PROGRAM CATEGORIES - FINALIST PROFILES
STUDENT & EMERGING SPONSORED BY DISNEYNATURE Presented in recognition of the best program produced by either a first-time filmmaker in the field of natural history production, or a student currently enrolled or no more than 2 years out of an academic program.
Between Two Lichens
Andy Johnson, Talia Yuki Moore, Chris A. Johns and Kate Furby
Were there any surprising or meaningful experiences you want to share? At one point, we wanted to make an analogy of a lichen, by showing all the different components on a pizza: basidiomycetes represented by chanterelles, ascomycetes represented by morels, and algae represented by nori. Tim, whose cabin we shot at, ended up having all of these components, and they made mushroom-related food for us whenever they weren’t on camera. Mushroom omelettes for breakfast, mushroom pizza for lunch, etc. Even though we didn’t end up using the analogy, we felt like we were becoming one with the fungi.
The Healing Lizard
Fernanda Prudencio, University of the West of England
What inspired this story? At the very start of my research, finding that there were lizards living high up in the Andes at an altitude of 5000m immediately sparked my interest and a desire to make a film about them. I always associated lizards with tropical environments and warm weather but never imagined lizards living amidst snow, at very low temperatures, and such high altitudes. I definitely wanted to tell that story. A small beautiful creature that was under threat due to social, cultural and environmental factors; that was the perfect way of showing my country Bolivia, its beauty and its complex cultural reality. During the creative process many things changed from the original idea to the final result, however the lizard was always the main inspiration.
Wild Expectations
Equilibrio films LLC, Nedo Producciones Ltda.
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film. The biggest challenge was actually finding the puma with no tail again. We saw it when it was a cub, and then we heard about sightings for some time. The risk is always high for this animals. Cubs face a lot of dangers while growing up, including the surrounding farmlands, were they do poach Pumas from time to time. If this puma was a male, it could perfectly move away to those areas, looking for territory. The cub was a female, and she grew up safe, still being seen at the park. We went back to Torres del Paine 18 months after finding her for the first time, convinced that she was alive, as a young adult. It took us almost 2 weeks to find her. But that is part of the story.
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