First speakers announced for Wildscreen Festival Tanzania

Wildscreen has announced its first wave of speakers and session for its upcoming Wildscreen Festival Tanzania taking place 6-7 June at the Mount Meru Hotel in Arusha, Tanzania.

The festival is being produced in partnership with Tanzania based non-profit AFRISOS with support from BBC Studios Natural History Unit as Headline Sponsor. The event signifies Africa’s importance within the international wildlife film and TV industry and will feature African storytellers and filmmakers, as well as key global industry players and decision makers.

Headlining the event will be Erica Rugabandana, a Tanzanian conservationist, director and award-winning wildlife cinematographer. Having grown up in the shadow of the Serengeti, Erica’s childhood was spent close to nature, and from a young age she harboured a keen interest in conservation. Her production credits include working on the new Disney+ nature series, Queens, and she’s also independently producing films and running community campaigns via her own production company, Siima Wild Film. Her film, Living with Lions, won Best Film, Best Storytelling and Best African Film at Pridelands Wildlife Film Festival.

Hosting the 2-day event will be filmmaker Jigar Ganatra, founder and Chairman of the African School of Storytelling, AFRISOS.  Having become an unofficial mentor to emerging filmmakers, Jigar founded AFRISOS – an NGO that provides all-expenses paid, hands-on training opportunities to filmmakers and photographers who want to preserve Africa’s rich natural and cultural heritage. Premiering at the festival, “Chameleon Corridors” is a nature short made entirely by a Tanzanian production crew during an AFRISOS documentary mentorship. Through the all-seeing eyes of a chameleon, it tells the story of how one community in the Eastern Arc Mountains is striving to regenerate one of the world’s most biodiverse forests.

The festival will be opened by Tanzanian singer, Influencer and WildAid ambassador, Nakaaya Sumari, “The Lioness”. Sumari has lent her voice to many environmental and conservation campaigns with both governmental and non-governmental institutions. She believes that Tanzania holds a diverse and unique natural heritage that needs to be protected, and that those with platforms like hers have a duty to remind and urge fellow citizens that it is vital to conserve it.

Other speakers announced today includeSreya Biswas, Head of Natural History, BBC Commissioning; Anwar Mamon, Executive Producer, Wildstar Films; Jonny Keeling, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit; Hans Cosmas Ngoteya, award-winning Tanzanian cinematographer, director and photographer; Manu Akatsa cinematographer and Faith Musembi, Producer/Director at BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Chair of Wildscreen Festival Tanzania.

The 2-day agenda is designed to take the audience through the entire film production lifecycle from development, pitching and film financing through to field directing and impact.

Wildscreen Festival Tanzania is the second African event delivered by Wildscreen following on from the success of an inaugural event of Wildscreen Festival Nairobi back in June 2023.

Tickets for the two-day event are now available here.