NatGeo Wild are running their third annual short film competition, Wild to Inspire, where they’re looking for filmmakers to ‘capture stories of individuals letting the wild into their own lives,’ in order to encourage viewers to try and find the wild in their backyards.
To submit your short (no longer than five minutes), you should upload it to Vimeo and add it to the Wild to Inspire group by February 1. The rules of the competition can be found here.
The top three entries will be invited to the Sun Valley Film Festival in March to show their short to festival attendees, a panel of judges and Nat Geo Wild executives, with the overall winner announced at the end of the festival.
The prize up for grabs is the opportunity to travel to Africa with National Geographic and document wildlife for the Nat Geo Wild channel. So perhaps a competition most suited to filmmakers wanting to get some experience filming wild beasts in their natural habitats.
Last year’s winner Filipe DeAndrade had this to say about the experience: “So I found out about the Wild to Inspire competition through a friend that graduated with me from the productions track at The University of Florida (Go Gators). I moved away from LA to pursue only wildlife productions and I got an email from my friend a week later with the competition details and a “You’d totally win.” The universe listens huh?”
“Has it helped my career? Does a one-legged duck swim in circles? Yes! More than I could have ever imagined. The National Geographic WILD brand stands for everything you want to associate yourself with as a wildlife filmmaker. It is the pinnacle of conservation based content and my experience in Africa has been nothing short of a living dream. The access and credibility that you have by being associated with the Nat Geo WILD name allows you opportunities that other filmmakers aspire to. In our industry everyone strives to become known as a specialist and this opportunity has given me the confidence to say I am a wildlife filmmaker.”
Aspiring wildlife filmmaker? What are you waiting for? Submit your entry before February 1 to be in with a chance.
