Celebrating Impact Filmmakers at the 2024 Jackson Wild Media Awards
The Jackson Wild Media Awards is one of the most prestigious in the nature and wildlife world. What makes Jackson Wild special is a sense of community seldom found at this scale in the nature and wildlife industry. Straight out of FAME Week, Noel and Pragna flew to Washington D.C. to attend the ceremony and present a Lifetime Achievement Award to the legendary impact filmmaker and conservationist, Mike Pandey.
An Indian filmmaker born in Kenya, Mike has dedicated his career to specialising in films about wildlife and the environment - and has won over 300 awards in recognition of his passionate work spreading awareness about biodiversity, species conservation and the protection of key species like whale sharks, elephants, tigers, vultures and horseshoe crabs.
From across the water - unable to join in person - he delivered heartfelt words underscoring how this prestigious award acts as inspiration anew to double down and continue contributing to the collective legacy of change which his son Gautam Pandey (National Award Winning Wildlife Filmmaker) and daughter-in-law Doel Trivedy (Award Winning Director and Producer, National Geographic Explorer and founder of Green Stories) are part of in their own right. Accepting the award on his behalf, they shared a few words about their journey of learning and being so closely encouraged by Mike, words echoing the encouragement the award co-host and close friend and thought partner of NEWF, Malaika Vaz shared about how influential Mike was to her journey as a filmmaker.
The night saw the audience catch a glimpse of the nominees from each category - projects that represent a fraction of more than 450 film submissions meticulously reviewed by a diverse jury that included one of NEWF’s fellows, Siya Lerumo. Among them, projects NEWF has observed and cheered along from the early days of production, through to screening these very projects at the 2024 NEWF Congress with generous praise and warmth following from the fellows and industry guests in attendance.
Redefining traditional formats to honour a unique story, Kuishi na Simba by Erica Rugabandana took home the 2024 award for the Best Global Voices Film (award sponsored by Wildstar Academy) proving that she has indeed brought the challenges and reality of the intersection of humans and wildlife to screen in a way that resonates with global audiences, while remaining authentic to her creative vision. Erica’s approach to reenactment was originally considered risky, but using real locals who resonate with the story and the meeting of generations, is what she says made it a success - and it shows. Her local audiences in Tanzania felt like they belonged. Because they do. Kuishi na Simba’s global audience is able to view the issue of human and wildlife conflict and coexistence through their deeply authentic lens, more so with exposure continuing to grow through awards like these. Congratulations once again to the whole team!
The Turtle Walker took home the highest honour of the night; The Grand Tetons Award for the Best Conservation Film of the 2024 Jackson Wild Media Awards. A case study on empathy, this film married the deep resonance of being human with a conservation message that carries with it a tender, authentic and rare attention to detail. The technical excellence is a powerful example of the art of editing in collectively honouring a story - seamlessly creating flow from one format and technique to another.
Congratulations to Taira Malaney and the entire team who supported the production of this incredible story. Satish Bhaskar’s life’s work and legacy are honoured through this project and we are so proud of the talent held close to our community, both in fellowship and through our extended global community.
The talent paving the way through awards like these are case studies and guides to the exploration of new formats and community-inclusive approaches that deeply resonate with Indigenous storytelling in Africa and across the globe. We look forward to celebrating many more awards like these, as well as the unseen, more subtle ripples of change stemming from producing wildlife and conservation films in an industry that is experiencing a great season of change.
As Doel reminded us in her brief speech, change is not only made in leaps and bounds but through many small, consistent actions and efforts driven by passion and a collective cause.
Our heartfelt congratulations to all the nominees whose films immersed us in a beautiful world of storytelling, to advocate for nature and her people!
