Wildscreen Panda Awards 2025 Nominees Announced - Nat Geo dominates "Green Oscars" with a record-breaking 14 nominations

Tuesday 8 July, 2025

Wildscreen, has revealed the nominees for its Panda Awards 2025 – the highest honours in the international natural world storytelling film, TV and content industry.

Nat Geo racked up nominations across 9 of the 17 award categories, with a full-house in the Series category, sponsored by Doclights, with A Real Bug’s Life, Series 2 (Plimsoll Productions), Secrets of the Penguins
(Talesmith) and OceanXplorers (co-produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and OceanX).

Silverback Films picks up the most nominations for a single production company, garnering 7 nominations across 3 titles. Amongst them, Ocean with David Attenborough, the Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios co-production is the most nominated production, with 5 nods spanning Scripted Narrative, Cinematography, Music, Producer/Director and Impact.

Joining the ocean-focused nominees is Netflix’s docuseries, Our Oceans (Wild Space Productions), with 2 nominations, alongside OceanXplorers, Tides of Life and Sea Lions of the Galapagos.

Joint second most nominated, with 3 nods each are Underdogs, A Real Bug’s Life, Series 2 and The Birds. Underdogs, a co-production from Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort and Wildstar Films, celebrates nature’s unsung and unconventional heroes and is narrated by the actor. A Real Bug’s Life (Plimsoll Productions), is an adventure into different micro bug worlds around the globe, narrated by Awkwafina, and is recognised across Cinematography, Children’s and Series. The Birds (Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films) is a cinematic providing insights into the mechanisms of the natural world and a filmmaker in the twilight of this career.

The Birds is nominated in the new for 2025, Independent category, alongside Trade Secret and The Old Bear. Trade Secret, Directed by Abraham Joffe and Executive Produced by Adam McKay, exposes the sanctioned commercial sale of hundreds of polar bears on the global market each year. The Old Bear, Directed, Written and Produced by Julie Busse & Candice Odgers and featuring Casey Anderson which meditates on the last days of old grizzly bears as a window into exploring human attitudes about aging and death.

This year’s Awards also see the introduction of the Short category sponsored by Leica for productions less than 20 minutes in length, reflecting the importance of connecting with younger audiences – the nominees are Tides of Life, Life (Cycle) of the Hong Kong Newt, and H5N1 Conservation in Crisis. Another new addition, best In-Country Production, recognises productions made on location in-country with at least 50 percent of the production team being in-country nationals – the nominees are The Birds, My Otter Diary, Mighty Monkeys.

The use of A-list narrators features throughout the awards line-up with other notable productions including Tom Hardy (Rhino), Tom Hanks (Americas), James Cameron (OceanXplorer), Barack Obama (Our Oceans), Brendan Fraser (Sea Lions of the Galapagos) and Blake Lively (Secrets of the Penguins), reflecting a drive to reach and inspire new audiences worldwide.

The competition saw 682 entries, from 46 countries across the 17 categories, with 48% of entries featuring talent from underrepresented backgrounds spanning, identify as BIPOC, female, part of the LGBTQ+ community or living with a disability. The nomination jury was representative of industry experts from 20 countries, with over 60% from underrepresented backgrounds.

This, the competition’s 43^rd Edition marks its move to an annual awards event for the first time in the charity’s history. The Panda Awards will sit alongside the new Wildscreen Industry Summit, taking place in Bristol and online between 20-22 October in Bristol, which will convene the wildlife film, TV and content community to navigate the challenges and opportunities of a content world in flux. A limited number of passes are on sale now, here.

Warner Chappell Production Music returns as Headline Sponsor of the Wildscreen Panda Awards 2025. The music publishing arm of Warner Music Group, will be hosting an official nominees party later today (8 July) in Bristol, UK.

Lina Tebbs, Director of UK Production Music said: "We're thrilled to partner with Wildscreen for another year. Warner Chappell Production Music champions great storytelling, and we absolutely understand the value in educating and entertaining audiences through nature programming. The Panda Awards celebrate the dedication and hardwork of all the people behind-the-scenes and we're honoured to be headline sponsor for the second year running."

The winners of each category along with the highly coveted Golden Panda for the best overall production, also sponsored by Warner Chappell Production Music, will be announced on 22 October at Wildscreen Panda Awards Ceremony which returns to the Bristol Harbour Hotel. Tickets for the ceremony are now on sale and available here.

Other category sponsors are: Films at 59 Cinematography and Sound Awards, UWE On-Screen Talent Award, Leica Short Award, Doclights Series Award and Wildscreen ARK Children’s Award.

The full list of nominees across the 17 categories are:

BEHAVIOUR AWARD

Katavi Africa's Fallen Paradise – Episode 2: Purgatory

A production of Terra Mater Studios, The WNET Group & Shibumi Films. In association with PBS and CPB and WDR/ARTE.

Austria

Our Oceans – Episode 1: Atlantic Ocean

A Wild Space Production. In association with Freeborne Media and Higher Ground.

Sea Lions of the Galapagos

A Silverback Films production for Disneynature and Disney+.

CHILDREN’S AWARD

A Real Bug's Life - Series 2, Episode 3: Once a Pond a Time

Produced by Plimsoll Productions for National Geographic

America’s Wolf

National Geographic Society Impact Story Lab

USA

FYI INVESTIGATES - Saving Nature: Where has our Wildlife Gone?

A Fresh Start Media Production for Sky News and Sky Kids

CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD, Sponsored by Films at 59

A Real Bug's Life – Series 2, Episode 1: Love in the Forest

Produced by Plimsoll Productions for National Geographic.

UK/USA

Cinematography: Ben Cherry, Katherine Hannaford, Martin Dohrn, Robert Hollingworth, Doug Gardner, Andrew Fleming, Mark Payne-Gill.

Ocean with David Attenborough

A Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios co-production, in association with All3Media International, National Geographic, and Minderoo Pictures. The film is co-produced by Arksen & 10% for the Ocean, Don Quixote Foundation, National Geographic Society and Pristine Seas, Revive Our Ocean, and The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.

Cinematography: Doug Anderson, Toby Strong.

The Birds

A Production of Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films.

Cinematography: Martin Dohrn, Laurence Hamilton-Baillie, Hugh Campbell, Steve White, John Waters

EDITING AWARD

Secrets of the Spy Whale

An Oxford Scientific Films, Bonne Pioche and Alfredfilm production for the BBC, NRK and ITV Studios.

Editors: Ian Grech, Fredrik Limi, Francis Robertson, James Lagen

Rhino Narrated by Tom Hardy

Dustoff Films production, presented by Kaleidoscope Distribution.

Editor: Cassandra Roberts

Underdogs: Superzeroes

Produced by Wildstar Films, a Fremantle company, in partnership with Maximum Effort for National Geographic

Editor: Nigel Buck

EMERGING TALENT AWARD

Death Row Dogs – Somerset Phaedrus

The National Film and Television School

The Fading Star - Aishwarya Sridhar

Bambee Studios Private Limited in association with the National Geographic Society

India

The Bird in my Backyard – Ryan Wilkes

A Trochilus Films Production for CBC

Canada

IMPACT AWARD

Kingdom of Fish – Episode 1: The Power of Water

Ecofilm Scandinavia AB and Sveriges Television AB

Sweden

Ocean with David Attenborough

Pantanal

A film by the Environmental Justice Foundation

Brazil / UK

IN-COUNTRY AWARD

My Otter Diary

An Aranya Parva and Oxford Scientific Films film for All3Media and ARTE.

India

The Birds

A Production of Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films.

Mighty Monkeys

Produced by NHK/NHK ENTERPRISES/Doclights, in association with NDR/ARTE/ZDFS.

Japan

INDEPENDENT FILM AWARD

Trade Secret

An Untitled Film Works production.

Australia

The Birds

A Production of Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films

The Old Bear

A Think Lemonade Production, in association with Vision Hawk Films

USA

MUSIC AWARD

My Otter Diary

An Aranya Parva and Oxford Scientific Films film for All3Media and ARTE

India

Music: Brollyman

Ocean with David Attenborough

Music: Steven Price

Pangolin: Kulu's Journey

An Anonymous Content / Dog Star Films / Water Creature Film / Production for Netflix.

Music: Anne Nikitin featuring Zolani Mahola & Sky Dladla

ON-SCREEN TALENT AWARD, Sponsored by UWE

Superskilled with Eva Zu Beck

Produced by National Geographic.

USA

On-Screen Talent: Eva Zu Beck.

Wild Wild South

A Sound Off Films and Southern Wild Films Production for South Carolina ETV.

USA

On-Screen Talent: Hyatt Mamoun

Secrets of the Penguins – Episode 1: Heart of the Emperors

Produced by Talesmith in association with Lightstorm Earth for National Geographic.

On-Screen Talent: Bertie Gregory

PRODUCER / DIRECTOR AWARD

Ocean with David Attenborough

Producer/Director: Toby Nowlan

Pangolin: Kulu's Journey

An Anonymous Content / Dog Star Films / Water Creature Film / Production for Netflix.

Producer / Director: Pippa Ehrlich

Underdogs: Superzeroes

Produced by Wildstar Films, a Fremantle company, in partnership with Maximum Effort for National Geographic

Producer / Director: Gary Smith

PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT TEAM AWARD

Secret Lives of Animals

Produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit for Apple TV +

Shared Planet: Forests

A River Road Films production produced in association with CBC, PBS and Arte.

Canada

Production Management: Armen Evrensel, Jeff Turner, Neil Nightingale, Lynn Fuhr, Production Coordinator Matthew Muncaster

The Americas - Episode 2: Mexico

BBC Studios Natural History Unit, in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group.

UK / USA

Production Management: Alex Martin, Ally Young, Anna McGill, Claire Spelling, Emma Davidson, Gaby Wakefield, Hollie Diment, Jasmine McCrae-Jones, Jo Verity, Jordan White, Judy Roberts, Lisa Sibbald, Lizzie Derry, Louise Dawe-Lane, Melissa Burgers, Nicola Kowalski, Rachel Buxton, Sandra Forbes, Sophie Johnson, Sue Aartse-Tuyn, Tom Bowell, Zaylin September

SCRIPTED NARRATIVE AWARD

Ocean with David Attenborough

Scripted Narrative: David Attenborough, Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey, Colin Butfield.

Secret Lives of Orangutans

A Silverback Films Production for Netflix.

Scriptwriter: Huw Cordey

Underdogs: Terrible Parents

Produced by Wildstar Films, a Fremantle company, in partnership with Maximum Effort for National Geographic

Writer: Polly Billam

SERIES AWARD, Sponsored by Doclights

A Real Bug's Life Series 2

Plimsoll Productions for National Geographic

OceanXplorers

Co-produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and OceanX in association with Lightstorm Earth for National Geographic.

UK / USA

Secrets of the Penguins

Produced by Talesmith in association with Lightstorm Earth for National Geographic.

SHORT AWARD, Sponsored by Leica

Tides of Life

University of the West of England

Director: Tatiana McCabe

Life (Cycle) of a Hong Kong Newt

Frigatefilms

China

Director: Hon Shing Fung

H5N1: Conservation in Crisis

Valentin Blüml and Liam Strong Co-Production

Austria

Director: Valentin Blüml

SOUND AWARD, Sponsored by Films at 59

Our Oceans – Episode 1: Pacific Ocean

A Wild Space Production, In association with Freeborne Media and Higher Ground.

Sound: Sound Editors: Jonny Crew, Tom Mercer; Foley Recordist: George Baynes: Foley Artist: Rory Joseph; Foley Editor: Ellie Bowler; Dubbing Mixer: Hannah Gregory

Pangolin: Kulu's Journey

An Anonymous Content / Dog Star Films / Water Creature Film / Production for Netflix.

Sound: Barry Donnelly

ROCK POOL

SOUP Audiovisual

Sound: Tom Bosher

SUSTAINABILITY AWARD

Pangolin Journey to Freedom

A Terra Mater Studios / Silver Bullet Films Production in co-produciton with The WNET Group in association with PBS and CPB.

Austria

Saalbach-Hinterglemm - Where Nature Comes Out On Top

A Co-Production of ORF UNIVERSUM and INTERSPOT FILM GMBH

Austria

Snow Leopards - Episode 1

Blue Ant International, An Off The Fence Production for Love Nature

Distributed by Pressat

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Ocean with David Attenborough

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