International Elephant Film Festival Winners announced at UN Headquarters on World Wildlife Day
Celebrating World’s Best Elephant Films
The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival and the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) teamed up in organizing an International Elephant Film Festival to raise global awareness of the various challenges facing the African and Asian elephants, as a highlight of UN World Wildlife Day on 3 March. The Festival received more than 250 entries into the film competition, which were reviewed by over 75 preliminary judges over six weeks before the short list was passed on to the final judging panel.
“These films connect us in a very personal way to wildlife, observed John E. Scanlon, Secretary General of CITES.” They inspire us all to make sure these magnificent animals survive in the wild. Congratulations to all of the finalists and category winners, and thank you for making this such a memorable World Wildlife Day.”
The high-level celebration at UN Headquarters attracted international diplomats and policy-makers as well as conservation, NGO & business partners and filmmakers and included UNEP Goodwill Ambassador/model Gisele Bündchen and Actress/Producer Kristin Davis, whose film Gardeners of Eden won the Elephant Hero category.
The International Elephant Film Festival Winners are:
African Voices
Elephants Without Borders
Afriscreen Films for BBC and Animal Planet
IEFF-15645 Elephants Without Borders Trailer from Jackson Hole WILD on Vimeo.
Asian Elephants
Manas: Return of the Giants
Ammonite, Ltd. and Kosmik Global
Manas- Return of The Giants teaser from Ammonite Films on Vimeo.
Issues & Solutions
Explorer: Warlords of Ivory
National Geographic Studios for National Geographic Channels
Nat Geo Explorer “Warlords of Ivory” from CRAVE MEDIA on Vimeo.
Elephant Hero
Gardeners of Eden
Village Beat
Official Trailer: Gardeners of Eden from Village Beat on Vimeo.
Elephant Micro-Movie (under 5 minutes)
War of Space
Mays Entertainment
People & Elephants
Naledi: Every Elephant Counts
Vulcan Productions in association with Off the Fence
IEFF-15768 Naledi: Every Elephant Counts-Trailer from Jackson Hole WILD on Vimeo.
Science & Elephants
Minds of Giants
Vulcan Productions & Off the Fence
IEFF-15756 Minds of Giants-Trailer from Jackson Hole WILD on Vimeo.
Winners were announced at a high level event marking the global celebration of World Wildlife Day at UN Headquarters in New York on 3 March 2016. Winning and finalist films will be showcased extensively throughout the world, through local screening events and broadcasts.
“These amazing films speak eloquently to the importance of saving elephants while are still able to do so,” said Jackson Hole Festival’s Executive Director, Lisa Samford. “We’re eager to partner with organizations around the world to raise local awareness and engagement through free public screenings and events.”
Samford drew particular attention to the decades-long anthology documenting Echo, the matriarch of Amboseli and her family, noting that the researchers who studied this herd and the filmmakers who told their story forever changed how the world would see wild African elephants.
The organizers are particularly grateful to the final judges for their commitment of time:
- Inger Anderson, Director General of International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Ian Craig, Director of Conservation, Northern Rangelands Trust, Kenya
- Bingbing Li, Actress, Singer and Conservationist, China
- Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, Republic of South Africa
- Catherine Novelli, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, United States
- John E. Scanlon, Secretary General of CITES
For more information, please visit:
http://www.internationalelephantfilmfestival.org
See a video of the event here: http://webtv.un.org/search/un-world-wildlife-day-2016-–-the-future-of-wildlife-is-in-our-hands/4785064018001?term=2016-03-03
Media contacts:
Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival: Kathryn Jeffords, Kathryn@jhfestival.org, +1-307-200-3286
CITES Secretariat: Yuan Liu, Yuan.LIU@cites.org
