DEADLINE: Wildscreen Panda Awards Film Competition

The Wildscreen Festival first took place in Bristol in 1982. Since then, every two years, Bristol plays host to hundreds of international delegates from the wildlife media industry. People attend the Festival to learn about latest industry developments, as well as to compete in the prestigious Wildscreen Panda Awards. Delegates are drawn to the Festival by a week-long programme of screenings, debates, keynote lectures, workshops, masterclasses and networking events. In addition, the Wildscreen Festival is a crucial marketplace, where films are bought and sold, where new commissions and contracts are awarded, and where fresh ideas and skills are traded.

Wildscreen is well known for its thought-provoking content and speakers. The week’s talks and debates tackle a range of issues, with the content being driven by the predominant themes in the industry. Many hundreds of films from around the world are entered into the annual Wildscreen Panda Awards, honoring outstanding achievements in the craft of natural world storytelling. They recognise the unique craft of wildlife filmmaking and photography and celebrate the very best that the industry is producing.

The 2025 competition comprises 17 categories and three special awards, including the coveted Golden Panda for the best overall production. Our aim is, as ever, to reflect our mission to connect people with nature through storytelling and democratise the creation of and access to nature’s stories.

The 2025 competition also sees the introduction of three brand new categories: Best Short, for the best short production <20mins including credits, or piece of digital/branded content; Best Independent Film, for the best film with a budget of under £1.5m; and Best In-Country Production, given to the most outstanding production shot on location in-country.

The Awards are open to new or established broadcasters, film or television production companies/distributors and independent filmmakers from anywhere in the world.

Important Dates
January 23 – Opening date
February 25 – Earlybird deadline
April 17 – Regular deadline
May 13 – Final deadline

More information for 2025.

The 2024 Wildscreen Festival took place October 14-18.