaking flower meadow. This ocean of colors and fragile shapes offers a home, a genuine paradise, to countless species of animals. Some live underground, some among the blades of grass, still others populate the colorful “canopy“.
The Naturalist
Monday, 7:00 – 8:00 PM, Forum Room
(Premiere Screening Event)
Windfall Films
Every so often a giant emerges on the stage of science, someone who transcends the narrow boundaries of a particular line of research and alters our perspective of the world. E.O. Wilson is such a man. While studying ants, Wilson struggled to comprehend the evolutionary forces that led workers to forage and soldiers to fight, and in doing so became the architect of a new discipline: sociobiology. E.O. Wilson is an icon of our times: the ant man who explained creation.
The Nature of Mothers
Tuesday, 3:30 -4:30 PM, Theater
(Finalist: Editing)
Saint Thomas Productions, France 3 52 minutes
Contrary to the myth, maternal love is neither automatic nor guaranteed. In this original film, pioneering primatologist and best selling author, Sarah Blaffer Hardy, shares her vision of motherhood and its crucial role in human evolution. Shot on three continents, featuring stunning animal behaviour, rare footage of a hunter gatherer people, and Sarah’s own life experience, the film sets out to explore (and explode) the enduring myths surrounding maternal instinct.
The Queen of Trees
Wednesday, 5:00 – 6:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Animal Behavior, Writing, Sound)
Deeble & Stone Productions, NHK, Nature/WNET, Granada International,
BBC, ZDF, 57 minutes
It may be one of nature’s oddest couples: a tiny wasp that can barely be seen, and a giant fig tree, the Sycamore, which shelters a remarkable menagerie of wildlife among its limbs. The wasp and the fig depend on each other for survival. Without the wasp, the tree could not pollinate its flowers and produce seeds. Without the fig, the wasp would have nowhere to lay its eggs. The Queen of Trees shows this delicate dance of survival in exquisite detail, including spectacular close-ups of the wasp’s remarkable life inside a ripening fig.
T-Rex, Prehistoric Park, Episode 1
Friday, 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: CGI/Animation)
Impossible Pictures, Animal Planet, 45 minutes
Wildlife presenter Nigel Marven travels back in time to rescue prehistoric animals from extinction and bring them back to the ultimate wildlife sanctuary. Nigel’s journey will take him through some of the earth’s most devastating extinctions, including a meteorite strike that shook the planet 65 million years ago. This episode finds Nigel racing against time to rescue a Tyrannosaurus Rex, but his first attempts don’t go according to plan. By working with real animals and consulting scientists, Nigel strives to understand how his prehistoric quarry might behave and prepares himself for the ultimate adventure.
True Adventures of the Ultimate Spider Hunter
Wednesday, 2:00 – 3:00 PM, Theater
(Finalist; Presenter-Led)
Granada Wild, 52 minutes
British water-treatment salesman, Martin Nicholas, is also a tarantula expert and he’s out to find the world’s most amazing spiders. He meets Stan Lee, creator of Spider-man. In the Arizonan desert he finds spiders with telescopic vision and creatures spraying concentrated vinegar. In Mexico, he discovers the world’s strongest silk and a blind tarantula deep in a cave. In the jungle of French Guiana, he annoys the world’s most dangerous spider and uncovers the biggest spider on earth with a leg span up to twelve inches.
Water’s Journey: Everglades
Internet Café
(Finalist: Interactive)
Fusion Spark Media, Inc.
Water’s Journey: Everglades is a web documentary that explores the ecosystem in the Everglades, and the human impact upon it. Includes 6 part Journey, a historical timeline and video clips.
Wolverines, Hyenas of the North
Monday, 12:00 – 1:00 PM, Forum Room
(Finalist: Newcomer)
Studio Hamburg Production GmbH / NDR Naturfilm, 53 minutes
This HD-special is a little wildlife filmmaking sensation: To meet one of the shyest predators of the Northern hemisphere, the wolverine. It is so elusive that even hunters rarely come across it. A mission impossible for a wildlife photographer? Not with a little help from a friend: photographer Antti Leinonen has followed wolverines in Finland for over 18 years, and has contrived a lot of tricks. This is how Director Oliver Goetzl and the cameraman, Ivo Nörenberg, were able to film wild wolverines for the first time and to create an intimate portrait of the Hyenas of the North.