Sir Stephen Fry and Dame Joanna Lumley Lend Their Voices to Powerful New Wildlife Film from Explorers Against Extinction

Film launches at 21:00 on 17 October | Global art and photography auction open 16 October – 23 November 2025

A powerful new short film featuring the voices of Sir Stephen Fry and Dame Joanna Lumley calls on audiences to act before it’s too late to save the world’s wildlife – and shows that together, we can make a difference.

Created by digital artist Nick Stone from a brief by conservation charity Explorers Against Extinction (EAE), the AI-generated film urges audiences to Act Now, blending art, reality, and activism. It forms the emotional centrepiece of EAE’s 2025 Sketch for Survival (SFS) campaign and fundraising art auction.

The film launches publicly on Friday 17 October, with bidding for the charity’s online auction open until 23 November. The auction features more than 150 original artworks and photographs, all donated by artists and photographers from around the world to raise funds for frontline conservation.

A Vision of a World Without Wildlife – and the Hope to Change It
An emotional watch, Act Now – Before Pictures Are All We Have Left opens with threatened species in their natural environments – increasingly degraded by human activity – before placing them within the urban landscape of London, featuring recognisable landmarks such as the Thames, London Eye, and Oxo Tower Wharf, the location of one of the charity’s exhibitions this November.

“Natural habitats are vanishing. Destroyed by over-exploitation, pollution and climate change. And many species face extinction,” narrate Fry and Lumley.

The film’s imagery is striking and poignant – orangutans travelling on the Tube, elephants walking past London buses, and a red panda clinging to a Way Out sign, offering a visual clue to the film’s message. The closing sequence shows various threatened species inside the Oxo Gallery itself, gazing up at artworks depicting their kind. All of these pieces feature in this year’s exhibition and auction.

“We can make a difference. By working with conservation partners and communities worldwide we can protect endangered species and the habitats they need to survive. We must act now, before pictures are all we have left.”

Art, Film and Conservation Collide
All artworks in the Sketch for Survival collection are 100% donated to Explorers Against Extinction, a largely volunteer-led charity founded on the spirit of giving.

Sketch for Survival (SFS) and Focus for Survival (FFS) are annual international competitions celebrating creativity for conservation. Each year, thousands of entries are received from around the world, with finalists exhibited and auctioned to raise funds for wildlife projects.

Artists from 119 nationalities have contributed since SFS began nine years ago, each donating an original piece depicting a threatened species, at-risk wild space, or wider conservation story. This year’s 100 SFS finalist artworks alone feature more than 50 threatened species, from iconic elephants and big cats to lesser-known animals including the spectacled flying fox, horned marsupial frog, and Cuban crocodile. All SFS100 artworks start at £100, while other auction lots vary in price.

2025 Exhibitions
Audiences can experience the film and view the Sketch for Survival collection at two UK exhibitions this autumn:
• Nature in Art, Gloucestershire – 21 October to 16 November 2025 (admission charges apply)
• Oxo Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf, London – 19 to 23 November 2025 (free admission)

Funds for the Frontline
Proceeds from the 2025 Sketch for Survival auction will support vital conservation initiatives with this year’s project partners, including:
• Lilongwe Wildlife Trust (Malawi) – pangolin rescue, rehabilitation, and release.
• Red Panda Network (Nepal) – wildlife monitoring and reforestation in eastern Nepal.
• Wildlife Guardians Trust (India) – solar-powered pumps to maintain waterholes for wildlife during the dry season, along with support for ForestWatchers.

“This film captures exactly what we’re fighting to prevent – a world where habitats are eroded by human activity and wildlife exists only as memory, image, or in captivity,” says Sara White, Co-Founder of Explorers Against Extinction. “But it’s also a reminder that we can make a difference. Every artwork donated, every bid placed, every conversation sparked helps keep wild species where they belong – in the wild.”

ENDS.

Auction and Exhibition Details
Online Auction: 16 October – 23 November 2025
Film Launch: 17 October 2025 here>
Act Now - Explorers Against Extinction


Exhibitions:
• Nature in Art, Gloucestershire | 21 October – 16 November 2025 (admission charges apply)
• Oxo Gallery, Oxo Tower Wharf, London | 19 – 23 November 2025 (free admission)
View & Bid: Online Art Auctions of Wildlife Art for Charity

About Explorers Against Extinction
Explorers Against Extinction (EAE) is a UK-based conservation charity dedicated to protecting threatened species and wild spaces through creative awareness campaigns, responsible travel, and fundraising initiatives. Its global projects – including Sketch for Survival, Focus for Survival, and On the Brink – support frontline conservation across more than 30 countries, helping to safeguard over 40 threatened species.
Website: www.explorersagainstextinction.co.uk
Instagram: @explorersagainstextinction