RTÉ One
RTÉ One Wildlife Documentary Wins Prestigious WWF Golden Panda Award
Wicklow production company Crossing the Line has won three awards for On a River in Ireland, a film version of their highly-acclaimed RTÉ wildlife documentary series The Secret Life of the Shannon, at the prestigious Wildscreen Film Festival. The film took the WWF Golden Panda Award – for best overall production along with the best script award and also shared the Panasonic Cinematography Award.
Hundreds of films from around the world are entered into the Panda Awards and receiving a Panda is one of the highest accolades for a filmmaker in the natural history filmmaking industry.
RTÉ Head of Regional, Education and Wildlife programmes Ray McCarthy said: We would like to congratulate Crossing The Line Films for a fantastic trio of awards, for a series that told the definitive story of Ireland’s most iconic river. RTÉ is committed to supporting the best of Irish wildlife filmmakers, who have shown that they can make world-class documentaries telling the unique stories of Ireland’s wild places for audiences both at home and abroad.
John Murray, Director, Crossing The Line said: My father grew up on the banks of the Shannon and to me as a child it was as wide and mysterious as the Amazon. In this film we tried to capture some of the wild animals and natural wonders that lie unseen under our very noses. It’s hugely gratifying that a film featuring Ireland’s wildlife would win against allcomers from around the world and a huge thanks to the team and everyone who helped us around the country.”
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 award winning 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.
The series was produced by Cepa Giblin, directed by John Murray and edited by Emer Reynolds.
For further information: Tara O’Brien, RTÉ TV Press & Publicity, (01) 2082287 or tara.obrien@rte.ie
Date: 24 October, 2014
About the Festival
The Oscars of the natural history and wildlife film industry – the Wildscreen Panda Awards – were announced last night at a prestigious and glittering awards ceremony. The Panda Awards are the centrepiece of the Wildscreen Festival, and were presented by Monty Halls and Patrick Aryee.
http://www.wildscreenfestival.org/festival-programme/panda-awards.aspx
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.