A competition for budding young filmmakers and photographers in the West of England to “channel their inner Sir David Attenborough” is open for applications.
West of England Mayor, Dan Norris, has teamed up with Bristol conservation charity, Wildscreen, to launch the region-wide Wild West Youth Film & Photography Competition.
The competition challenges under 18s to celebrate nature in their neighbourhood by grabbing their phones to produce a short film or take a still photograph of wildlife and landscapes before submitting these online for a chance to win some fantastic prizes.
This includes a Canon camera and lens from London Camera Exchange and a family trip to Bluestone in Pembrokeshire, as well as having their work shown on the world stage at the internationally acclaimed Wildscreen Festival later this year.
Young people certainly won’t be short of material: half of the UK's 1,500 species of flowering plants can be found in the West of England. Meanwhile, more than 600,000 sqh of land is being transformed thanks to Mayor Norris’s £1 million Pollinator Fund – as part of his pledge to make the region the bee capital of the whole country.
While young people are known for being curious about wildlife, research shows the Gen Alpha and Gen Z generations are among the most disconnected from nature ever.
Mayor Norris said: “I’m proud to launch the Wild West competition which is now open for applications!
"I’m challenging the region’s youngsters to grab their phone, or tablet and channel their inner David Attenborough. My message to young people is therefore simple - get out there and document the West’s wildlife wonders!”
A panel of expert judges - including Mayor Norris and Wildscreen's CEO Lucie Muir - will be looking for creative works that showcase nature in the West of England, and their connection to it.
The competition is open to all young people aged 13 to 18, offering budding young filmmakers and photographers the chance to have their work shown at Wildscreen Festival in October, as well as appear on “Wildscreen ARK”. This is a new online platform set to become the world’s largest collection of natural world content - supporting the roll out of the new Natural History GCSE.
Lucie Muir, CEO of Wildscreen, said: “More than 35% of the world’s wildlife films are made right here in Bristol so it stands to reason that the next big thing in wildlife filmmaking could be waiting right here in the West of England to be discovered.
“We’re really excited to be launching this competition and giving young people in our region the opportunity to celebrate their connection to nature and potentially get the best head start in their career in the wildlife filmmaking, TV or conservation sectors.”
The competition closes on Saturday 31 August. Find out more, and submit entries, at https://wildscreen.org/ark.
