2024 Media Awards
Winners announced!
Considered the highest bar of achievement in natural history filmmaking, the Jackson Wild Media Awards celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science, and conservation storytelling.Over 500 films entered the competition in 2024, with over 1,100 category entries from 74 different countries around the world. Finalists were selected by more than 200 international judges who together screened over 1,000 hours of media.
Winners were announced during the Awards Gala on Thursday, September 5th, 2024 at the AFI Theatre in Silver Spring, MD. Watch a recording of the ceremony.
2024 Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalists & Winners
2024 Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalists & Winners
Grand Teton Award
Turtle Walker
Tiger Baby, Ceres, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Emaho Films
”A beautifully realized portrait of one man’s decades-long efforts to save his nation’s threatened and endangered sea turtles and an inspiring look at how his legacy lives on in the legions of devoted conservationists continuing his work today.” - The Final Jury
SPECIAL JURY AWARDS
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Poacher
QC Entertainment, Suitable Pictures, Poor Man’s Productions, Eternal Sunshine Productions & PRIME VIDEO
"A riveting, innovative serialized drama that taps into the growing popularity of true crime formats to make critical conservation and environmental issues widely accessible to a global audience. Based on real-life events, this work sets a new standard for how natural history can inform scripted entertainment to drive engagement and impact around the world." - Final Jury
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Planetwalker
An Encompass Films Production, with Financial Support from Peak Design, Lush Cosmetics, Sierra Club, Nell Newman Foundation, Keystone Policy Center, The JoyTrip Project, Brico Fund, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Explorers Club, Darlene Anderson
"An uplifting biographical account of one man’s extraordinary (17-year) journey walking across the planet in silence to shine a light on the impact big oil is having on the environment. This film is a testament to the transformative power of living one’s beliefs and how an individual’s commitment to action can inspire us all." - Final Jury
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR | Sponsored by Love Nature
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WINNER | Lions of the Skeleton Coast
A film by Will & Lianne Steenkamp for ORF, Thirteen, Arte and WDR
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Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory: Antarctic Killer Waves
National Geographic and Wildstar Films
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Mammals: Dark
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced with BBC America, ZDF, YOUKU and France Télévisions for BBC
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Queens: Rainforest Queens
National Geographic and Wildstar Films
ECOSYSTEM | Sponsored by NOVA
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WINNER | Wilding
A Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Productions
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Giants Rising
Tangent Productions in association with the Redford Center
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Our Living World: Nature's Amazing Network
Wild Space and Freeborne Media for Netflix
CONSERVATION | Sponsored by National Geographic Content
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WINNER | Turtle Walker
Tiger Baby, Ceres, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Emaho Films
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Earthsounds: Listening to Our Planet
Offspring Films for Apple TV+
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MY MERCURY
A Dog Star Films, JoJi Films Production for A24 Films
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Wilding
A Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios Production
PEOPLE & NATURE | Sponsored by Nature/WNET
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WINNER | Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
Silverback Films and National Geographic
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Resident Orca
A film by Sarah Sharkey Pearce and Simon Schneider, produced by Everyday Films for CRAVE, a Bell Media Company, in association with Canada Media Fund and Rogers Documentary Fund.
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Turtle Walker
Tiger Baby, Ceres, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Emaho Films
PLANET IN CRISIS | Sponsored by PBS
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WINNER | UNEARTH
Crooked Footprint, 22nd Century Films, LegaSeas, Resilient Foundation and Rogovy Foundation
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Planetwalker
An Encompass Films Production, with Financial Support from Peak Design, Lush Cosmetics, Sierra Club, Nell Newman Foundation, Keystone Policy Center, The JoyTrip Project, Brico Fund, Aldo Leopold Foundation, Explorers Club, Darlene Anderson
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Searching for Amani
A film by Backroads Pictures, Nicole Gormley, and Debra Aroko
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The Here Now Project
Siskel/Jacobs Productions and Eleven Eleven Foundation
TRAILBLAZER |Sponsored by Off the Fence
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WINNER | Queer Planet
Plimsoll Productions and Peacock
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Life On Our Planet: In Cold Blood
Netflix, A Silverback Films Production in association with Amblin Television
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Poacher: The Confessor
QC Entertainment, Suitable Pictures, Poor Man’s Productions, Eternal Sunshine Productions & PRIME VIDEO
LIMITED SERIES | Sponsored by HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
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WINNER | Queens
National Geographic and Wildstar Films
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Earthsounds
Offspring Films for Apple TV+
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Planet Earth III
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, FTV and The Open University
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Poacher
QC Entertainment, Suitable Pictures, Poor Man’s Productions, Eternal Sunshine Productions & PRIME VIDEO
FEATURE | Sponsored by Terra Mater Studios
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WINNER | Canary
Oscilloscope Laboratories, End of The Road Films, Act 4 Entertainment, Boardwalk Pictures, and REI Co-Op Studios
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Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story
Silverback Films and National Geographic
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Every Little Thing
Dogwoof, WildBear Entertainment and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios
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Living with Leopards
A Wild Space Production in Association with Natural History Film Unit Botswana and Freeborne Media, Netflix
GLOBAL VOICES | Sponsored by Wildstar Academy
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WINNER | Kuishi Na Simba (Living With Lions)
Curiosity Stream, Ouragan Films, Siima Media, VII Foundation and Red Cameras
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Ma ŋaye ka Masaala a se ka Wɔmɛti (From God To Man)
A co-production of Nia Tero and Upstander Project in association with REI Co-op Studios.
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The Last Defenders of Vietnam
Peddling Pictures and CNA, Mediacorp Pte Ltd
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Turtle Walker
Tiger Baby, Ceres, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Emaho Films
ONSCREEN PERSONALITY | Sponsored by San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance
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WINNER | Trafficked: Underworlds with Mariana van Zeller - Apes
National Geographic Channel and Muck Media
Featuring: Mariana van Zeller
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Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory: Patagonia Puma
National Geographic and Wildstar Films
Featuring: Bertie Gregory
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Attenborough and The Giant Sea Monster
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit production for BBC and PBS with the WNET Group
Featuring: Sir David Attenborough
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Lions of the Skeleton Coast
A film by Will & Lianne Steenkamp for ORF, Thirteen, Arte and WDR
Featuring: Dr Philip Stander
SOCIAL | Sponsored by Waterbear
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WINNER | Wild Hope: Student Rewilders
An HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Red Rock Films Production for PBS Nature on YouTube
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Making the Leap
Douglas Main, Zach Baumgartner, and National Geographic
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The Unseen
On The Edge and Able & Baker
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Unwind
Kate Colley
STUDENT | Sponsored by AU Center for Environmental filmmaking
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WINNER | Beyond the Bay
Daniel Green, National Film and Television School
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A Hole with a View
Felix Prater, National Film and Television School
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Against the Herd
Jaxon Derow, National Film and Television School
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Death at Sea
Sara Pipernos, University of the West of England - Bristol; Cinematography: Mikey Sneddon; Assistant Director: Nyal Mueenuddin; Major funders: Blue Marine Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, Human Rights at Sea International, Sustainable Communities and Fisheries Trust
SHORTS - WILD HEROES | Sponsored by Jane Goodall Institute
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WINNER | Groundwork: Building Community Through Regenerative Rubber
The North Face and Gnarly Bay
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Flora, Fauna, Funga
National Geographic Society Impact Story Lab
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Indai Apai Darah
Produced by Nia Tero and Sungai Utik Community as a member of the Aliansi Masyarakat Adat Nusantara
SHORTS - WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT | Sponsored by DC Environmental Film Festival
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WINNER | The Bird in My Backyard
Trochilus Films and Ryan Wilkes for CBC
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Boca Chica
A film by Ái Vuong and Samuel Díaz Fernández, TÁPI Studios, Reel South, PBS
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How Humans Are Reshaping Elephant Evolution
Day's Edge Productions for PBS
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Life (cycle) of the Hong Kong Newt
Frigatefilms
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Marmots on Toast
Dream Wild Films
SHORTS - IMPACT STORIES | Sponsored by Conservation International
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WINNER | UNDAMMED
Patagonia and Swiftwater Films
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Existimos en la Memoria (We Exist in Memory)
A Home Collective Production. Directed by: Darian Woehr . Produced by: Hailey Sadler, Bruna Kadletz, Argenia Centeno
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Wild Hope: The Frog Ark
An HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Red Rock Films Production for PBS Nature on YouTube
INNOVATION IN GREEN PRODUCTION | Sponsored by International Fund for Animal Welfare
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WINNER | Earthsounds
Offspring Films for Apple TV+
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An Optimist's Guide to the Planet with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
A Canada-United Kingdom Co-production. A Cream and Wildfire Television Production in association with Bloomberg and Bell Media. With the participation of Ill Kippers Aps
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Planet Earth III
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, FTV and The Open University
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Rebels with Cause
A Limpet Films Production for WaterBear and Imagine5
IMPACT CAMPAIGN | Sponsored by National Geographic Society
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WINNER | We Are Guardians
RandomGood Films, Appian Way, Highly Flammable, Mídia Indígena and One Forest
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Catapults to Cameras
Roundglass Sustain and Ashwika Kapur
Impact Producers: Ashwika Kapur, Samreen Farooqui, Suvrajyoti Chatterjee (Heal).
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The Elephant Queen
A Deeble, Stone & Oliff Production and Apple Original
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Watershed
The Redford Center, Kontent Films
CINEMATOGRAPHY | Sponsored by The American Society of Cinematographers
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WINNER | Queens: Tiny Jungle Queens
National Geographic and Wildstar Films
Director of Photography: Warwick Sloss
Cinematographers: Michael Male, Gail Kukula, Mark Payne-Gill, Tim Shepherd, Justine Evans, Robin Cox, Joris Van Alphen and Mohan Sandhu
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Mammals: Water
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced with BBC America, ZDF, YOUKU and France Télévisions for BBC
Cinematographers: Dan Beecham, Howard Bourne, Kevin Flay, Jeandre Gerding, Steve Hathaway, Jeff Hester, René Heuzey, Andre Rerekura, Roberto Rinaldi, Nuno Sá, Hector Skevington-Postles, Max Smith, Gavin Thurston and Alex Vail
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Our Living World: The Rhythm of Life
Wild Space and Freeborne Media for Netflix
Photography: Owen Bissell, James Ewen, Simon Lewis, Michael Male, Greg Nelson, Corey Robinson and Alex Vail
Timelapse Photography: Chris Field, Todd Kewley, Nick Pitt, Morten Rustad, Tim Shepherd and Noah Waldron
Additional Photography: Ryan Garrett, Christopher Georgia, Garth Mcelroy
Aerial Photography: Joseph Large, Julian Tryba and Felix Baker
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Planet Earth III: Extremes
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, FTV and The Open University
Cinematographer(s): Luke Nelson, Kevin Flay, Justin Maguire, John Shier, Barrie Britton, Daniel Hunter, Edward Saltau, Pete Cayless, Justine Evans, Jake Davis, Oliver Mueller, Ronan Donovan, Alain Lusignan, Ryan Deboodt, Cyril Ruoso, Pascal Lorent, Stuart Trowell, Rolf Steinmann, Braydon Moloney
EDITING | Sponsored by Wildmotion
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WINNER | Photographer: Krystle Wright - Heart Explosions
Little Monster Films and National Geographic
Editors: Ann Rose, Fanny Lee
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A Real Bug's Life: The Big City
Nat Geo WILD and Plimsoll Productions
Editor: Rick Holbrook
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Earthsounds: Australian Forests
Offspring Films for Apple TV+
Editor: Alex Boyle
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Planet Earth III: Freshwater
BBC Studios Natural History Unit, co-produced by BBC America, ZDF, FTV and The Open University
Editor: Sam Rogers
ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE | Sponsored by ORF Universum
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WINNER | Queens: Tiny Jungle Queens
National Geographic and Wildstar Films
Composer: Morgan Kibby
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Among the Wolves
Le cinquieme reve, Belgica Films, Arte France, RTBF, Proximus
Composer: Lionel Polis
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Greenland - Feeling the Heat
A Production by NDR Naturfilm, Doclights Vision Airways for NDR In Association with Terra Mater and distributed by ZDF Studios
Composers: Jörg Magnus Pfeil and Eivør Pálsdóttir
WRITING | Sponsored by Lucky8
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WINNER | Lions of the Skeleton Coast
A film by Will & Lianne Steenkamp for ORF, Thirteen, Arte and WDR
Writers: Will & Lianne Steenkamp, Alan Miller
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Attenborough and The Giant Sea Monster
A BBC Studios Natural History Unit production for BBC and PBS with the WNET Group
Writers: Sir David Attenborough, Victoria Bobin and Tom Jarvis
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Evolution Earth: Islands
Produced by Passion Planet in association with PBS and Arte France for Love Nature.
Writer: Oliver Twinch
SOUND | Sponsored by Television Academy Sound Peer Group
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WINNER | Earthsounds: Australian Forests
Offspring Films for Apple TV+
Sound: Wounded Buffalo
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Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold: On Thin Ice
National Geographic and Plimsoll Productions
Dubbing Mixer: Brian Moseley
Field Sound Recordist: Jim Hurst
Foley Artist: Jonathon Cawte
Sound Editor: George Fry
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Secret World of Sound with David Attenborough: Hunters and Hunted
Humble Bee Films Ltd, Infield Fly Productions, Sky Nature, Netflix, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Abacus Media Rights
Sound: Chris Watson, Brian Moseley, Paul Fisher, Angela Groves, Ioannis Spanos, Jonathan Cawte, George Fry
Honorable Mention
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399: Queen of the Tetons
A Production of Lucky 8 in association with the WNET Group and PBS
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Birdsong
True Films, RTÉ, Coimisiún na Meán
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Bring Them Home / Aiskótáhkapiyaaya
Thunderheart Films
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Chasing Time
Exposure Labs
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Farming While Black
Directed by Mark Decena; Produced by Liz Lupino Decena and Kontent Films
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The Call of Glaciers
China Global Television Network (CGTN)
World Wildlife Day - Audience Choice Winner
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Octopus Odyssey
Schmidt Ocean Institute
