28th July, Bengaluru 2023 – Linen Club Nature in Focus festival and awards 2023 commenced at the historic Jaymahal Palace, bringing together nature enthusiasts, filmmakers, and wildlife experts from all corners of the world.
The festival, which celebrates the beauty and conservation of our natural world under the theme “The time for change”, had the audience mesmerized with film screenings and insightful sessions. One of the key themes of conversation that emerged was acclaimed panelists encouraging filmmakers to introduce and experiment with storytelling, language and subjects in their documentaries.
The day saw engaging sessions that included “Wildlife Filmmaking 101,” featuring prominent personalities from the industry, including Sara, Raghu Chundawat, Rita Banerji, Akanksha Sood Singh, and Gautam Pandey after which there was a candid and fun discussion on “Everything That Can Go Wrong on a Wildlife Shoot,” with seasoned wildlife documentary producers Adarsh NC and Digpal Singh Rathore. Throughout the day shortlisted finalist movies in the Nature in Focus Film Awards 2023 were also screened for the audience. The screenings included “Puffin Island”; “Are climate doomers right?”, “Belonging” and “Headhunters”. The audience was also treated to the screening of the award-winning film “The Pack That Perished,” winner of the Nature in Focus Film Awards 2022. Following the screening, there was an engaging Q&A session with the filmmakers, providing valuable insights into the creative process behind the acclaimed documentary.
The day culminated in the eagerly awaited Film Awards Ceremony, where the Nature in Focus Film Awards 2023 winners were revealed. The winners were as follows:
Indian films
Funded winner – Belonging by Pooja Rathod
Non -Funded winner – Head hunters by Prajwal KM
International films
Funded winners – natures Magic moments by Christian
Self funded winner – Puffin Island by Ishan Vaidya
Day 2 promises to be exciting as well. More on the event tomorrow.
