Wildscreen Festival 2022 has announced a series of exclusive film premieres, screenings and director Q&As for its 40th edition on 10 – 15 October in Bristol.
Screenings include industry premieres of The Letter and Frozen Planet II, Episode 6, a UK premiere of Lynx, an international premiere of Jaguaretê and a world premiere of I Am Capable & Exposure. The Festival, which predominantly takes place at the Bristol Mercure Grand, will also host exclusive talks from industry figureheads and photography exhibitions, as well as numerous networking opportunities across the jam-packed six-day showcase. This includes the Panda Awards 2022, known as the ‘Green Oscars’, recognising the best in natural world storytelling craft.
The Festival will host an exclusive and first industry screening of The Letter following its premiere at the Vatican on 4 October. From the makers of the Oscar-winning My Octopus Teacher, Off the Fence, the documentary is inspired by Pope Francis’ letter which calls for people to take “swift and unified global action” against global warming. Chief Dada, an Indigenous Leader and forest defender from Brazil, one of the key contributors to the film will deliver a keynote speech in Bristol, before the film screening offering a rare opportunity to hear directly from the frontlines of the climate and biodiversity crisis.
Andrew Zikking, Executive Producer at Off the Fence, said: “Almost three years in the making, each of The Letter’s four main voices take the audience on a moving and uplifting journey. But combined, they address the climate crisis from a uniquely scientific and spiritual perspective. Having the chance to screen this film at the world’s most prestigious wildlife and environmental film festival is a huge privilege.”
Lynx, which will receive its UK premiere screening with a Director Q&A from Laurent Geslin at Cube Microplex at 7pm on Monday 10 October, is set in the forests of Switzerland and takes the audience on a journey into the private lives of the elusive lynx. Also taking place at Cube Microplex, My Garden of a Thousand Bees will receive an intimate screening showcasing the secret lives of the bees filmed in a garden in Bristol during lockdown, at 7pm on Tuesday 11 October. An international premiere of Jaguaretê will be held at 3pm at Bristol Aquarium on Friday 14 October, highlighting the ecological disaster caused by the worst forest fires in the history of the Pantanal. This will be followed by a discussion with Director, Lawrence Wahba regarding impact & sustainable filmmaking.
Programmer Prize-winner Panteras – Living with Wild Cats will have its UK premiere on Friday 14 October at 6:30pm at Bristol Aquarium, as Director Andoni Canela, son Unai Canela and Producer José María Morales will be joining the screening. On Saturday 15 October at 3pm at Bristol Aquarium, Mother of the Sea & Miwene will premiere focusing on indigenous voices and natural world storytelling, followed by a Q&A with Director Keith Heyward. Also, there will be a worldwide screening of Exposure and I Am Capable featuring a Q&A with Directors Roxy Furman and Holly Morris on female empowerment in natural spaces on Saturday 15 October at 6:30pm at Bristol Aquarium. Finally, there will be a free open-air screening of a previously aired episode of Green Planet, Wednesday 12 October at 6.30pm on the Big Screen, We The Curious, which will be preceded by a special exclusive recorded message from Sir David Attenborough.
The Panda Awards 2022, taking place on Thursday 13 October at 6.30pm at the Bristol Mercure Grand, will recognise the finest work in the international wildlife film and TV industry. Whittled down from over 700 entries, the final 25 shorts, features and series will be spotlighted with attendees receiving a chance to be the first to find out this year’s winners.
Lucie Muir, CEO of Wildscreen, said: “Over the past 40 years, Wildscreen Festival has curated and spotlighted the world’s most creative, unique and diverse natural world content – and this year is no different. From national to international premieres, this year’s Festival will really highlight the importance of storytelling in bringing to light global climate and biodiversity issues and making a positive difference.
“Alongside these screenings, we’re proud to host the Panda Awards, bringing together the international wildlife film and tv industry for an evening of celebration.”
This year’s impressive agenda boasts headline slots from James Cameron, Darren Aronofsky, Imogen Heap, Pattie Gonia, Christiana Figueres and Wildscreen patron Sir David Attenborough.
Passes are still available for the event, with a variety of packages starting from £85. New for this year, all passes will have a small carbon offsetting fee to help reduce the impact of this year’s event.
Purchase your passes here.
