A small fox with light brown fur and big ears sits alert in the dry, grassy field of the grasslands. The sun casts a warm glow over the scene, highlighting the fox's curious expression against the tall grass.
A grizzly bear strolls through grassy grasslands, where the landscape is slightly barren with sparse vegetation. Its thick fur blends brown and tan hues, as it gazes ahead in a relaxed posture.
A large bison stands on the expansive grasslands under a cloudy sky. Its brown fur appears shaggy, and its head is lowered as it looks toward the viewer. The vast landscape stretches out behind it, featuring distant hills.

Grasslands: North America’s Hidden Wilderness

Nature & Wildlife·1 x 50 min·Completed

Uncover the hidden wonders of North America's Northern Great Plains – wildlife spectacles, ancient predators, and bold efforts to save this endangered wilderness.

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Genre
Conservation
Nature & Wildlife
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
4K
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
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Synopsis

‘Grasslands: North America’s Hidden Wilderness’  is a journey through one of the planet’s least known, most beautiful and most endangered ecosystems ­– the Northern Great Plains.

When most people think of the prairies, they think of roads stretching on for miles with barely a curve, symmetrical lines of corn, canola and wheat reaching for the horizon.  But, just beyond those croplands, there lies an unknown wilderness where a diverse array of life bursts at every scale. The often-surprising wild inhabitants of this land rely on the specific conditions available only in the heartland of the continent. However, the wild prairie is a shadow of its former self. In fact, the grasslands are considered the most endangered – and least protected – ecosystem on the continent.

Prior to European settlement, the Great Plains were home to enormous, thundering herds of bison and antelope. Wolves and grizzly bears thrived at the top of the diverse food chain in this vast, unobstructed landscape. It truly was the “Serengeti of the North American continent”.  Though much has been lost, there is still enough wildness that exists in these flatlands to inspire awe.

Hundreds of thousands of sandhill cranes converge on the Platte River in Nebraska on their northward migration in one of the world’s great wildlife spectacles. A family of swift foxes – house-cat-sized canids – eke out a living in a summer amongst the sage brush. Pronghorn antelope – one of the last remaining indigenous animals from the Ice Age – learn to navigate the modern, human landscape. Dust is thrown and horns are locked as 2000 pound bull bison clash in battle for the right to breed. And grizzly bears – driven off the landscape in the 1800s – are moving farther back out onto the prairie than ever before.

This film is an evocative exploration of a surprising landscape. Featuring never-before-filmed animal behaviour, the film will profile this landscape in a way that audiences have never seen before. It will pair blue-chip wildlife behaviour sequences with various human characters – First Nations, Scientists and Ranchers – who are working on the front lines of unique conservation practices and partnerships to save North America’s remaining wild grasslands.

Team

Written by J eff Turner
Directed by Alex Burr
Executive producers Andrea Gastgeb, Sabine Holzer
Production companies A co-production of Terra Mater Factual Studios and River Road Films

Awards & Recognitions

Redondo Beach, USA US International Film & Video Festival Gold Camera (Category: Environment, Ecology) 2020
UN HQ, USA World Wildlife Day Film Showcase: Biodiversity Winner (Category: People & Wild Species) 2020
Cannes, France Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards Winner Silver Dolphin (Category: Nature, Environment & Ecology) 2019
Cogne, Italy Gran Paradiso Film Festival Nomination 2020
Rotterdam, Netherlands WFFR - Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam Official Selection 2020
Eckernförde, Germany Green Screen - Internationales Naturfilmfestival Eckernförde Official Selection (Category: Best Science Film) 2020
Australia SCINEMA International Science Film Festival Nomination 2020
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival Gödöllö Official Selection 2020
Missoula, USA IWFF - International Wildlife Film Festival Official Selection (Category: Living with Wildlife) 2020
New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Finalist (Category: Nature & Wildlife) 2020
Albert, France FIFA - Festival International du Film Animalier Official Selection 2020
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