From the heat of the savanna to the bottom of the ocean, wildlife filmmakers have put their hard work into creating award winning cinematic films. During a Q&A last Friday, filmmakers showcased their pieces and discussed their work.
Since 2017, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences at the University of Idaho has hosted their annual Fish and Wildlife Film Festival. The festival was created to “connect people with nature through film,” their website states.
Spread across two evenings, this year’s line-up featured award-winning films. Normally held at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre, the event was instead streamed to YouTube Premier and Zoom.
Work including “Sons of the Savanna” produced by Richard Webster, “Sagebrush Steppe: A Beautiful Secret” directed, written and produced by Sacha Wells and “Now I am an Axolotl” directed, written and produced by Alejandra (Ale) Medellín was shown.
Medellín first became interested in wildlife filmmaking because her parents are both biologists. She had always wanted to make documentaries to educate and protect animals in the area she lived.
“The axolotl, it’s a very known animal in Mexico but it’s no one really knows what it’s going through, how much the pollution impacts that species in particular,” Medellín said. “Their home is very polluted … but the problem is that there are very few of them, living in very poor conditions.”
Webster used to do wildlife photography with his parents, before moving on to achieve a doctorate in animal behavior. According to Webster, anything that relates to capturing nature on film is enjoyable, because it connects people with nature and each other.
Growing up in southern Idaho, and later moving to northern Idaho with her husband, Wells has always loved animals, nature and environmental science. In her documentary, she traveled back down to southern Idaho to view sagebrush steppe. While there, she almost stepped on a rattle snake, which made its way into her video.
“I was like, ‘oh my god!’” Wells said. “Give me the camera.” While filming, they had to travel to different parts of the world and go through different conditions.
Webster went to South America to film his documentary when his team went through police checkpoints. They got pulled over and the police made them empty their photography bags and put the gear in the back of their pickup truck.
“The history between the British military and the Argentinian military isn’t the best, because the Falkland wars,” Webster said. “The Argentinian officer was in the Falkland wars when he was captured by the British. He said the best part of his military service was when he was captured by the British.”
The officer said the British treated him with respect and apologized for the tension between the countries. He spoke with another police officer, and they packed up their car to drive away.
For others interested in wildlife filmmaking, Wells said to practice taking photos and videos of animals.
“Don’t be afraid, and don’t hold back, because I’ve never made a documentary film before,” Wells said. “I’ve never done anything like this.”
For those interested in viewing the festival, the Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences will host another this Friday. More information about registration can be found on UI’s website.
Emily Pearce can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Emily_A_Pearce