Wild times at Wildscreen
9 Nov
For those of you who don’t know, the Wildscreen Festival is the Cannes of the wildlife film world (just swap the sunny beaches of France for the grey canals of England, switch Dolce & Gabbana for knitted jumpers, substitute taut, plastic skin for a more weathered look…and, presto, I don’t think you could tell the difference).
Delegates from around the globe gather at Wildscreen for talks, workshops, film screenings, trade shows, parties and the Panda Awards ceremony. For an intensive five days and nights, Bristol swarms with some of the industry’s most prominent people, as well as with up-and-coming talent.
(And, no, David Attenborough wasn’t there this year, which must surely be akin to Woody Allen and Brangelina not turning up for Cannes?)
Cannes without Brangelina?!
I was lucky enough to be selected as one of the 30 festival volunteers, which gave me prime behind-the-scenes access and an insight into the inner workings of the world of wildlife filmmaking (thankfully without the £600 Wildscreen entry fee). Being a festival volunteer means that when you’re not using a clicker to count how many people are in a screening or getting Clark Bunting a glass of water, you get to sit in the back row of a lecture theatre and learn about a range of subjects, from what programming commissioners are looking for to the future of 3D and new media.
When the serious matters of the day were done, I learned quickly that wildlife filmmakers are a bunch of party animals. Perhaps it’s something to do with the emotional strain of the subject matter many of them deal with. Whatever the reason, I don’t think I was prepared for the contrast between the pensive, bespectacled delegates of the daylight hours and their night-time transformation into something altogether wilder.
I can recall several surreal moments, including the evening I spent on “door duty”, checking delegates’ passes at the infamous Parthenon party on the second night of the festival. It was a Viking-themed event because of Parthenon Entertainment’s release of a new series about Scandinavia (which they were promoting with a dramatic trailer on HD flatscreens all over the venue). As I shivered and shook outside, my mandatory Viking helmet invited many an unoriginal “horny” comment from the arriving delegates.
The viking helmet invited unwelcome comments...
In the aftermath of the party, at an inspirational talk by preeminent conservationist George Schaller, it was difficult to take the earnestness displayed by some members of the audience seriously after witnessing their antics from the previous night: kneeling before a moose ice sculpture, they demanded shot after shot of the vodka luge which was dispensed from the moose sculpture’s mouth by two of my fellow male volunteers dressed up as blonde-braided Vikings…
Guarding the vodka luge
But let me end on a more serious note. Even though Wildscreen was amazing, I felt quite troubled by the end of the festival. The experience made me understand this industry’s huge potential to convey important messages about conservation and the environment. I also realised this same industry should be doing more to get these vital messages across: many of the stories that desperately need to reach a wide audience never even make it onto a TV schedule. And that’s the sad bit. Industry giants should know that if conservation is not actively promoted, there will soon be very little left to film.
But these complex issues deserve a blog post of their own – so keep your eyes peeled for the next Wildscreen installment! I’ll be telling you more about the films that were the talk of Bristol, those that should have been, and those that were a total waste of time.
vodka luge and wildlife movies – two of my favorites!
I would love to get shots from those two Vodka Vikings
What a privilege to be at this festival!!Sounds amazing.This is a ‘voice’ for the animals!!
whats a party without David Attenborough??
Wow! Wildlife, Party animals, THOSE Vikings and vodka !!!May I come along to Wildscreen next year? Thank you! On a more serious note….what an interesting read…… thank you AND ……PLEASE!!!!!!!!! Save Our World!
The viking helmet invited unwelcome comments…
Like what?…..Please invade our Island more often,
we could use the wildlife!!!
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservationand improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements
going green
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