Four Wins for TMFS at Nature Film “Oscars”

On 1 October, the winners of the Jackson Wild Media Awards – regarded as the “Oscars” of the nature film branch – were announced in a virtual ceremony. Terra Mater Factual Studios are thrilled to walk away with four awards.

Winner of the Best Ecosystem Film – Long Form category, ‘Okavango – River of Dreams: Divine Journey’:  is the fourth part of the international award-winning documentary series exploring the unique wildlife of Botswana’s Okavango Delta. Filmmakers Dereck and Beverly Joubert devoted years to capturing the finest footage of the region.

‘Sea of Shadows’ was crowned again: this time as the winner of Best Impact Campaign. The thrilling feature documentary uncovers an ongoing environmental disaster in the Sea of Cortez that has led to the near-extinction of the vaquita, the world’s smallest whale. The film’s international campaign has had an impact at the highest levels, making the previously unknown vaquita the focus of an unparalleled rescue action.

‘Corona – The Pandemic and The Pangolin’ and ‘Pumas – Legends of the Ice Mountains’ walk away with a Special Jury Award. They were specially selected by the jury as films “worthy of recognition in their own special way outside other categories.”

More than 620 films were entered into the film festival this year and screened by a jury of 150 international experts. In recognition of the increasing significance of media and film for the environment, Jackson Wild will now be held as an annual event. “Learning of the four Jackson Wild awards was a bittersweet moment for us,” says Walter Köhler. “This year, Jackson Wild was planned to take place in Austria’s Neusiedler See National Park at the end of September. Unfortunately, the American organizers had to decide to hold the event virtually because of corona. But our success makes up for the fact that this incredible event won’t be taking place in Austria until 2022.”