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Wildscreen Festival Botswana – Day One Round Up
That’s a wrap on Day One of Wildscreen Festival Botswana! We had a jam packed day at the Cresta Maun Hotel – Maun, from our opening address from the Botswana Minister of Environment and tourism, to an insight into funding opportunities and discussing ethical collaboration with local communities.
A huge thank you to all of today’s wonderful speakers and sponsors, but for now, let’s reflect on the day and all the fascinating conversations that were had. Read on to see our highlights and find out more about the exciting opportunities awaiting you tomorrow at #WSFB25!
Quotes of the Day! |
“Botswana has a pool of great creative talent that can bring new perspectives to the international stage.” Honourable Wynter Boipuso Mmolotsi, Botswana Minister of Environment and Tourism “To survive in this industry you need the skin of a rhino, the ears of a bat eared fox, the heart of an elephant and the persistence of a mosquito.” Jeff Wilson, Series Producer, Silverback Films “Connect with people based on being human first, respect people’s customs, culture and make relationships with the people of that place.” Rufusiah Molefe, Filmmaker, Photographer & Storyteller – I-Select Studio |
Welcome Address
The Welcome Address was delivered by the Minister of Environment and Tourism,
Honourable Wynter Boipuso Mmolotsi, followed by closing remarks from Senior Corporate Affairs Manager, Montlenyane Baitse. With thanks followed from Duncan Irvine, Botswana Ignite.
“Botswana is prepared to support to the creative industry and we can see that by the policy changes that are happening right now” – Montlenyane Baitse, Botswana Senior Corporate Affairs Manager
Defining “Natural History”
Wildscreen CEO, Lucie Muir, introduced the talk with a showcase of the inspiring and innovative film productions that have released recently in the Natural History TV world. Seetsele Nthomiwa delved into his beginnings in the industry with some words of advice to the delegates of how to not miss any opportunities the festival is providing. Sreya Biswas (BBC) concluded the talk mentioning the hard times the industry are facing but left with inspiring words depicting the love for natural history programming worldwide and how this can fuel creative and powerful ideas.
Development 101
In this eye-opening talk, Sreya Biswas, Jeff Wilson, Victoria Wanjohi and Kirstin Barwise Heunes gave insight into developing an idea with a well-rounded pitch that will stick in a commissioner’s mind. Pitching to NGOs can be a completely different process to pitching to large companies but passion, collaboration and networking are always crucial. Kirstin recommended doing your due diligence on who you are pitching to; ‘the golden outcome is finding out who this person is really.’ Of course, rejection is seen to be part of the process, but Victoria rightly rephrased it as redirection not rejection to end the talk constructively.
‘Everyone has an ideas graveyard but don’t bury them forever as they can come back to life with correct timing, persistence and work.’ Jeff Wilson, Series Producer at Silverback Films
Anatomy of a Production Company
In the words of Jigar Ganatra who moderated this talk, the speakers, Vanessa Berlowitz (Wildstar), Hans Ngoteya (Ngoteya Wild) and Brad Bestelink (NHFU Botswana) are all production powerhouses in their own right. Vanessa led with the basis that in a production company three pillars needs to be managed: creative risk, production risk and financial risk. We then discovered the backgrounds of each panellist with the wide range of experience and varying ways of entry into starting each of their companies.
‘Don’t hesitate to invest in your team, grow them, and the investment will return itself‘ – Hans Ngoteya – Director & Cinematographer at Ngoteya Wild
Carving a Creative Pathway
Karabo LeBronpeter Moilwa, Diana Kanweri, Bose Bonda, Steven Dover and Mana Seboni all inspired the attendees with this fascinating talk focussing on the journey from humble beginnings to becoming emerging talent in the industry. As proven by the speakers, being proud of your background, persisting with your dream and following your heart could eventually make your hobby into your day job. The talk ended with a beautiful moment where Karabo commended a young Motswana boy for taking his first steps in following his dream and gifted him with his first piece of kit.
“Just start, and the opportunities will come. They might ignore you now, but they will notice you as you grow.” – Bose Bonda – Filmmaker at Trek Bond Pty
Pitching, Feedback and Funding
Jigar Ganatra opened up the audience’s eyes to the ways he has pitched, worked with feedback and gained funding through a worked example. He shared specific funding options for Africans that he has utilised with Wildscreen Festival Nairobi being a notable beginning to the boom. He warned that not all money is good money so new filmmakers should be aware of the fine print which can affect the distribution and creative control of their films.
“I stick by the five finger pitch method: what is the genre, who are the characters, what is the goal, what are your obstacles and why is it important?” – Jigar Ganatra – Filmmaker & Founder of African School of Storytelling (AFRISOS)
Participatory Filmmaking
Participatory filmmaking is a potent and impactful method to give local communities a voice and tell their exceptional stories. The panel, which consisted of Victoria Wanjohi, Rufusiah Molefe, Johann Vorster and Charles Mpofu touched on being ethical in storytelling, respecting communities and being curious with an open mind to achieve a truly cooperative film. All speakers stressed the importance of being transparent with your intentions and not making promises you can’t keep to maintain these relationships.
“Always do the research of what your place of interest is, find the gatekeeper… that is your way in.” – Johann Vorster, Creative Director – The Wilderness Project
Screenings
Big Cats 24/7′ Screening & Director’s Q&A
A screening exclusive to WSF Botswana delegates. Big Cats 24/7 is an ambitious six-part series diving into the lives of the big cats – lions, leopards and cheetahs – living in the Okavango Delta in Botswana. With thanks to our screening sponsors BBC Studios Natural History Unit.
African Premiere of Disneynature’s ‘Elephant’ & Director’s Q&A
Last night, the festival was opened by Jazzelle Kebakile, Roy Conli & Vanessa Berlowitz in celebrating ‘Elephant’ as the first Disney movie to be translated and narrated entirely in Setswana. With thanks to our screening sponsors Wildstar Films and Wildstar Academy.
AFRISOS Expedition Filmmaking Workshop Screenings
The 5 winners of the Expedition Filmmaking Workshop & Wildscreen Botswana 2025 showcased their fantastic films to the festival audience.
We have another jam packed days of panels, discussions, pitching sessions and screenings for you tomorrow! See what’s in store in our full programme line-up here.
Wildscreen Festival Botswana is made possible with the support of BBC Studios Natural History Unit, as well as Major Sponsor Mashatu and Partner Botswana Ignite.
