Film / News
Bristol productions dominate this year’s Wildscreen Festival Panda Awards nominations
Two Bristol productions from opposite ends of the budget scale dominate the nominations for this year’s 40th anniversary Wildscreen Panda Awards – the highest accolade in natural world storytelling.
The BBC Natural History Unit’s typically stunning David Attenborough prestige project The Green Planet used pioneering technology to explore the extraordinary world of plants in a way that has never been seen before. It’s up for five gongs in the Behaviour, Cinematography, Music, Producer/Director and Series categories.
Matching this with nominations in the Behaviour, Editing, Producer/Director, Scripted Narrative and Sound categories is the charming, colourful and surprising documentary My Garden of a Thousand Bees. Trapped by lockdown, acclaimed Bristol wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn trained his specialist cameras on the insects buzzing around his back garden to reveal stories that often pass by unnoticed.
The 2022 contest attracted 700 entries from 38 countries, with the evolving interrelationships between humans and the natural world during a global pandemic emerging as strong theme. “This year’s nominations show a strong trend away from the classic interpretation of ‘natural history’,” notes Ruth Berry, Chair of the Nomination Jury. “We are no longer ‘observers’ of the natural world, we are a part of it.”
My Garden of a Thousand Bees director/producer Martin Dohrn uses specialist gear to capture the antics of his apian chums
The winners will be announced at the Panda Awards ceremony on October 13, which takes place as part of the world-renowned Wildscreen Festival. This returns to Bristol for its first in-person event since 2018, running from October 10-14. Full hybrid and virtual passes are now available to purchase at the Wildscreen website.
Main pic: My Garden of a Thousand Bees producer/director Martin Dohrn and tiddly subject in his back garden. All images supplied by Wildscreen.
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