Charity teams up with BBC Studios Natural History Unit and Botswana Ignite for country’s first international wildlife film and TV industry event
Wildscreen has announced Maun, Botswana, as the location for its third African-basedWildscreen Festival. BBC Studios Natural History Unit areHeadline Sponsor once again and Botswana Ignite is the in-country partner.
The two-day event runs 12-13th June in Maun, the gateway to the Okavango Delta. It builds upon the BBC NHU’s collaboration with Wildscreen on two previous festivals in Nairobi, Kenya in 2023 and Arusha, Tanzania in 2024 and theorganisations shared goal of supporting a more equitable international wildlife storytelling genre. Wildscreen Festival Botswana is being produced in partnership with Botswana Ignite, set up by the Government of Botswana to rapidly expand the country’s TV and film sector, to make it commercially viable, to create local content and to attract international production work.
The festival will spotlight African storytellers and filmmakers – sharing their expertise and experience alongside key global industry players and decision makers, and supporting cross-country collaboration. Content will span inspirational talks, panels, pitching, commissioning sessions and networking. The festival is open to all aspiring and established African film industry professionals as well as the global natural history film industry.
The event marks Wildscreen’s third outside-of-UK festival in Africa signifying the continent’s importance within the industry past, present and future. The sold-out previous edition, Wildscreen Festival Tanzania, which took place in June 2024, included two days of inspiring sessions, pitching, networking events and screenings, convening over 200 industry professionals from 12 countries.
Whilst a vast amount of natural history content is generated featuring Africa’s wildlife and landscapes, the opposite is true of African filmmaking talent which is largely under-represented in the industry.
The event will be curated with the support of a Festival Advisory Board, comprised of representatives spanning the international wildlife film and TV industry, African filmmakers and conservation organisations.
Wildscreen CEO, Lucie Muir said: “There have been so many long-term impacts of the festivals in Kenya and Tanzania, including cross-country collaborations, jobs, film funding and long-term industry mentorship. We want to keep building on that energy and momentum, supporting our charity’s goal to build a more equitable international wildlife storytelling community. Botswana was chosen as the location for this year’s event because though it has a relatively smallproduction community, it punches well above its weight internationally, and is recognised not only for its breathtaking wildlife and landscapes but its quality of storytelling. But it is the potential long-term legacy of convening the industry in Botswana that is significant, with the Botswana Government, through Botswana Ignite, investing in education, training and infrastructure to build a flourishing creative economyoperating at an international level, in a fair and equitable way.”
Jonny Keeling, Head of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, said: “We are thrilled to be headline sponsors for Wildscreen Festival Botswana. Following the success of Kenya and Tanzania, we are excited to partner with Wildscreen again. This is a great opportunity to celebrate and recognise the role of African storytellers in the world of wildlife filmmaking. And a chance to bring together programme makers from across the African continent to share new ideas and new opportunities. Supporting in-country talent is key to building a more inclusive and sustainable industry.”
Duncan Irvine, Director of Botswana Ignite commented: : “Botswana Ignite is a government initiated project aimed at facilitating and empowering the Film and television industry of Botswana and through its Wildlife Film School, is very excited to partner with Wildscreen in bringing this premier wildlife film and TV festival to Botswana, both for the world to reacquaint themselves with the diversity of Botswana’s wildlife, but to specifically engage with new and exciting wildlife film talent coming through our schools multiple programmes, not to mention the experienced practitioners operating in the industry. This is a rare and wonderful opportunity for Botswana Wildlife filmmakers and everyone participating in wildlife filmmaking, and the larger film and television economy of Botswana.”
This year’s Festival is kindly supported by Steve and Maggie Lansdown. Steve Lansdown CBE and his wife Maggie havebeen involved in conservation work in Botswana for more than a decade. As majority shareholders of Mashatu Game Reserve, the Lansdown family has been leading the way indriving sustainable tourism to the region, working to secure the long-term protection of a pristine wildlife corridor, whilst also helping local communities with employment, health, education and conservation projects.
Clarity Entertainment & Media joins as Official Travel Partner, following its launch last week.
Tickets are on sale here: https://events.humanitix.com/wildscreen-festival-botswana
