The Panda Awards, typically dubbed the ‘Inexperienced Oscars’ of the pure world filmmaking business, have introduced the nominees for its 2025 version, with this 12 months’s line-up showcasing a compelling breadth of expertise, scale and storytelling ambition.
For the primary time of their historical past, the distinguished awards will happen yearly, including a brand new rhythm to the documentary calendar and cementing Wildscreen’s repute as a worldwide hub for wildlife filmmaking.
I had the possibility to attend final 12 months’s Panda Awards, and it was an unimaginable night that capped off an already inspiring Wildscreen Pageant in Bristol. What struck me most, along with the caliber of the work, was the sense of shared function within the room.
These awards signify the most effective of the most effective in nature filmmaking. They’re as inspiring as they’re humbling, a celebration of creativity, dedication, and reverence for the pure world.
Drawn from submissions spanning roughly 1 / 4 of the world’s international locations, this 12 months’s shortlisted titles compete throughout 17 classes, starting from cinematography and music to rising expertise and in-country manufacturing.
It underlines the inventive and cultural range throughout the discipline, celebrating the whole lot from sweeping cinematic spectacles to intimate, character-driven tales from distant corners of the globe.
Among the many most outstanding nominees is Ocean with David Attenborough, a complete, blue-chip manufacturing that seems throughout a number of main classes, together with Cinematography, Music, and Influence.
Produced by Silverback Movies and Open Planet Studios, it options contributions from an array of collaborators, together with the Nationwide Geographic Society, Revive Our Ocean and The Prince Albert II of Monaco Basis, reflecting each its epic scale and its pressing environmental message.
Additionally making a robust displaying is The Birds, which seems within the Cinematography, In-Nation Manufacturing and Impartial Movie classes. Elsewhere, My Otter Diary, produced in India by Aranya Parva and Oxford Scientific Movies, highlights the rising power of in-country wildlife productions, with nominations for each Music and In-Nation Manufacturing.
A number of high-profile broadcasters and streaming giants function all through the nominations. Nationwide Geographic, Disney+, Netflix and the BBC all have titles within the combine – although smaller unbiased studios additionally maintain their floor, significantly in classes similar to Rising Expertise and Impartial Movie, the place tasks from India, Canada, Australia and the USA sit alongside UK productions.
Additionally notable this 12 months is the Leica Brief Award, showing for the primary time on the Panda Awards. This new class highlights the rising influence of short-form storytelling in wildlife and environmental filmmaking. As demand rises for shorter, extra agile codecs, particularly throughout digital platforms, this class feels particularly well timed.
Among the many nominees are Tides of Life from the College of the West of England, Life (Cycle) of a Hong Kong Newt from China’s Frigatefilms, and H5N1: Conservation in Disaster, an Austrian manufacturing exploring the complexities of avian flu.
It’s a class I’ll be following intently, as short-form work continues to realize recognition for its potential to ship pressing, highly effective narratives with immediacy and inventive freedom.
As ever, the Panda Awards function a mirror to the altering face of wildlife filmmaking, the place technological innovation, shifting viewers expectations, and a renewed urgency round conservation proceed to form the tales being advised. Whether or not it’s by way of breathtaking cinematography, daring new voices or compelling native views, the 2025 nominees signify an business that’s evolving in each kind and function.
The winners will probably be introduced on the Panda Awards Ceremony on October 22, hosted at Bristol Harbour Lodge and streamed on-line, with tickets now accessible. The night will convey collectively filmmakers, producers, and business leaders to rejoice the 12 months’s most excellent natural-world storytelling.
you might also like
If you wish to seize the pure world, I like to recommend trying out our guides to the finest cameras for wildlife and the finest digital camera for filmmaking.