Wildscreen Festival

Dear reader,

A jam packed weekend filled with all sorts of excitement and little sleep has finally come to an end. Wildscreen Nairobi was a hit! Let's first talk about what it is and how I got to be part of it. Wildscreen, an organisation that has been running since 1982, supports natural history filmmakers, and their mission is to connect people with nature through storytelling. Wildscreen facilitates skills development, networking and more. I became part of the network about a month ago - it has been totally enriching.

I received a bursary from Wildscreen to attend the festival in Nairobi, which was really enough; attending the festival is any filmmakers dream, it's an opportunity to connect with some of the best natural history broadcasters. My lucky streak was continuing though, in addition to the bursary, I was selected as a pitch finalist for the Wild Pitch competition that ran during the festival. Devin Trull had asked me to be part of his documentary as a producer not long ago, and now our story was going to be pitched to top executives from NatGeo and the BBC - exciting stuff! And we'll get back to that. Suffice to say, the build up to the festival was busy!

A 5h45m flight took me from Cape Town to Nairobi, and I landed in Kenya around 9:30pm. The evening was warm and humid (a welcomed change from Cape Town!). The people were warm too and welcoming, and I felt ready to tackle the weekend ahead. The first day felt like a warm up, we were getting to know each other, understand the objectives of the festival and find familiar faces. I was most looking forward to meeting my old colleagues Faith Musembi, Manu Akatsa and David Githu. The reunion was magical! It was so rewarding to see where they are now and how well respected they are. Various sessions, screenings and networking opportunities took up the majority of the day - 'Conservation Storytelling in Africa', 'Creative Pathways', 'Myth-busting International Commissioning', 'Film Funding and Distribution', 'Anatomy of a Production Team', and screenings of 'The Secrets of the Elephants' and 'The Elephant Whisperers' - all the speakers were immensely talented and shared valuable insights with the auditorium. On day one I was also introduced to two of my mentees. Being a mentor is an interesting experience, at first I was not really sure how I could help my mentees, but after talking to them I realised that Wildscreen did an excellent job of matching me with people I could really help. My mentor also happened to be a judge for the Wild Pitch competition, so I was unable to meet with her until the competition was over; she was definitely worth the wait! The evening concluded at about 9pm with a few cocktails and more mingling. After dinner and practicing my pitch in the hotel room, sleep finally settled upon me.

Day two, the final day, had arrived. I was a little nervous, after all, it was pitch day! After a quick breakfast, another bursary recipient and I headed to the venue. We were treated to a masterclass in cinematography, post-producing and editing, but the most exciting part of this day was listening to Kartiki Gonsalves (director of the Oscar award winning documentary 'The Elephant Whisperers'), though I was a little distracted by the pitch competition that was scheduled for after lunch - luckily I was able to catch up with Kartiki Gonsalves afterwards for a chat. So finally, the time had come - Wild Pitch. As a presenter you would think that I'd be a lot more relaxed about this, and sure, I looked pretty chilled, but I was a little nervous. While we were setting up for Wild Pitch, we did a run through on stage (not pitching, just an audio/visual run through), and that's when I felt totally relaxed, excited, I felt amped and ready to go. There really is nothing like being on stage. I was third in a line of six pitchers. The stories that the finalists pitched were meaningful, impactful and visually beautiful. I was moved and impressed by so many of them.

Right, my turn now, in front the judges and the auditorium. I told the story of Bob, a story of the depths of compassion and connection, and how it drove innovations across an unprecedented active rehabilitation of Bob, a green turtle, at the Two Oceans aquarium. I spoke of how Bob revealed the potential of the people around him - their potential for kindness, care, effort and innovation in treatment. I pitched as I normally would, and the reception from the judges and the crowd was fantastic. In a way, pitching for Bob's story revealed my potential too; I made an impact on my audience, I was memorable, I was articulate and I was honest. I felt like me and that was more than enough. The comments from the judges were encouraging and meaningful, they too showed me my potential. I ended up taking third prize and some funding towards Bob's documentary. I was (and still am) thrilled! My top tips for successful pitching? Wear what makes you feel good, don't over think it, speak from the heart, know your story, try to sum up the story in your opening line, only remember your key themes/phrases (you know your story, your brain will fill in the rest) and tap into your audience, get them to react, take them with you as you tell your story.

The rest of the evening was non-stop chatting, networking, interviews and photographs. I finally got to meet with my mentor, a BBC commissioner, and she offered me valuable advice, and it was lovely to meet and get to know her. By this time I was tired, hungry and ready to go back to my hotel, especially since I had an early morning flight. My friends were not about to let that happen though. The old and new friends came together at the Nairobi Street Kitchen for a dance filled night. I love to dance. If I'm tired but you say 'but there's dancing...' I will likely change my mind. After feeling the beats of Nairobi (and some South African ones too!), it was finally home time. I got home just after midnight, packed, wound down and got into bed. A short three hours later I woke to start my long journey back home (made longer by the fact that a marathon was taking place that morning and the majority of the roads were closed, even at 4:30am!). After reaching my boarding gate in the nick of time, I settled in for 3 stop overs, Lusaka-Harare-Johannesburg - before reaching home, Cape Town.

I was exhausted but this weekend was possibly the most valuable weekend of my career. Wildscreen managed to connect me with people and resources that I otherwise would've struggled to find. As mid-career presenter and early career filmmaker, it is easy to feel stuck and not know how to create the opportunities you need to level up. I was able to learn from experienced and successful industry experts. But the most valuable thing was getting the opportunity to pitch on stage. I was seen, heard and recognised for my craft. I love presenting, I love learning new things and sharing them, I love distilling complex information and making it accessible for people of all levels of understanding. And the Wildscreen festival 2023 took me a step closer to widening my audience and honing my skills.