RTÉ DOC TAKES HOME TOP AWARD AT THE ‘OSCARS’ OF WILDLIFE FILM-MAKING
Wicklow production company wins top award for second time in a row
Crossing the Line has won three awards for ‘On a River in Ireland’, a film version of their highly-acclaimed RTÉ nature documentary series The Secret Life of the Shannon at the world’s leading Wildlife Film Festival, Jackson Hole. The production company took the overall Grand Teton Best of Festival Award along with awards for Best Editing and Best Wildlife Habitat Program. The two-part series The Secret Life of the Shannon aired on RTÉ One this May as part of the RTÉ Goes Wild Season.
This is the second festival in a row in which the Wicklow based production company has taken home the best-in-show award, winning the Grand Teton, Best Presenter and best Conservation Program in the 2011 Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Wyoming USA.
Seeing off competition from over 540 films including the BBC’s Africa and Frozen Planet series and Disney’s Chimpanzee feature, the Irish filmmakers took home the three top awards at this prestigious festival. The biannual festival brings together the world’s best natural history broadcasters, producers and filmmakers and has grown to be the largest and most highly regarded competition of the natural history genre.
The Secret Life of the Shannon brought viewers on a wonderful journey along the River Shannon, revealing its secretive wild inhabitants in intimate detail. Beautifully filmed, and accompanied by atmospheric score, it saw presenter Colin Stafford Johnson travel the 340km-long river in his canoe, revealing the beauty of its varied habitats, flora and fauna. Filmed over two years, the series features extraordinary animal behaviour captured with the very latest camera technologies and brings a number of firsts to Irish natural history filmmaking – Daubenton’s bats filmed hunting in slow motion; whooper swans filmed in extreme close-up as they fly over the river’s great lakes; and a kingfisher fishing underwater, filmed at over 1,000 frames per second. Two hours of breathtaking footage reveal the natural world of Ireland as never before.
The Secret Life of the Shannon was produced by Crossing the Line in association with RTÉ, with the support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, ESB, Waterways Ireland, the Heritage Council and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.
RTÉ Commissioning Editor for Regional, Diversity and Wildlife programmes Ray McCarthy said: ‘We would like to congratulate Crossing the Line on their wonderful achievement. These awards highlight the world class experience and talent of Irish filmmakers. RTÉ is delighted to continue its support for ambitious Irish natural history and wildlife documentaries.’
The series was produced by Cepa Giblin, directed by John Murray and edited by Emer Reynolds.
About the Festival
Recognised as the premier event of its genre, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is an unparalleled industry gathering. Over 650 international delegates participate in an exceptional slate of leading edge equipment presentations, seminars and screenings. This year’s competition included over 500 films from more than 30 countries – a record number of submissions.
http://www.jacksonholefilmfestival.org/
About Crossing the Line
Crossing the Line is an award-winning Irish television production company specialising in adventure, nature, travel and historical documentaries. They produce extensively for their home networks and many of the world’s leading broadcasters on subjects as diverse as lost Arctic expeditions, the world’s last great nomadic journeys, the Cuban Missile Crisis and tigers. Crossing the Line has filmed in over 80 countries and in some of the most remote and breathtaking locations on Earth. Their productions have been broadcast in over 150 different countries. In 2011, Crossing the Line Films won awards for Best Conservation and Best Presenter-Led Program as well as the overall Grand Teton Award for their internationally acclaimed tiger documentary Broken Tail at Jackson Hole in Wyoming USA.