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| Wildscreen | |
|---|---|
| Name | Wildscreen |
| Type | Charity / Non-profit |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Bristol, England |
| Focus | Wildlife conservation through storytelling, film and digital media |
Wildscreen is an international charitable organization based in Bristol, England, dedicated to promoting wildlife conservation through film, television, digital media and public engagement. It operates a major biennial festival, administers the Panda Awards, and curates one of the largest photographic and film archives for natural history. Founded in 1984, the organization links conservation science with storytelling practice to influence broadcasters, filmmakers, researchers and educators.
Wildscreen was founded in 1984 in Bristol by a coalition of documentary-makers, photographers and conservationists influenced by figures associated with David Attenborough, BBC Natural History Unit, and the growing global audience for natural history films. Early collaborators included producers from Granada Television, cinematographers who worked on projects with Jacques Cousteau, representatives of the World Wide Fund for Nature and editors from National Geographic Magazine. The organization grew during the 1990s alongside initiatives such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the expansion of wildlife programming by Channel 4 and the Discovery Channel. In the 2000s it established an international profile, hosting delegates linked to UNESCO, the Royal Geographical Society, and film festivals in Cannes and Sundance Film Festival.
Wildscreen's mission centers on harnessing storytelling tools used by practitioners associated with BBC Natural History Unit, National Geographic Society, Smithsonian Institution, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds and IUCN to support species and habitat conservation. Programmatic strands include training workshops for camera crews and producers from regions such as Amazon rainforest, Madagascar, East Africa, and Southeast Asia; mentoring schemes connected to institutions like National Film and Television School and Royal Society fellows; and outreach campaigns modelled on collaborations with Conservation International and Fauna & Flora International. The organization runs capacity-building initiatives that have engaged filmmakers who later worked on series for BBC, Discovery Channel, Netflix, PBS and NHK.
The Wildscreen Festival is a biennial event that showcases wildlife media, offering awards known as the Panda Awards which attract entries from producers represented by BBC Natural History Unit, National Geographic Television, Silverback Films, and independent filmmakers affiliated with Wildlife Filmmakers Forum. Categories often mirror industry standards used at events like Jackson Wild Media Awards and Sundance Film Festival with juries composed of members from Royal Television Society, International Documentary Association and leading photographers connected to World Press Photo. The Panda Awards have recognized work by teams associated with series such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet, Our Planet and films featuring collaborations with researchers from Zoological Society of London and Smithsonian Institution.
Wildscreen has led and participated in projects with international partners including National Geographic Society, WWF, IUCN, UNEP, ZSL, Conservation International and academic partners like University of Bristol, University of Oxford and Cambridge University. Collaborative initiatives have ranged from editorial partnerships with BBC Earth and Netflix to conservation campaigns tied to NGOs such as Rainforest Trust and BirdLife International. Digital projects have brought together teams behind Google Arts & Culture initiatives and archives linked to Natural History Museum, London and Smithsonian Institution to digitize and share imagery and footage for researchers, educators and media producers.
Through outreach models similar to those used by National Geographic Society, WWF, and Jane Goodall Institute, Wildscreen aims to translate media exposure into measurable conservation outcomes—supporting campaigns for species highlighted in films about tigers, orangutans, coral reefs, elephants and polar bears. Educational collaborations with institutions such as Royal Geographical Society, Natural History Museum, London and BBC Bitesize have produced classroom resources, teacher training and public exhibitions. Impact evaluation draws on methodologies used by Conservation Evidence and partnerships with universities including University of Exeter and University of York to assess behavior change, policy influence and fundraising effectiveness linked to high-profile media productions.
Wildscreen operates as a registered charity supported by grants, sponsorships and earned income. Major funders and supporters have included foundations and institutions like Arcadia Fund, Wellcome Trust, Heritage Lottery Fund, John Ellerman Foundation, broadcasting partners such as BBC and Discovery Communications, and corporate sponsors in the media and technology sectors. Governance involves trustees and advisors drawn from institutions including Royal Society, Zoological Society of London, University of Bristol and leading production houses such as Silverback Films.
Wildscreen curates an extensive archive of stills and moving image material used by filmmakers, journalists and researchers, comparable in scope to collections held by Natural History Museum, London, BBC Archives, and National Geographic Archives. The archive includes contributions from photographers and cinematographers who worked on landmark productions such as Life on Earth, Planet Earth, The Blue Planet and independent award-winning films showcased at Cannes Film Festival and Sundance Film Festival. Partnerships have enabled digitization projects with teams affiliated with Getty Images, BBC Archive, and academic digitization programmes at University of Oxford.
Category:Charities based in Bristol Category:Conservation organizations