Wildscreen to launch annual wildlife summit in Bristol

Wildscreen is to launch a Bristol-based annual spin-off event from its biennial Wildscreen Festival, bringing together wildlife and natural history TV and film producers from around the world.  

The inaugural Wildscreen Industry Summit will take place over three days from 20-22 October, just ahead of the Wildscreen Panda Awards ceremony on 22 October. It will mark the first time that Wildscreen has hosted an annual industry gathering in Bristol, with a hybrid in-person and online approach facilitating participation for international delegates.  

With a more compact programme than its biennial counterpart, the new event will focus on the business of wildlife filmmaking, covering the current funding opportunities, markets, innovations and trends. There will be talks from commissioners, producers and distributors, dedicated one-to-one meetings, pitching sessions and workshops. 

Chief executive of Wildscreen, Lucie Muir, said: “We are launching the Wildscreen Industry Summit at a critical time for the global wildlife content industry. In a fast-changing, unsettled and ever-evolving industry landscape, our historical model of gathering our community together every other year at the biennial Wildscreen Festival, is no longer fit for purpose. 

“Our community is seeking year-round leadership, collaboration and bold ideas. The future-focused Summit will convene the community together annually to navigate the challenges and opportunities of a world in flux, gathering together leading producers, distributors, commissioners and cutting-edge innovators in Bristol, the wildlife film and TV content capital of the world, to push the boundaries of the craft and the business that underpins it.” 

The Wildscreen Festival will continue every other year in Bristol - as it has done since 1982 - and will continue to feature the Official Selection of films.  

Another spin-off from the original event is held in Africa each year, with the Botswana edition set to take place over two days in June.  

Sponsors of the new Wildscreen Industry Summit include Doclights and official travel partner Clarity Entertainment & Media. 

A limited number of Early Bird Tickets are on sale here.