Official
Selection 2026
A global launchpad for authentic storytellers and original stories about the natural world from across the globe.
About the Selection
Introduced in 2020, our Official Selection 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. From short and feature films to extended reality productions, the Official Selection platforms new voices, original stories and vital messages about nature.
Our truly international selection is curated by a diverse team of experienced international film festival Programmers.
The Official Selection is separate from the Panda Awards, our industry and craft-focused film competition. Explore the groundbreaking films that made into the Official Selection back in 2024 here.
Apply to be an Official Selection Programmer
Are you passionate about discovering and platforming original stories about the natural world from across the globe? Wildscreen Festival is looking for a new cohort of Programmers for the Wildscreen Official Selection Programme 2026!
Contract: Freelance, fixed-term between 6 July–14 August 2026.
Location: Fully remote. This role is deliverables-based with flexible working hours across the contract period. The Programmer is expected to complete all viewing, meetings and curatorial responsibilities within agreed deadlines
Fee: £1,000
Deadline to apply: Monday 6 July 2026, 23:59 BST
Trophies
Were you selected or an award winner for our 2022 Official Selection? Order duplicate certificates and trophies for the rest of your team before Fri 28 Oct.
☆ Film Screenings
After a two year hiatus, we’re excited to be hosting award-winning screenings in unique Bristol venues.
With world premieres on the cards, don’t miss this opportunity to watch original stories and participate in Director Q&As.
The screenings between 10-15 October are supported by the BFI, awarding funds from The National Lottery
Submitting Your Film
Submissions to Wildscreen’s 2026 Official Selection can be made via FilmFreeway here until 13th May 2026.
Before submitting you work, please review our competition Rules & Guidelines for more information about what we are looking for and eligibility criteria.
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.
In 2026 we are on the lookout for stories reflecting one or more of the following:
– Authentic, Indigenous & Underrepresented Voices
– Biodiversity & Climate Change
– Interrelationships between Humans and Nature
– Next Generation of Stewards and Storytellers
– Solutions & Impact
Preference is given by programmers to World, European, or UK Premieres and/or productions created by in-country talent around native wildlife and non-broadcast productions.
Special Awards
As part of our Official Selection, three special awards are also granted to outstanding productions which go out of their way to impress our programmers and audience.
These are:
- Programmer Prize – £2,000 – films considered for this are required to have their World, International, European or UK premieres at the Wildscreen Festival
- Audience Prize – £1,000 – this award is voted for by the Wildscreen Festival audience, recognising the Production that receives the highest audience vote during the industry and public programme
- Sustainable Merit – recognises a production that has committed to innovative sustainable practices to reduce the environmental impact of a production
Reasons to Enter
Successful submissions to the Wildscreen Official Selection will receive:
- Screening as part of the the Public Screening Programme at Wildscreen Festival 2026
- x1 Wildscreen Festival 2026 Industry Pass
- Selected films will be presented with a laurel, certificate and trophy at the Wildscreen Festival 2026
- Inclusion in the Wildscreen Festival Online Film Library
- Consideration to feature in Wildscreen’s year-round programme of UK and International screening programmes via us and our partners
Key Dates
- 24th February 2026, 12:00 GMT – Early Bird Deadline
- 16th April 2026, 12:00 BST – Regular Deadline
- 13th May 2026, 23:59 BST – Late Deadline
- Mid August 2026 – Official Selection Announced
- 17-22 October – Screening Programme as part of public screeing programme at Wildscreen Festival 2026
For more information see our Festival FAQs.
If you have any questions, please contact us at: [email protected]
Submitting Your Film
Submitting your film for consideration in Wildscreen’s 2024 Official Selection has never been simpler.
Now accepting submissions exclusively through FilmFreeway, our Earlybird submission discount window is now open, and will remain open till February 23rd.
About The Official Selection
Our Official Selection is split into two categories: short films, where we accept any film under 30 minutes, including immersive technologies (VR / AR), and Mid-length & Feature films, where we encourage any submitters who’s work clocks in over the 30 minute mark.
In 2024 we are on the lookout for stories reflecting one or more of the following:
• Authentic, Indigenous & Underrepresented Voices
• Biodiversity & Climate Change
• Interrelationships between Humans and Nature
• Next Generation of Stewards and Storytellers
• Solutions & Impact
How To Enter
Before submitting your work, please review our competition Rules & Guidelines. You can also listen to them as an accessible audio recording.
All submissions can be made through our submissions portal on FilmFreeway.
Important Dates
- January 23rd – Earlybird Window Opens
- February 23rd – Regular Window Opens & Earlybird Window Shuts
- April 12th – Late Window Opens & Regular Window Shuts
- May 10th – Final deadline for entries
Special Award Recipients
As part of our Official Selection, three special awards are also granted to outstanding productions which go out of their way to impress our programmers and audience.
These are the Programmer Prize, The Audience Prize, and Sustainable Merit, with the recipients of the Programmer Prize and Audience Award receiving a cash prize.
The 2026 Selection
This year, Wildscreen highlighted 30 productions which told unique and original stories about our natural world created by authentic storytellers from 20 countries across the globe.
Special Award Recipients
As part of our Official Selection, three special awards are also granted to outstanding productions which go out of their way to impress our programmers and audience.
The recipients of the Programmer and Audience Prize’s receive a cash prize.
Programmer Prize:
Orca – Black & White Gold
Sarah Nörenberg
Austria
Audience Prize
#Hvaldimir, Conversation With A Spy Whale
Dir: Jerôme Delafosse, Fabrice Schnöller
Imagissime with Miluna Productions
France
Sustainable Merit:
Rave on for the Avon
Charlotte Sawyer
United Kingdom
Full Official Selection
Lupi Nostri (Our Wolves)
Samer Angelone
Switzerland, Italy
In The Path of Giants
Kirsty Wells, Fayed Khan
UK, Bangladesh
Stone Biter: Saving the Arctic Sea Forests
Ismaele Tortella
Norway
Let Our Mountains Live
Håvard Bustnes
Norway, Finland
Love Birds
Elliott Kennerson, Angel Morris
USA
Overburden
Sarita West
Germany, USA
Derek vs Derek
James Dawson
UK
Retorno De Las Ánimas (Arrival of Lost Souls)
Nicolas Diaz-Magaloni
Mexico
From Lassen, With Love
Maddy Rifka
USA
La Pietà
Rafa Molés, Pepe Andreu
Spain, Iceland, Lithuania
The Nut Farmer of Glastonbury
Elsa Kent, San Sutherland, Jack Tierney
UK
Lost For Words
Hannah Papacek Harper
France, UK
A Little Story About Forever
Max Romey
USA
Whispers in the Woods
Vincent Munier
France
Some Kind of Refuge
Alexandra Kern
USA
Amma, Do Giraffes Cry?
Kartikeya Saxena
Czech Republic
Supernature
Ed Sayers
UK
The Rift
Janire Najera and Matt Wright
UK, Zimbabwe
Orla
Marie Lukáčová
Czech Republic, Slovakia
Song of Behula
Akashdeep Banerjee
India
The Boys and the Bees
Arielle Knight
USA
I’ll Need to Leave for a Little While
Myles Storey
Malaysia, Vietnam
Wild East
Maia Wikler
USA
Spirit Animal
Ines von Bonhorst, Yuri Pirondi
Portugal, Canada, Italy
A Day on Earth
Paul Redman
South Africa
The Glacier Wedding
Amin Muhammad, Thomas Sawano
USA
La Mar
Jean Chapiro
Mexico
Now That We Are Sending You to The End
Blake Knecht
USA
SILA
Ciril Jazbec and Lucía Flórez
Slovenia
Nuisance Bear
Jack Weisman
USA, UK, Canada
Mother of the Forest ~ Curupira ~
Lea Hejn
United Kingdom
Boca Chica
Ái Vuong, Samuel Díaz Fernández
United States
Among The Wolves
Directors Tanguy Dumortier, Olivier LAR
France
Dahican
Boogs Rosales
Philippines
Flora, Fauna, Funga
Sam Sheline
United States
The Eagle With The Sunlit Eye
Ted Simpson
United Kingdom
Enjoy the Stories
Many of our Official Selection films are available on the Wildscreen Festival event platform.
Virtual Passes are still available to book to enjoy the film library until 16 December.
Our programmers
This year we assembled a diverse team of international programmers to curate our Official Selection. They curated our final selection of productions to showcase at the Festival.
Wellington Almeida
Film Programmer
Wellington is a Berlin-based programmer, film writer, and occasional filmmaker. He’s the co-founder of Soura Film Festival, a queer festival focused on the MENA region, and is part of selection teams for Berlinale (Forum), the Arctic Film Festival, among others. His film writing appears in Cinema Sétima Arte (Portuguese) and Journey Into Cinema (English).
Carolina Machado Oliveira
Documentary Producer / Senior Lecturer in Factual at Bournemouth University
Dr Carolina Machado Oliveira is a documentary producer and Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University. Founder of Terra Viva Media, she has over 17 years experience producing films across Latin America, Europe and the UK. Her work explores environmental and social justice narratives, Indigenous participation, and documentary as a tool for social change.
Wambui Gathee
Screenings Manager & Film Curator
Wambui Gathee is an award-winning Kenyan director, producer, film curator, and photographer passionate about impactful visual storytelling. She currently is the Screenings Manager and Film Curator at Docubox EADFF, with extensive experience in film programming, community engagement, and impact screenings. Her work spans filmmaking, producing, and festival curation.
Bedatri Datta Choudhury
Shorts Programmer
Bedatri D. Choudhury is The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Arts and Entertainment Editor.
Before this, she worked extensively with documentary films, particularly in the areas of program management and commissioning. She currently programs DOCNYC and SFFILM and most recently was the Managing Editor of Documentary magazine and a programmer at True False Film Festival. An alumna of the NYFF Critics Academy, Sundance and SXSW Press Inclusion Initiatives, the National Critics’ Institute, and Berlinale Talents, she can often be heard on NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour. Born and raised in India, she lives in New York City.
Tommy McIntyre
Film Programmer
Tommy is a film festival programmer based in Copenhagen, Denmark. He has worked at Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival for seven years, working within industry events and project management before shifting to programming. He now programmes both local and international festivals in the UK and abroad.
Lucy Brown
Film Programmer
Lucy Brown is a Film Programmer, Presenter and Environmentalist who has worked with festivals including Sheffield DocFest, Open City Documentary Festival and Kendal Mountain Festival. Informed by her Social Anthropology practice and grassroots environmental work, Lucy seeks to amplify stories of interconnection, collective action and community resilience, centring underrepresented perspectives and collaborative filmmaking approaches.
The pre-selectors
Our international team of pre-selectors are integral for analysing the high volume of submissions we received into our Official Selection. Their reviews created a shortlist of original productions which we then shared with our programmers.
Aaron Sandhu Assistant Producer – Silverback Films
Anne Weinhold Business Development & Fundraising Manager – Royal Entomological Society
Carole Larsen Documentary Editor
Charlotte Bird Documentary Producer – Oxford Sparks
Coralie Migne Ecology and Evolutionary Biology MA Student & Wildlife Photographer
Darren West Natural History Cinematographer
David Pokupec Researcher – University of Maribor
Deirdre Denali Rosenberg Conservation Photography & Outdoor Writer
Eleanor Hamilton Wildlife Camerawoman
Elisabeth M.S. Oakham Producer / Director – Silverback Films
Evelyn Smalley Runner – BBC Studios
Evie Brudenall Distribution and Sales Executive – Magic Light Pictures
Helena Vilaplana Carnerero Producer & Film Programmer
Honey Crespo Documentary Filmmaker & Lecturer – Liverpool Hope University
Indigo Korres Director – Scottish Queer International Film Festival
Jeremy Hogarth Director/Writer – JPH Productions
Jessica Reiss Wildlife Filmmaker
Joe Galuszka Composer
Lana Young Visual Content Producer – NIWA
Laura Pennafort Wildlife Camerawoman
Lorelai Jo-hsuan Lin Development Associate – TAEA
Marete Selvin Producer/Co-Founder – Meraki Africa
Marina Hui Assistant Producer – BBC Studios
Nick Lord Researcher – BBC Studios NHU
Omar Manjouneh Documentary Filmmaker
Paula Kahumbu Wildlife Presenter / Producer
Pedro Wallace Producer / Writer / Director – Dragón de Fuego Cine SAS
Sabine Probst Documentary Filmmaker & NGO Director – Seen Blue
Samreen Farooqui Creative Head, Video – Roundglass Sustain
Samuel Obae Videographer / Photographer
Sarah-Jane Walsh Producer / Director – Moral Coral Films
Tania Dorrity Consulting Producer, PD & Edit Producer
Tania Esteban Assistant Producer – Wildstar Films
Tom Land Researcher – Silverback Films
Varun Manavazhi Editor – Felis Creations
Yoko Seki Field Producer – Wildlife Warriors
Tom Land Researcher – Silverback Films
Varun Manavazhi Editor – Felis Creations
Share your Story
The Official Selection is part of Wildscreen Festival and will open call for entries again in January 2024.
Follow our page on FilmFreeway to receive updates.
Official Selection Sponsors
Official Selection Programme Headline Sponsors