The 2025 Wildscreen Panda Awards: Celebrating Excellence in Natural World Storytelling
Established titans and emerging stars receive nominations for the 2025 Panda Awards
The 2025 Wildscreen Panda Awards are set to honour the best in natural world storytelling, with a total of 17 categories celebrating excellence in film, TV, and related content.
Notable Categories and Nominees
The Series Category, sponsored by Doclights, features notable works such as A Real Bug’s Life, Series 2 from Plimsoll Productions, Secrets of the Penguins from Talesmith, and OceanXplorers, a co-production by BBC Studios Natural History Unit and OceanX.
The Independent Film Award sees Trade Secret, an An Untitled Film Works production, vying for the top spot.
The Behavior Award highlights Katavi: Africa’s Fallen Paradise, focusing on the behaviour of apex predators adapting to climate cycles in Tanzania’s national park.
The Sustainability Award nominee is Pangolin – Journey for Freedom, a story of a rescued Temminck’s ground pangolin, and is also noteworthy for its sustainable filmmaking practices.
Multi-category Nominations
Ocean with David Attenborough, a Silverback Films and Open Planet Studios co-production, has been nominated in five categories, including Scripted Narrative, Cinematography, Music, Producer/Director, and Impact.
Other notable nominees with multiple nods include Our Oceans from Netflix and Wild Space Productions, Tides of Life, Sea Lions of the Galapagos, The Birds (a production of Passion Planet and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios), and Mighty Monkeys, an NHK/NHK ENTERPRISES/Doclights collaboration.
Broad Representation
National Geographic had nominations in nine of the 17 categories, indicating broad representation across awards.
Context and Significance
The Panda Awards, often called the “Green Oscars,” are the highest honours in natural world storytelling. Starting from 2025, these awards will be held annually. Categories span a broad creative and technical range, including cinematography, music, storytelling, emerging talent, and impact/sustainability. The awards emphasize both cinematic excellence and conservation impact.
The Leica Short Award
The Leica Short Award, a new category at the Panda Awards, focuses on short-form storytelling in wildlife and environmental filmmaking. Among the nominees for this award are Tides of Life from the University of the West of England, Life (Cycle) of a Hong Kong Newt from China's Frigatefilms, and H5N1: Conservation in Crisis, an Austrian production.
The Panda Awards Ceremony
The Panda Awards Ceremony will bring together filmmakers, producers, and industry leaders to celebrate the year’s most outstanding natural-world storytelling. The ceremony will take place on October 22, hosted at Bristol Harbour Hotel and streamed online, with tickets now available.
For a complete list of all 17 categories, the official Wildscreen Panda Awards 2025 announcement or brochure from Wildscreen would provide details as the publicly available sources primarily highlight key categories and major nominees. The overall field reflects diverse storytelling, cultural range, and a strong focus on environmental impact and sustainable production.
[1] Wildscreen Panda Awards 2025
[2] Wildscreen
[3] Kalum Carter
- The 2025 Wildscreen Panda Awards, often referred to as the "Green Oscars," will celebrate excellence in natural world storytelling across 17 categories, including film, TV, and related content.
- In the Series Category, nominated works include A Real Bug’s Life, Series 2, Secrets of the Penguins, and OceanXplorers.
- Trade Secret is a contender for the Independent Film Award.
- Katavi: Africa’s Fallen Paradise has been nominated for the Behavior Award, focusing on apex predators in Tanzania’s national park.
- Pangolin – Journey for Freedom is nominated for the Sustainability Award and is noteworthy for its sustainable filmmaking practices.
- Ocean with David Attenborough has been nominated in five categories, spanning scripted narrative, cinematography, music, producer/director, and impact.
- other notable nominees with multiple nods include Our Oceans, Tides of Life, Sea Lions of the Galapagos, The Birds, and Mighty Monkeys.
- National Geographic has nominations in nine of the 17 categories, indicating broad representation across awards.
- The Leica Short Award, a new category at the Panda Awards, focuses on short-form storytelling in wildlife and environmental filmmaking, with nominees including Tides of Life, Life (Cycle) of a Hong Kong Newt, and H5N1: Conservation in Crisis.
- The Panda Awards Ceremony will bring together filmmakers, producers, and industry leaders, taking place on October 22 at Bristol Harbour Hotel and streamed online, with tickets available.
