On October 8, the UK’s first-ever touring wildlife film festival, Wilderland, will be visiting the city of Manchester.
The festival will be shedding light on some of the most important and breath-taking stories nature has to offer, making it a must for anyone with a passion for conservation, adventure or the natural world.
With the help of some of the most acclaimed wildlife filmmakers, creators of the festival, Dan O’Neill and Isaac Rice, have whittled down a shortlist of over fifty independently produced short films to the nine that will be shown at the festival.
These nine films will take the audience on a journey through the world’s most enigmatic wildlife, with stories of oexistence, conservation, and natural beauty.
O’Neil and Rice stated in a joint interview: “Wilderland is a platform for the new era of independent wildlife filmmakers. It will inspire everyone to think more about the natural world in our daily lives. Wilderland’s ethos is that anyone can be a conservationist, and everyone has a part to play in the future of our planet”.
The festival will be showcasing films with novel stories and narratives, bringing a breath-taking experience to the big screen. The short films shown will offer a different perspective on some of the planets most enigmatic wildlife, ranging from the co-existence of the snow leopard and Himalayan communities, to the diminishing orangutan populations in Borneo, to the impact of noise-pollution in our seas on the majestic humpback whale.
Attending the festival will also allow you to participate in the effort to save some of our planet’s most endangered species. After each show, the audience will be able to vote for one of the five endangered species identified by Wilderland. After the conclusion of the tour, the Wilderland team will embark on a journey to make a film about the most voted for species.
This project be used to raise awareness on the plight of the chosen species and the grassroots charities working to save them. The production will be funded by a percentage of the profits from the tour and will premier at the next Wilderland festival, while the rest of the fund will be donated to conserving endangered species.
At a time of great environmental uncertainty, it is vital to remain involved and engaged in the most pressing issues facing our natural world. Film has a major role to play in spreading awareness and knowledge on such issues and, in the light of criticisms of wildlife filmmaking downplaying the serious the state of the natural world, events like Wilderland will provide great momentum to the conservation movement.
The event will be held at the Waterside Arts Centre, tickets are available on the Wilderland Festival website.
