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Paramount Skydance wins Warner Bros; Netflix walks away and its shares jump
Paramount Skydance, emerged as the winner in a months-long battle to acquire Warner Bros Discovery, after streaming giant Netflix on Thursday (26th March) refused to raise its bid for the storied Hollywood studio.
"We've always been disciplined, and at the price required to match Paramount Skydance's latest offer, the deal is no longer financially attractive, so we are declining to match the Paramount Skydance bid," Netflix said in a statement.
Netflix confirmed to Reuters that it was walking away from bidding for Warner Bros Discovery. The Warner Bros board still has to terminate the Netflix deal and adopt Paramount Skydance's offer.
"Once our board votes to adopt the Paramount merger agreement, it will create tremendous value for our shareholders," Warner CEO David Zaslav said in a statement. "We are excited about the potential of a combined Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros Discovery and can’t wait to get started working together telling the stories that move the world."
The European Wildlife Film Awards (EWFA), an annual celebration of outstanding documentary films that focus on nature, animal and conservation stories from the European continent!
Presented and powered by a non profit organisation, the German Wildlife Foundation the EWFA competition hopes to attract the most exciting, touching, informative and crafty films, capable of inspiring audiences to love and protect European wildlife. This competition honors the work of wildlife filmmakers and brings Europe's nature to the big screen.
Home of the EWFA is Germanys first nature film theatre at the Wildlife Embassy in Hamburgs HafenCity, located in Germanys highest sustainably designed wooden tower, the ¨roots“.
The wait is over! After a rigorous review by our esteemed jury, we are thrilled to unveil the official finalists for the PWFF 2025-2026 submission season. Out of the numerous submissions we received from across the globe, these extraordinary stories rose to the top, showcasing the power, beauty, and urgent narratives of our natural world.
BEST IN MICRO-DOC FILM:
Home
The Leap Beneath
Nashipai’s Legacy
BEST SHORT FILM:
Chameleon Corridors
Guardians of the Earth
Peixinho (Little Fish)
Notre Paradis De Plastique | Our Plastic Paradise
Thank You Bees
BEST EMERGING FILMMAKER:
Peixinho (Little Fish)
Leopard Dynasty: The Rise of Rana
Nyoka Mpenzi (Snakes My Love)
Even So (Phir Bhi)
Tides of Life
BEST FEATURE-LENGTH FILM:
Leopard Dynasty: The Rise of Rana
Nilgiris - A Shared Wilderness
Blue Burning
Wild Coast Warriors
Phantom of the Village Dogs
BEST AFRICAN FILM:
AFROTOPIA
Chameleon Corridors
A Fine Balance
BEST INNOVATIVE WILDLIFE STORYTELLING:
A Fine Balance
Chameleon Corridors
Congratulations to every filmmaker and team whose work made the cut!
Mark Your Calendar: The Countdown to Mombasa Begins!
The winners will be revealed live during the festival awards ceremony. Join us in celebrating these stories and the natural world and continent that inspires them. Festival Dates: May 27th - 31st, 2026
Location: Mombasa, Kenya
What better way to celebrate Africa Month (May) than by immersing yourself in the continent's premier wildlife film event? We’re putting the finishing touches on an unforgettable program of screenings, masterclasses, and networking events.
The 49th annual International Wildlife Film Festival is coming!
Founded in 1977, IWFF is the oldest ongoing festival devoted to wildlife films.
The festival returns in 2026 for its 49th year in Missoula, Montana.
The mission of the International Wildlife Film Festival is to promote awareness, knowledge, and understanding of wildlife, habitat, people, and nature through excellence in film.
The long-standing festival champions wildlife filmmakers and challenges conventional expectations about how we conserve wildlife and habitat.
The 49th edition of the festival is coming: April 18-23, 2026
Greenwashed
is a documentary film and series released in late 2025, co-hosted by British naturalist and broadcaster Chris Packham and Mexican physician and filmmaker Dr. Sofia Pineda Ochoa.
The documentary aims to expose what the creators call "uncomfortable truths" that many mainstream environmental organizations often ignore. It challenges prevailing narratives about sustainability and highlights how misinformation or "false solutions" can actually hinder real progress in addressing the climate and ecological crisis.
The film explores the hypocrisy within certain environmental movements and investigates how corporate "greenwashing"—the practice of using misleading environmental claims for marketing—stalls authentic action.
The film has been released as a full-length documentary (nearly 3 hours long) and as a three-part series (broadcast on various TV networks).
Packham describes the film as an "urgent call to action" intended to spark honest conversations about the survival of humans and wildlife.
Featuring BBC-presenter and fearless activist, Chris Packham, and created by Mexican physician and environmentalist Sofia Pineda Ochoa, this film confronts existential ecological crises threatening our planet through the lens of a major yet uncomfortable truth — one that most environmental organizations refuse to acknowledge or, worse, actively deny.
The film exposes the threat this silence poses for both humans and animals worldwide. We know how to solve our problems and change the world. But the question remains, will we?
HELL IS HERE: What Greenwashed Reveals About the Truth We’re Not Allowed to Say by Jonathan Ratner
Why the most taboo words in environmentalism are “overpopulation” and “less.”
What Thomas Robert Malthus got wrong in 1798 was that he underestimated two things 1) the discovery and utilization of vast sources of energy that has allowed us to work around the limitations humans faced prior to the industrial revolution 2) the development and implementation of the scientific method which allowed us to get beyond the childish, immature and ineffective belief in a god and fairy tales to solve our problems.
Chris Packham urges UK broadcasters to raise climate alarm with national briefing
Award-winning broadcaster and conservationist Chris Packham is leading efforts to get the UK’s public service broadcasters to hold an urgent televised national emergency briefing about the climate crisis.
Packham was at Content London yesterday discussing the climate crisis fresh from delivering the opening speech at the UK’s first National Emergency Briefing last week.
The event saw a host of eminent scientists warn politicians, business and community leaders that the UK risks severe climate-related risks to its economy, public health, food systems and national security.
Packham now has UK broadcasters in his sights as he warns against pulling back from tackling the climate crisis, with an open letter urging the UK government and the country’s public broadcasters to air a televised national emergency briefing for the public about the climate crisis.
Addressed to UK prime minister Sir Kier Starmer and bosses at the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, 5, S4C and media regulator Ofcom, it is also asking them to run a comprehensive public engagement campaign, “so that everyone understands the profound risks this crisis poses to themselves and their families.”
“We’re presenting a letter to all the UK’s principal broadcasters basically saying you have a duty to tell audiences the truth. We’re recutting the scientists’ evidence from the National Emergency Briefing and making sure it lands on the desks of BBC leadership so they cannot ignore it,” said Packham.
“Broadcasters have a responsibility to help people start adapting rapidly to what’s coming. They must provide honest, science-based information instead of shying away from difficult truths.”
Winterwatch 2026 team Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams promise "a variety of wonderful wildlife and woolly hats"
Winterwatch 2026 will broadcast live from Northern Ireland's Mount Stewart for the first time as the series returns to iPlayer and BBC Two
¨I’ve been visiting Northern Ireland since the early 1990s and I always saw it as a very unspoilt part of the UK, it’s magnificent in terms of its natural resources and it has some exceptional species.¨ — Chris Packham
The BBC’s much-loved Winterwatch is back for 2026 - and this year marks an exciting new chapter. For the first time ever, the programme’s main, live base will be broadcast from the beautiful Mount Stewart estate on the shores of Strangford Lough in Northern Ireland.
Fronted by Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Iolo Williams, Winterwatch 2026 promises a spellbinding celebration of the natural world at its most dramatic. The series once again continues to inspire and captivate, giving viewers an intimate look at the wonder of winter wildlife across the UK.
Across the series, Chris, Michaela and Iolo will guide the audience through the topical wild stories shaping the UK winter, from climate-driven changes in migration, to the challenges local species face in a warming world. Expect innovative live camera rigs, creative storytelling, and discussions that shine a light on the beauty and vulnerability of our wildlife.
This year, Winterwatch returns to BBC Two & iPlayer from Tuesday 20 January - Friday 23 January at 7pm, across four nights.
CALL FOR ENTRIES: Wildscreen Panda Awards
& Official Selection 2026
Enter your film into the Wildscreen Panda Awards and Official Selection
We announce that submissions for the 2026 Panda Awards and Official Selection are now open.
Panda Awards
The 2026 Panda Awards competition comprises of 18 categories and 3 special awards including the Golden Panda, Outstanding Achievement Award and Field Craft Recognition.
Brand new for 2026, we’re excited to introduce the brand-new Digital-First Panda Award category, recognising the importance of digital-first storytelling in diversifying the stories of nature being told, the storytellers and the audiences being reached.
You can submit your film for the Panda Awards exclusively via FilmFreeway
Official Selection
The Official Selection is separate from the Panda Awards, and showcases creative and bold stories that spark positive and restorative action for our natural world, acting as a global launchpad for new and diverse voices.
Our Official Selection is split into two categories: short films, where we accept any film under 20 minutes or under including credits, including immersive technologies (VR / AR), and Mid-length & Feature films, where we encourage any submitters who’s work clocks in over the 20 minute mark.
You can submit your film for Official Selection exclusively via FilmFreeway
Submission Deadlines (for both Panda Awards & Official Selection)
Wildscreen´s Science in Storytelling – 19 & 20 March 2026
Science in Storytelling is back, and this time it’ll be completely online!
We’re bringing the 2026 edition of Science in Storytelling to you in the comfort of your own home, or wherever you happen to be; on shoot or out on location in some remote corner of the world.
This event brings scientists and filmmakers together in a symbiosis of minds to learn, collaborate and share how best to keep science at the heart of our natural world stories.
Our Aims
Highlight the importance of nurturing relationships between those with knowledge, and those that want to share it.
Platform successful case studies of scientists and filmmakers coming together to communicate science effectively and creatively.
BAFTA albert has launched the Impact Producer Accelerator programme to support the role of Impact Producers in the industry. The immersive workshops in collaboration with Together Films are an industry focused, hands-on programme designed to power the next generation of Impact Producers in the UK.
These sessions are expert-led with high-value networking opportunities – participants will gain the practical tools, strategic frameworks and creative confidence needed to craft bold, effective social impact campaigns for Film & TV.
BAFTA albert’s Impact Producer Accelerator Programme is a springboard for emerging talent ready to shape culture, shift conversations and drive real-world change as an Impact Producer.
To mark this first anniversary of his death, as the last act of the Brock Initiative, we have released his final film, Super Stream or Not?, with aerials by Ross Birnie, edited and finished by Gareth Trezise.
Note the clever edit nod to Richard´s narration at the end of the film.
Super Stream or Not? – The struggle to save a classic chalk stream in Wiltshire, through six months, revealing wildlife, people and politics in the controversial water business.
The film explores the ecological significance and current vulnerability of the River Kennet, a rare and vital chalk stream running through the English countryside.
The narrative follows a diverse cast of wildlife, including water voles, otters, and various waterfowl, as they navigate the seasonal changes from winter floods to summer blossoms.
Beyond its natural beauty, Richard highlights the severe man-made pressures facing the waterway, such as sewage discharge, chemical runoff from farming, and plastic pollution. He underscores the tension between human development and environmental preservation, questioning whether this "super stream" can survive increasing contamination.
Ultimately, the film serves as a plea for the protection of this unique ecosystem and its fragile food chains against the backdrop of climate change and industrial neglect.
Richard was very keen that as part of his legacy his ¨Wildlife Winners & Losers¨ films be used and shared for the good of nature, so please watch, comment and share this film, and all of his others.
Plimsoll launches immersive division under natural history creative director
ITV Studios-owned Plimsoll Productions is launching a new AR and VR division under the leadership of Alex Ranken, its creative director of natural history.
Plimsoll Immersive will develop original content as well as leverage the prodco’s existing IP for AR and VR experiences in both 2D and 3D, building on the suitability of the natural history genre’s tendency toward immersive environments. The division is already producing multiple projects for major platforms, including an adaptation of “an award-winning title,” according to a release.
Ranken (pictured) will continue creating projects for traditional broadcast television with Plimsoll, where he’s worked since November 2018. His credits with the company include Apple TV’s Tiny World and The Wild Ones as well as Disney+’s A Real Bug’s Life, for which he earned an Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Single Camera Live Action Series in 2025.
GIANT
ARMADILLO Feat. BOB THE
DRAG QUEEN ... It’s About To Get Rill-o
Numbers for these nocturnal, armoured queens are declining, so Bob The Drag Queen jumped on a new track to give them the shout-out they deserve.
As part of our Werk of Nature series, drag royalty celebrates an underappreciated species — giving them a runway to impress, inspire, and slay.
The twist? The song features sounds from the last remaining high-altitude rainforests of the Peruvian Amazon — home to the Giant Armadillo.
Stream it, send it, stream it again, and let’s take Nature into the charts. All proceeds go straight back to support conservation on the ground.
Nature and drag? It's a date
Bob the Drag Queen sat down with expert conservationist Dr Rosa Vásquez Espinoza, who we’re supporting to help restore and protect the biodiversity of the last-remaining rainforests in the Peruvian Amazon, to talk about the species of the moment: Giant Armadillo.
They're round, proud, and severely threatened.
Grab a snack (the Giant Armadillo’s fond of ants and termites), get comfy, and roll through this interview.
Drag queens Heidi N Closet and Angeria Paris VanMicheals ruffle a few feathers as they come face to face with some of Nature’s most laid-back legends in a comedy toast.
Hoot or Scoot is part of our Werk of Nature series, where drag queen royalty see the funny side to Nature.
You have visited Bangladesh several times over the past year. What is the reason for your visits?
We are making a new documentary called Wild Bangladesh. It is an extraordinary country — about the size of the UK — but one of the most densely populated in the world, with around 175 million people. The UK has about 65 million, yet even here there is still room for wildlife.
Cinematographer Bob Poole on Filming Elephants With FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mm – Respectful Wildlife Filmmaking
Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Bob Poole reveals how the FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mm, paired with the ARRI ALEXA 35, enabled respectful wildlife filmmaking while delivering unprecedented intimacy in his elephant documentary. From vehicle-mounted setups to large-sensor advantages, here’s what it took to capture elephants in the wild without disturbing them.
Wildlife cinematographer Bob Poole spent decades developing his approach to filming elephants, an approach rooted in respect, patience, and maintaining proper distance from his subjects. His recent work on an elephant documentary for PBS Nature combined his lifelong passion with cutting-edge technology, specifically the FUJINON Duvo HZK25-1000mm box lens mounted on an ARRI ALEXA 35. The result demonstrates how professional wildlife filmmaking balances technical capability with ethical responsibility, where the right gear becomes essential for both image quality and animal welfare.
Interview with Katie Cleary and Founder of Ecoflix
Katie Cleary and David Casselman are reimagining conservation storytelling through Ecoflix, a not-for-profit streaming platform that funnels all revenue back into wildlife protection.
The red carpet rarely centres conservation, but a new streaming platform, EcoFlix, has set out to change that. EcoFlix, the world’s first not-for-profit global streaming platform, aims to re-centre conservation in media. All revenue generated from the company will go back into conservation efforts.
One of the new series streaming on EcoFlix, World Animal News, centres filmmaker and animal advocate Katie Cleary, whose work transforms global wildlife crises into stories that are human-focused.
EcoFlix founder David Casselman, a philanthropist and former trial lawyer, reimagined streaming as a vehicle driving on the shared road of ‘conservation impact.’ Together, Cleary and Casselman represent a growing shift in media: storytelling not just as entertainment, but as an intervention.
World Animal News arrives at a moment when biodiversity loss, habitat destruction, and species decline are accelerating, yet public attention is decelerating.
Cleary and Casselman aim to combat that by using a mission-driven model to converge on a simple, but ambitious idea: that emotionally resonant stories, backed by ethical production and useful financial reinvestment into conservation, can move audiences beyond awareness but towards finally taking action.
To discuss this mission, Honi sat down with Katie Cleary.
Kiah : World Animal News has grown into a global platform for animal welfare and environmental storytelling. What does this premiere represent for you personally, and how do you hope it shifts the public conversation around conservation?.
Katie Cleary: The premiere of World Animal News on Ecoflix represents a powerful milestone in bringing real animal stories to a global audience. It’s not just about showcasing wildlife, it’s about creating a meaningful platform where people can emotionally connect with animals and truly understand the urgency of conservation worldwide. My hope is that it shifts the conversation from apathy to empathy, inspiring action to protect our planet and its most vulnerable and precious creatures.
To understand the vision behind this project, Honi sat down with David Casselman.
K: Ecoflix is the world’s first not-for-profit global streaming platform — an ambitious and unconventional model. What experiences from your legal and philanthropic career shaped your decision to build media as a mission-first enterprise?
DC: In truth, media was my last choice as a medium to effect change. As an attorney I spent four decades fighting for “the least among us” in large part because I never accepted that premise. Animals never lie to you. They never deceive you by their actions. And, in addition, they forgive the humans in their lives for so many thoughtless acts and omissions we would never tolerate in silence. Animals are smart. They just cannot speak our languages.
For that reason, we treat them as if they lack intelligence or emotion. In truth, they are empathic, gifted, indeed, extremely intelligent in ways that we are not. But for reasons I have never understood, many people treat them poorly at best and often criminally. My experience in the law, advocating for animals, usually involved animals which were abused and/or mistreated by people. This work helped me see that animals (as my clients) are far more in need, and often more appreciative of simple kindnesses than humans. They may have no voice. But they do not deserve to be mistreated, as they so often are.
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Wildlife Filmmaker Places Ten Sony Cameras Around Red Squirrel’s Food Stash, Bears Ensue
Wildlife filmmaker Jake Davis placed ten high-end Sony cameras around a red squirrel’s food stash in Yellowstone’s high-elevation woodlands.
This project had been years in the making, beginning with a simple desire to film grizzly bears and eventually turning into a deep curiosity with the intricate web of life that revolves around a single resource: whitebark pine cones.
For red squirrels, late summer is all about harvesting those cones, which are packed with dozens of seeds that are about as good as it gets in terms of fat and protein, a calorie-dense little package they bury in their middens, which are piles of debris and soil that serve as secret winter pantries. These little guys (and they are really small) are working nonstop, dragging heavy, sticky cones along well-worn trails and stashing them under logs or in the ground. It’s impossible not to be impressed by their efforts, which result in a small food stockpile that attracts a variety of creatures.
Observing Ancient Creatures in Prehistoric Planet: Ice Age
Cinematographer Jonathan Jones takes a practical approach to documenting the extinct animals of a long-lost Earth.
What do you get when you blend the blue-chip nature documentaries of the BBC’s Natural History Unit (Life on Earth, Blue Planet, Planet Earth) with the cutting-edge digital creature effects of films like The Lion King and The Jungle Book? In the first two seasons of Apple TV’s Prehistoric Planet, narrator and natural historian — and presenter the aforementioned documentaries — Sir David Attenborough teamed up with executive producer Jon Favreau — director of the aforementioned films — for a new breed of wildlife series that gave viewers a realistic glimpse at the environments and inhabitants of Earth’s distant past.
Series cinematographer Jonathan Jones shot Seasons 1 and 2, which featured Tyrannosaurs, Triceratops and other famous dinos of the Late Cretaceous Period (100-66 million years ago) in their desert, forest, mountain and ocean settings. For Season 3, Jones traveled to 15 different countries to capture a frozen world being radically altered by the seismic natural changes of the Late Pleistocene (129,000-12,000 years ago).
Jones drew from his natural-history experience shooting series like Netflix’s Tiny Creatures and the BBC’s Planet Earth II to inform his approach to Prehistoric Planet. "My job was to work alongside the VFX team to develop the photography parameters that always made us stay true to and honor the natural history filmmaking aesthetic," he says. In this interview with AC, Jones relates how he used tried-and-true wildlife photography techniques to make Ice Age animals — from woolly mammoths to saber-tooth cats to dwarf elephants — feel more real than ever before.
Let’s talk about the breakdown between the visual effects and practical photography.
The premise of Prehistoric Planet is: "Can we re-create a Planet Earth series, but set in the past?" For Season 3, we asked ourselves, "How can we make these animals feel more real than ever before?" They're of a scale more akin to today’s animals, so in addition to visual effects, we used puppets on location. The puppeteers and performers blocked the scene from our previs, so we roughly knew where the animals were going to be, but we didn’t know exactly how they were going to move. So, we approached everything like we would on a real wildlife shoot. When the puppeteer moves the puppet’s head, the operator has to respond and pull focus. Those nuances, interactions and adjustments are what made the characters and environment feel real.
What kinds of puppets did you have on set?
It varied depending on the physiology of the animal and how it moved. Some were controlled with rods and some were the puppeteers in costume. We had big Smilodon [saber-toothed] cats made in sections that could be moved with great detail and accuracy. Others were model heads made to scale, which were positioned within the scene.
Is the future of the forests being foretold? The Message of the Lyrebird echoes the answer
The Message of the Lyrebird, a new one-hour bird mimicry movie is a journey deep into the native forests of Australia, where a scientist, a study group, a lyrebird sound recordist, a lyrebird keeper, an activist and a Knowledge-Holder descended from the People of the Lyrebird help us understand not only the lyrebird’s sophisticated artwork, but what its message may be for humanity.
Film director, Mark Pearce says the documentary [which is a unique blend of stunning wildlife cinematography and poetic storytelling] is a reminder that ‘what you do echoes.’
“The film showcases the intelligence of the lyrebird to help see ourselves as part of the forest. We are not seperate. What we do [to the forest] is sung back to us,” Pearce says.
“The lyrebird holds the history of the forest in its song… and so this type of record- keeping has become a living echo, or remembrance, woven into the story of our landscape.”
“The film doesn’t tell people what the future will be – but rather reminds them that the forest is listening, and it asks: What new song will you add?”
The 2026 American Conservation Film Festival reveals this year’s poster, by Hungarian artist Péter Takåcs.
Péter’s striking illustration features an interpretation of the ACFF Festival mascot—the great horned owl—whose presence reflects wisdom, awareness, and the watchful spirit of conservation. Designed to capture the wonder and urgency of protecting our natural world, this year’s artwork sets the tone for an inspiring weekend of international films and community conversation.
The Festival returns March 13–15, 2026, in Shepherdstown, WV, at Shepherd University.
We look forward to sharing a powerful lineup of over 25 films, Q&As with filmmakers, and conversations that inspire action and connection.
Full Festival passes are on sale here: conservationfilmfest.org/passes – Your pass gives you access to the full weekend of screenings and events.
Each March, DCEFF brings the world’s largest green film festival to museums, embassies, universities, and other cultural institutions across Washington DC.
In addition to the many thousands of audience members attending in-person programming, DCEFF offers year-round virtual screenings to passionate and environmentally-conscious viewers across the United States and the world.
The theme of the 34th Annual Environmental Film Festival in the Nation’s Capital: Against the Current.
The Trees & Seas Film Festival is an international hybrid initiative that connects global audiences through both online streaming and in-person events hosted by community partners around the world.
This approach ensures accessibility while creating meaningful, localized connections through storytelling.
We bring together local communities by using film to inspire conversations, collective action, resilience, and real-world impact.
75% of proceeds support local efforts to mitigate and remediate plastic pollution and advance circular economy initiatives.
"Every film festival is an invitation to a conversation, a space to reflect, to challenge, and to dream of a better tomorrow."
100 sites strong – and we're just getting started – SCOTLAND: The Big Picture
It began in 2019 with two farmers and a single question: How do I rewild my land? Today, our Northwoods Rewilding Network brings together farms, crofts, estates and community-owned lands across Scotland, all united by their ambition to restore nature at scale.
That shared resolve has carried us to a milestone we’re deeply proud of: the Northwoods Rewilding Network is now 100 partners strong!
Individually, each partner is responsible for relatively small plots of land – from 50 to 1,000 acres. But together, they form something much bigger – a growing network where native woodlands are expanding, carbon-storing wetlands are returning, and habitats are better connected to help wildlife recover, expand and disperse.
“We’d have these ideas and think, ‘OK – can’t do that’ and then discover he was up for it and it was really great. I’ve worked with presenters in their 30s who would moan about that. He’s fantastic.”
As shown in our new film, the Northwoods network is now driving major ecological recovery across 31,576 acres of land – more than two thirds the size of Glasgow – while creating over 100 jobs and more than £3 million in local investment:
But this milestone is about more than numbers. It speaks to a growing appetite for nature restoration in Scotland, and shows how working collaboratively can deliver significant collective impact.
‘There is a growing awareness that Scotland is one of the most nature-depleted countries on the planet, and an expanding cohort of people keen to do something about it,’ says James Nairne, Northwoods Project Lead, who recently signed the 100th land partner, Cambo Estate in Fife.
‘Cambo is delighted to be the 100th partner of the Northwoods Rewilding Network…and we are greatly excited about the opportunity to work across the network with like-minded landowners.’
Jasmine Burnley, Cambo Estate
Reaching this milestone has been a collective effort, shaped by many people and places. With 100 sites now spanning Scotland – from Shetland to the Solway Firth – our focus turns to unlocking funding and helping our partners accelerate the recovery already underway on their land.
The magic of David Attenborough is that he reminds us to appreciate the world
The broadcaster inspires us to take pleasure in nature and never take it for granted, writes Pete Etheridge of Sway, Hampshire.
It was so heartening to read Patrick Barkham’s report (29 December) on Sir David Attenborough’s latest TV documentary, Wild London. For the entirety of my life, Sir David has been a source of inspiration.
“One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds,” the late American ecologist Aldo Leopold once wrote. For many of us who work daily in conservation and nature recovery, these words sadly ring true, and it can sometimes be hard to find the energy to stay positive.
The magic that Sir David brings to us is his continued sense of wonder and passion for the natural world. That in itself is perhaps his greatest lesson. Despite the continued decline in biodiversity and our own hectic lives, we should all take a moment to observe and appreciate the world around us.
Most of us will never travel to the places that Sir David has been to in his life, but we can all learn to take pleasure in the nature that surrounds us, from the fieldfares cackling every morning outside my window to the robin that follows me around the garden and the return of migrants in spring.
Yes, nature needs our help. Yes, it is in decline. What Sir David so eloquently reminds us, though, is that we should never take it for granted or allow ourselves to forget that sense of pure wonder.
Nature documentary stars who could ‘replace’ David Attenborough – one name 'tops the bill'
Although he is just months away from hitting his 100th birthday, Sir David Attenborough seems to show no signs of retiring. The veteran broadcaster lends his soothing voice to many nature documentaries and is a complete national treasure.
However, with him not getting any younger, the discussion of who might step in to replace him on shows such as the BBC's Planet Earth and Blue Planet has often come about. While there is no official replacement for Sir David lined up, there are a number of prominent contenders.
We take a look at some of the people in the running.
“It will perish.” A penguin chick has a lucky escape from being crushed to death. Then disaster strikes
In footage filmed for the BBC's Penguins: Meet the Family, a chick gets separated from its parent – will they reunite?
It’s tough being a penguin chick. Not only do you have to contend with predators, freezing temperatures and blizzards, but you might also be kidnapped by an adult penguin.
Penguins have such strong parental urges to raise chicks that adults who have lost their young will attempt to kidnap another.
This can lead to fights among the penguins which risk crushing the chick, tucked underneath their parent, to death.
But while one chick initially has a lucky escape, it risks getting stranded in a blizzard. Can it find its parent in time?
Filmmaker Aishwarya Sridhar interview: On her award-winning docu Leopard Dynasty: The Rise of Rana
Award-winning filmmaker and National Geographic Explorer Aishwarya Sridhar talks about her documentary, ‘Leopard Dynasty: The Rise of Rana’ and what caught her attention about her feline muse
Aishwarya Sridhar first laid eyes on Rana, the young leopard who would become the central character of her award-winning documentary, Leopard Dynasty: The Rise of Rana, released on Animal Planet this Republic Day, through a Facebook post. A friend of hers, she says, began tagging her on pictures of Rana, taken at the Jhalana Leopard Reserve in Jaipur and “something about him caught my attention.”
This virtual encounter provided to be serendipitous: she had finished a documentary on Asiatic lions and had already done one on tigers, so “in my mind, I wanted to do a trilogy on India’s big cats, and my next natural selection of a subject was the leopard,” says Aishwarya, the first Indian woman to win the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award, who had been narrowing on locations to shoot leopards at around this time.
Since these pictures of Rana piqued her interest, she decided to spend her Christmas break there in 2022, visiting this small park, India’s first leopard reserve, with her family. “I saw Rana on my first safari in Jhalana,” she says, recalling being struck by the animal’s boldness and nonchalance in that hour or so she spent with him. ‘Something clicked, and I knew I had found my next protagonist. So, I applied for permissions and began filming,” says the Mumbai-based wildlife photographer, conservationist and filmmaker, the co-founder & CEO of Bambee Studios, a production company in India that focuses on natural history and environmental documentaries.
She began filming in February 2023, spending over a year in the rock-strewn, semi-arid forests of Rajasthan, patiently tracking this young leopard as he grew stronger and began challenging his father for territory. “It is a constant journey of sitting in the forest, waiting patiently day after day to get those moments that really tie a story together,” says Aishwarya, recalling a couple of her favourite moments of the shoot, especially one involving an encounter between Rana and a nilgai. “It is very difficult to find a leopard that would prey on a species like the nilgai, because the latter is literally three times its size,” she says. When Rana went in for a pregnant female, she was sure that it wouldn’t be a successful hunt. “I thought he would get kicked and come back injured, but, though he struggled for 30 minutes, he did not let go and eventually ended up killing the nilgai,” she says.
By the end of her filming, Aishwarya had nearly 50 terabytes (TB) of footage, which would be whittled down to this 52-minute film. “We started the edit in June 2024, and had a whole 6-7 month very tough editing schedule. Then, we went into post-production — the music came in, the SFX, the foley, the narration, and I simultaneously wrote the story,” says the 29-year-old, who fell in love with the natural world as a child, which she attributes to growing up in Panvel, Navi Mumbai, “a green paradise…I had a lot of wildlife around my own backyard and would end up chasing everything that crept, crawled and flew,” she laughs.
Pablo Behrens is a London-based film director and producer.
His latest film ¨London´s Last Wilderness¨ is about the ecology of a fantastic region close to London.
London’s Last Wilderness is the visual experience of an explorer landing on an undiscovered planet.
Every shot in the film was captured using truthful documentary techniques—no retakes, no setups. What you see happened once, and only once.
Like the first Europeans in the Amazon or astronauts orbiting the moon, there was no time for rehearsals or scripted reflections. The camera moved with the explorer—fast, focused, in the moment.
A mere 30 miles crow's flight from Piccadilly Circus lies a place London largely ignores: the Greater Thames Estuary. It's an ecological and cosmological force hiding in plain sight.
One of its secrets is scale. The estuary rivals London in size. To truly cover it, you need years — exploring north and south banks. From land, sea and sky.
Beyond the coast lies a maze of creeks and shifting islands, shaped by rivers and tides that change everything, twice a day. Half the terrain vanishes and reappears with the North Sea. No two days are the same. No tide repeats.
To be honest with this place, you have to film it all. Across four seasons, in all weather, under every tidal condition. Nothing could be skipped. Nothing faked.
The film has no presenters. This is not exactly a human story.
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Generative AI Just Killed the Wildlife Video. Should You Care?
You're not crazy—the critters on Instagram are wilder than ever, thanks to artificial intelligence-generated video. Our articles editor takes a deep dive into the technology, culture, and ethics around this new footage.
A black bear lumbers through a suburban front yard that’s been decorated for Halloween. One of the decorations—an animatronic ghost—begins to shake and moan and light up, its sensor triggered by the approaching animal. Terrified, the bear turns and sprints away, only to slam head-first into the homeowner’s pickup truck.
This clip caught my attention when it popped into my Instagram feed a few months ago. I am a huge fan of wildlife videos—specifically, footage of whimsical animal activity captured by wildlife cameras, dashcams, or people’s home surveillance equipment. As I have done far too many times, I mindlessly clicked the “like” button and then shared the bear video with some friends, before returning to my braindead scrolling.
Unbeknownst to me, this video was a fake, just another AI-generated clip circulating the Internet. Since I validated it with my click, Instagram’s algorithm immediately chummed my feed with an impressive tonnage of wacky AI wildlife videos. In quick succession I watched a porch-pirate raccoon attack a decorative clown; a barn owl peck a rock climber on the side of El Capitan; a marauding squirrel chase a grizzly bear down a bike trail.
I hoovered up this content, watching hundreds of videos. Yes, I knew that they were fake. But they appealed to my brain in the same way that real ones do—my neurons tingled as I endlessly scrolled. Within a matter of hours I’d developed an addiction to AI wildlife videos.
This affliction was short-lived, and after a few days, I came to an unfortunate realization: I could no longer discern an authentic wacky animal video from one created by generative AI.
“If you start to think some of it can be fake, you start to think all of it can be fake,” Ben Colman, an AI expert, told me. “And pretty much everything you see or hear on the Internet can be deepfaked now.”
How AI-Generated Animal Videos Mislead Millions About Nature
A house cat stares down a leopard in a suburban backyard. The big cat growls, the child in the background freezes, and—against all odds—the cat lunges. The leopard turns tail and bolts. Within seconds, the clip racks up thousands of likes and comments: “Cats really are fearless!” or “This is why I love animals!”
Except, of course, none of it ever happened.
The leopard, the child, and the heroic cat are all creations of artificial intelligence. Yet the video has been shared tens of thousands of times across TikTok, Facebook, and X, fooling millions into believing it’s real. And it’s not alone. Other viral AI-generated wildlife clips show raccoons riding crocodiles down jungle rivers, bears playing on trampolines, and deer politely joining family picnics. They’re funny, heartwarming, and almost believable—but according to scientists, they’re also dangerous
A new study from the University of Córdoba (UCO) in Spain warns that this wave of synthetic wildlife videos is quietly eroding public understanding of nature. Far from being harmless entertainment, these ultra-realistic fabrications are distorting how people—especially children—think animals behave, what species are truly endangered, and even what kinds of creatures live near them.
“The main conclusion from our study,” José Guerrero Casado, lead author of the research, explains to A-Z Animals, “is that AI-generated wildlife videos often present distorted or unrealistic portrayals of nature. These misrepresentations can spread misinformation, especially among children and audiences with limited ecological knowledge.”
As social media becomes a dominant source of environmental learning, the researchers say this flood of digital fantasy is undermining conservation efforts and fueling a dangerous disconnect between society and the wild world it claims to love.
Why Are AI-Generated Wildlife Videos Harmful?
To understand the implications AI-generated wildlife videos have on audiences, the Córdoba team analyzed dozens of viral AI-generated clips across the social media platforms TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X, examining how often they were shared, liked, or commented on to measure their influence. They found that these digital creations often depict animals acting in ways that defy biology and ecology, predators playing gently with prey, apex carnivores wandering suburban lawns, and rare species appearing as common backyard visitors
“Some AI-generated videos depict highly implausible or exaggerated human-wildlife interactions—such as large carnivores entering homes, attacking pets, or even harming people,” Casado says. “These videos are often presented in a format that imitates low-quality security footage, which can make them appear more authentic.”
Such fantasy-filled depictions can have subtle but serious consequences. When young audiences or less scientifically literate viewers take these portrayals at face value, they form unrealistic expectations about the natural world. “When social media users, especially children or individuals with limited ecological knowledge, perceive these videos as real, they may develop distorted views of wildlife,” adds Casado.
The problem lies not only in spreading falsehoods but also in creating a false sense of familiarity. Videos that portray dangerous species as friendly or endangered species as abundant can distort the sense of rarity and risk that conservation messaging depends on. They erode the emotional urgency that motivates people to protect wildlife.
The viral “cat versus leopard” clip is a particularly damaging example. The idea that a leopard would appear in a European suburb—or that a domestic cat could scare one away—is pure fiction, but the imagery feels plausible enough to shape viewers’ beliefs about big cats.
This distortion becomes more dangerous as AI tools grow more accessible. Videos that once required film studio budgets can now be created on a smartphone in seconds.
“Some AI-generated videos depict highly implausible or exaggerated human-wildlife interactions—such as large carnivores entering homes, attacking pets, or even harming people,” Casado explains. “These videos are often presented in a format that imitates low-quality security footage, which can make them appear more authentic.”
The psychological effect may swing in two directions. On one hand, fake videos showing predators in human spaces can heighten fear, making species like leopards, wolves, or sharks seem more threatening than they are. That, in turn, could reduce public sympathy for conservation measures. On the other hand, overly cute or humanized portrayals of wildlife—animals acting like pets or performers—could make viewers complacent, leading them to believe that endangered species are plentiful or that wild animals are safe to approach. Both extremes weaken conservation attitudes and blur the line between wildness and domestication.
“Not even AI could imagine that!” Photographer finds unreal-looking sea creature in Cornwall
Rainbow slugs are being found more frequently in the UK as a result of warming waters.
A wildlife photographer in Cornwall has shared hypnotic footage of what might be the UK’s most beautiful slug.
“Have you ever seen such a colourful slug?” says wildlife filmmaker Jacob Rheams on Instagram while sharing footage of the nudibranch creeping along in the rockpools.
The multicolour animal looks like a make-believe creature with its bright pink body, and pink and purple cerata (finger-like projections that allow it to breathe) flecked with orange and yellow “frosted tips” at the end.
King Charles III's documentary sets out his philosophy for saving the planet
Britain's King Charles III and Queen Camilla attend the premiere of Finding Harmony: A King's Vision, at Windsor Castle in Berkshire, England, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026.
In his new film, “Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision,” Charles delivers a simple message — that humanity needs to restore the balance between man and nature if it hopes to solve global warming and many of the other problems facing the world today. Helping spread that gospel, he hopes, will be his legacy.
“It all boils down to the fact that we are actually nature ourselves, we are a part of it, not apart from it, which is really how things are being presented for so long,’’ Charles says in the closing moments of the documentary before turning to Shakespeare. “Maybe, by the time I shuffle off this mortal coil, there might be a little more awareness … of the need to bring things back together again.’’
'Criticisms really upset him'
Charles and Amazon Prime unveiled the film on Wednesday at Windsor Castle, near London, ahead of a red-carpet premiere attended by celebrities including Kate Winslet, who narrates the film.
The film spells out the king’s philosophy that humans will only thrive if they learn to work with nature, not against it, because they are as much a part of the natural world as animals, insects and trees. Charles first addressed these ideas in his 2010 book “Harmony: A New Way of Looking at Our World.”
It also gives him the chance to confront those who have lampooned him as a dilettante flitting aimlessly from one cause to another with no rhyme or reason. On the contrary, the film argues, climate change, urban planning, sustainable agriculture, traditional crafts and fostering understanding between religions — causes to which the king has devoted much of his adult life — are inter-related issues that must be dealt with to create sustainable communities.
Behind the scenes with Too Wild wildlife filmmaking course
The Too Wild initiative that sponsors local students from communities near game reserves ...
Offering immersive training, bridging the gap between locals and conservation areas to foster new talent, offering hands-on experience in capturing wildlife stories, making a real impact in conservation through community upliftment and skill-building.
Beverly and Dereck Joubert reflect on 40 years of African wildlife photography in new book
For more than 40 years, Beverly and Dereck Joubert have lived with, photographed and filmed African wildlife.
Their images bear witness not just to the majesty of life on the continent, but also the host of threats that confront both the animals and the wilderness.
¨A magnificent large-format coffee table book featuring the dazzling wildlife and haunting landscapes of the African continent, with more than 250 four-colour photographs. From one of National Geographic's most popular photographers and her filmmaker husband, these luxe retrospective documents a 40 year odyssey through Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania. This dazzling book of photography is a vivid journey into Africa’s illuminating landscape and all its varied creatures. One of the most spellbinding places on the planet, the continent is home to animals of all sizes and species, making it one of the most sought-after destinations in the world. Prizewinning photographer and National Geographic explorer Beverly Joubert has spent more than 40 years documenting the wildlife that traverse the African terrain with her filmmaker husband, Dereck. Their passion for animals has resulted in striking images that tell an arresting story in an instant, opening a window into the souls of their subjects and inspiring viewers to fight for their survival. Each alluring shot includes Dereck's observations on the wildlife they hold so dear. Organised into five themes, the book reveals the essence of Africa: *Awe: a leopard, his eyes glowing, from an acacia tree *Compassion: a lion devouring a buffalo *Humility: a baboon silhouetted against the moon *Intimacy: a baby elephant snuggling with his mother *Legacy: a rhino being rescued from poachers Both profound and inspiring, this majestic book forms a bridge between the animals, the lands, and the photographer. Each page is an impassioned call to conserve all forms of life - no matter what it takes.¨
We focus in documentary making on land and underwater, we do high speed, infrared and thermal filming. We can also help as fixers in Cyprus and Greece.
Victoria Clarke – an Australia-based Presenter/Host/Narrator
Victoria is a freelance television presenter, broadcaster, science communicator and narrator for documentaries and television series specialising in wildlife, science, natural history and adventure/travel.
She studied a Bachelor of Science in Zoology at the University of Queensland, which she paired with formal training in television presenting and communications, and has since combined the two fields as a host for wildlife and natural history media.
Her work as a wildlife presenter has taken her to many interesting and remote places in the natural world, and she is an avid traveller and adventurer.
Victoria believes in the power of storytelling, and it's her objective to share information about our planet, and the scientific discoveries made here, to the wider community through compelling, entertaining and accurate stories.
Victoria knows that through the art of nature filmmaking, the importance of conservation and exposure to the beauty of the natural world can be truly understood and appreciated.
Massimiliano (Max) Finzi – a Marine Supervisor – Assistant Underwater Camera – Water Safety Diver
Max is a professional Marine Supervisor and Safety diver in Media, Film and HATV at Netflix, Prime, Lionsgate, Disney, BBC amongst others.
Based in both the UK (Devon) and Italy.
He says" "I have great experience in water diving safety. I am a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer, an SSI Divemaster Instructor and the HSE Scuba L.4 and I’m also Instructor of many diving specialties; I’m an underwater camera assistant and also operate independently. I also have experience of training cast and crew in scuba diving to facilitate underwater sequences.
I have done over 10,000 dives in extremely different places and locations such as sea, ocean, river, altitude, lake, caves, under ice, deep and wrecks using all different equipments; I have worked as a dive instructor and dive manager for 21 years and in the last 5 as part of a team in the Marine department in film and TV.
Before becoming a diver in 1996 I was a studio still-life photographer a profession that I brought with me underwater;
I have the Gates STO (Setup/Test/Operate) certification made by Esprit Film; RYA PowerBoat L2, VHF Radio Operator, Day skipper.
I also have the IRATA Rope Access certification L1 and A1/A3 Drone open category.
Acclaimed filmmaker Georgina Willis is set to release highly-anticipated environmental documentary INSECT_O_CIDE, delivering a cinematic exploration of the increasingly critical issue of insect decline.
Tackling this prominent issue of the modern era, the film which promises to be a powerful and undeniably important contribution to the ongoing global conversation surrounding environmental protection has already generated buzz, considerable support and enthusiastic endorsements from prominent figures and influential voices, including the distinguished Sir Stephen Fry and the beloved Dame Joanna Lumley.
Narrated by esteemed figure in entomology and conservation, Professor Dave Goulson, the documentary offers viewers a comprehensive and unflinching portrayal of the devastating consequences resulting from the widespread and often indiscriminate use of insecticides on vulnerable insect populations and the fragile ecosystems that they inhabit.
Delving into scientific research and data about the alarming decline of vital pollinator species, including bees, butterflies, and other essential insects as well as the repercussions of this for both human society and the natural world, INSECT_O_CIDE has already received numerous accolades and prestigious awards...
GOA – An Indian Wildlife Documentary – Shot on PIXBOOM Spark and LUMIX Cameras
At the end of October, we published our first hands-on review of the PIXBOOM Spark, a new high-speed camera by the Chinese startup PIXBOOM.Back then, we teased footage that I shot in Goa, India. Now, the full documentary is online. Curious to hear and see more? Then read on … by Gunther Machu
It is the beginning of September. I am starting to pack my gear for the upcoming business trip to India, where I will mostly visit customers and speak at a conference. Still, I also plan to use an extended weekend to visit some special places in Goa with my dear Indian wildlife friends. This time, they recommended making a film about the Cotigao wildlife sanctuary, butterfly gardens, and their owners.
I consider myself very lucky to have made some close friends in the Indian wildlife community over the years, and this time, Parag Aklujkar, Jaayant Deshpande, and Vijay Gaikwad joined me. These guys have superb local contacts, which allow a depth of insight you won’t get if you just visit these places as a tourist – a very important aspect of any documentary..
While discussing the story and the animals/insects we wanted to cover, it became clear that this film would be a lot about macro shots, close-ups of butterflies, and also damselflies.
Greenpeace unveils Jane Fonda-led feature doc “Gaslit”
Environmental organization Greenpeace USA is behind the feature documentary Gaslit, featuring Academy Award-winning actor Jane Fonda and set to premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 5.
The doc sees Fonda (pictured left) embark on a road trip through Texas oil fields and Gulf Coast communities, meeting those at the forefront of U.S. fossil fuel expansion. which has led to the U.S. becoming the world’s biggest liquified natural gas exporter while also fueling a massive expansion of plastics production. The film paints a portrait of the shrimpers, cattle ranchers, former oil workers, families, faith leaders, organizers and self-described “reluctant activists” standing up to the expansion.
Gaslit is directed by Katie Camosy in her feature debut. She previously worked with Fonda as a senior producer on Greenpeace USA’s Fire Drill Fridays with Jane Fonda, a national movement and web series to protest what the organization regards as government inaction on climate change. Alana Schwartz serves as production manager.
Join Viva! for an inspiring – and deeply thought-provoking – Trilogy of Talks that reveal the truth about our connection with animals and the natural world.
From the hidden horrors of industrial farming to the wild magic of ecological restoration, Viva! founder Juliet Gellatley and Randal Plunkett, the 21st Baron of Dunsany, share powerful, personal journeys from their extraordinary lives.
Viva!'s Juliet Gelatley transports an audience back to her first experience of entering a factory farm, describing how it felt to be a young teenager traipsing through rows upon rows of pigs confined to cages, gnawing on their metal prisons – and how this moment led to her dedicating her life to saving animals.
For over 30 years, Viva! has been at the forefront of animal campaigning and this is Juliet's personal and unfiltered story of how she launched and sustained the vegan charity through its ups and downs.
Randal Plunket, the 21st Baron of Dunsany, discusses how he is transforming his inherited estate into a wildlife haven through the 'rewilding movement', a form of environmental restoration that he has rebranded as 'V-Wilding'. By rewilding a third of his considerable estate, Plunkett has seen huge swathes of lost species return to their natural habitat, driving the return of biodiversity. In this talk for Viva!, he uses his trademark humour and wit to discuss the cost of progress, the unbelievable arrogance of humans and his contributions to natural restoration.
Viva! founder and director Juliet Gellatley delivers a searing indictment of the meat industry, describing it as a "vast machinery of greed" that desecrates the sanctity of life. Drawing on decades of firsthand experience entering factory farms, she recounts the horrors hidden behind their walls and exposes how animals are reduced to mere cogs in the machine of death. In this talk, Juliet unpacks the megalithic power of the industry, from its immense financial backing to its far-reaching influence and relentless stream of misinformation. She confronts the uphill battle of challenging its lies while calling for a dismantling of the system that profits from suffering.
2025 was a defining year for Viva! – a year in which courage, creativity and unwavering compassion collided to create extraordinary impact.
From headline-grabbing campaigns to bold public actions, Viva! pushed harder than ever to expose the truth behind animal agriculture and inspire people to choose kindness.
Viva!´s mission, now more than three decades strong, remains as vital as ever – revealing the cruelty hidden behind the meat and dairy industries and offering something radically hopeful in its place: veganism. Take a look back at our remarkable year!
Viva! is the UK’s leading vegan campaigning charity, specialising in undercover investigations and animal, health, environmental and lifestyle campaigns. Founded in 1994 by Juliet Gellatley, we have spent 30 years creating a kinder, more sustainable world for humans and animals alike.
The
Plant Based News (PBN) newsletter is a product of the Plant Based News media platform, which provides news and content related to plant-based living, sustainability, and ethical consumerism.
The newsletter distributes information, likely via email, covering a wide range of topics including vegan recipes, environmental issues, health and fitness, news, and culture.
PBN uses a team of experts and storytellers to present data and news in a way that is both informative and entertaining.
Content: The newsletter covers a variety of subjects, such as the latest on plant-based food trends, health and nutrition, environmental concerns, and ethical consumerism.
Purpose: It aims to educate and inspire its audience to make the shift to a more sustainable lifestyle by providing reliable information and resources.
Origin: Plant Based News was founded by Klaus Mitchell in 2015, starting as a YouTube channel and expanding to include other platforms and media like the newsletter. Robbie Lockie later joined as a co-founder and director of the company.
Expertise: The platform draws on a network of health and environmental experts and has won several awards for its work.
Cooked with Love: This Vegan Mystery Thriller Could Change The Way We See Our Food
A new feature film uses psychology and storytelling to reach the hearts of non-vegans
In 'Cooked With Love," director Bruno Bilandzija hides a powerful vegan message within a mystery thriller...
As veganism moves further into mainstream culture, filmmakers are exploring fresh ways to tell stories that awaken compassion. Now, a new feature film is taking that idea to the next level by disguising a powerful vegan message inside a vegan mystery thriller.
Cooked with Love, a forthcoming theatrical film by the Croatian writer-director-producer Bruno Bilandzija, has been described as a “Trojan horse for compassion.”
Cooked with Love blends the intensity of a mystery thriller with the moral insight of a documentary, and is designed to appeal even to audiences who would never watch a film labeled as “vegan.” Bruno told Plant Based News (PBN), “I set out to create a film that condenses the long journey to compassion into a single, transformative experience.”
A Decade After Its Release, ‘How Not to Die’ Finds a New Life on Screen
The 2015 bestseller ‘How Not to Die’ by Michael Greger, MD becomes a free documentary, translating nutrition science into a consumer-facing film about diet and disease prevention.
If you read 2015’s bestselling book How Not to Dieby Michael Greger, MD, FACLM and Gene Stone, you already know the premise that made it a cultural lightning rod: for most people, the greatest threat to long-term health is not genetics or bad luck, but what ends up on the plate day after day.
Now, on its 10-year anniversary, the book moves from page to screen in How Not to Die, a new documentary streaming free on UnchainedTV, translating Greger’s data-heavy arguments into something far more immediate and visual.
From bestseller to screen
The film stays tightly aligned with the book’s core argument, examining how the standard Western diet contributes to the most common chronic diseases in the US and other industrialized countries. Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, kidney disease, liver dysfunction, and neurodegenerative conditions, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, are all addressed through peer-reviewed research and clinical experience. The documentary also explores links between diet and colon, prostate, and other digestive cancers, grounding each claim in nutritional science rather than wellness folklore.
Jane Velez-Mitchell, president of UnchainedTV, a non-profit streaming platform, framed the film’s purpose in direct terms: “The crucial information in this powerful, meticulously researched documentary can help people avoid preventable lifestyle diseases and improve their chances of living a long and healthy life,” she said in a statement. “What could be more important than that?”
Vegan Camp Out are offering animal rights activists 25% off their festival ticket and donating £10 from each activist ticket sold to animal rights organisations.
Vegan Camp Out is the world’s largest vegan camping festival as well as being the most international, with campers coming from over 40 different countries each year! The event is 4 days/3 nights of camping, talks, live music, afterparties, yoga/meditation classes, workshops and of course the UK's best vegan food!
Email vcoactivists@gmail.com to get your personalised discount code and let them know which organisation you do activism with.
My Role on the Katavi Series – ¨Over several years, I had the privilege of working on the Katavi series during both the dry and rainy seasons, immersed deep in the bush. My primary role involved extensive long-lens cinematography from a vehicle, supported by my incredible local drivers – Naiti and Kahimba – whose tracking skills and instinct in the field were invaluable.
Alongside ground-based filming, I also operated drones to capture aerials and dynamic bird-following shots that helped bring the vastness and drama of Katavi to life from above.
During my time there, I picked up some “kidogot” Swahili, basic tracking techniques, and, more importantly, a profound respect for the land and its rhythms. I filmed intense and emotional wildlife behavior, including dramatic hippo fights, a rare pelican kill, and powerful sequences of infanticide – alongside many other unforgettable moments from this remarkable series.
A highlight of this experience was being mentored and deeply inspired by Owen Prümm – an extraordinary filmmaker, cameraman, and bushman. His passion and presence in the field made this one of the most meaningful and unforgettable chapters in my career.¨ Luana Knipfer
Andreas Fiskeseth – Underwater filmmaker, drone pilot and DP based in Thailand.
Born and raised on the Western coast of Norway, I moved to Thailand at 23 to pursue a career in underwater filmmaking.
I'm a certified PADI Divemaster with 14 years experience and 3000+ ocean camera dives.
I've had the pleasure of working on various films, documentaries and tv-shows for clients such as the BBC, Disney+ & UFC.
Having dived all over Thailand I also offer consultations and location scouting, both for remote and underwater destinations.
I'm also an experienced drone pilot & timelapse photographer and have shot art films, music videos and promo videos.
While I'm experienced shooting with cameras from RED, Sony, & Canon my personal setup consists of a Panasonic Lumix GH7 for underwater – a great rig paired with the right glass.
Also the owner of a DPV rental company so I have access to some very handy DPV setups for underwater filmmaking to create unique images or keep up with fast moving subjects.
Located in Thailand but available to work anywhere. Speak Norwegian and English fluently.
I'm passionate about the ocean and marine conservation and this is reflected in my safe conduct around any subject or reef.
I also have a huge 6K/4K Stock library of mantas, whale sharks, macro, reef, turtles etc.
Wildlife Film Productions inc. – a boutique production company specialized in creating groundbreaking natural history films for audiences worldwide.
Wildlife Film Productions (WFP) was founded by Alex Jones, an Emmy-nominated and Panda award-winning Director of Photography (DOP) who has worked with top broadcasters like Disney, NatGeo, BBC, Netflix, and Apple. With over a decade of experience, Alex is known for his breathtaking macro and long-lens work, creating world-class wildlife films. Initially hired as head DOP on many shows, he quickly became involved in the creative direction and writing, showcasing his storytelling talents beyond the camera. His ability to shape the overall vision of a project adds a unique depth to every production.
Award-winning filmmaker Jaap Perenboom joined Alex after a chance encounter while filming in the jungles of Corcovado, Costa Rica. Their mutual passion for wildlife filmmaking brought them together, and they soon realized they shared the ambition to build a boutique Blue-Chip wildlife film company. With Jaap’s background in both business and filmmaking, he brings a rare combination of business savvy, strategic insight, and hands-on experience as a DOP, perfectly complementing Alex’s creative vision.
United by their love for wildlife and a shared dream to produce top-tier films, Alex and Jaap are building a strong, passionate team. Their collective vision and expertise drive WFP to deliver captivating, high-quality wildlife content that stands out in the industry.
As a full member of the site, you get a listing in all appropriate sections, a profile page and priority on your news across the site, this newsletter and our social media accounts.
Membership fees help to keep the site going too ... Your support is much-needed! Hoping to relaunch the site this year ... Updated for the new decade ... Will be looking for help from all over the world!!
Since the late 1990s Wildlife-film.com has been the leading source of information for the wildlife filmmaking industry worldwide. For over twenty years the site has been Google's number one ranking site for 'wildlife film' and related searches. Our site is viewed in over 195 countries. Our newsletter, Wildlife Film News, is read every month by thousands of people involved in wildlife filmmaking - from broadcasters and producers, to cameramen - we encourage readers to submit their news. We also serve as an online resource for industry professionals and services. Find producers, editors, presenters and more in our Freelancer section, and find out about festivals, training and conservation in Organisations. We encourage amateur and professional freelancers to join our network and welcome all wildlife-film related organisations to join our team.
