Thoughts on The Jackson Wild Summit 2022

It’s hard to believe that two weeks have already passed since the 2022 Jackson Wild Summit in Austria! I had the pleasure to attend this year - here’s what I found:

It was a powerful experience to have so many creators and thinkers together. Everywhere I went there was a sense of possibility about forward momentum for the environment and the way we tell stories about it. By a stroke of luck I got to stay in the main building at Vila Vita, so I felt fully immersed in the buzz. As I walked around from here to there, everyone I passed were deep in conversation or huddled over laptops, viewing films, planning, and big pictur-ing (and some last minute uploading and rendering that wasn’t quite as joyous but fun to be in the flow of things). A stand out quality that I noticed was how friendly and welcoming everyone was, and this overarching openness and excitement was my favorite part of the experience.

A large banquet hall with three projector screens. The middle screen says "Jackson Wild Summit" and the two outside project screens have a close up of the women. In front of the project screens are three women with a microphone. Guests sit in chairs. — *The Q&A with Samantha Zwicker, Melissa Lesh, and Bonnie Abaunza after the pre-release screening of “Wildcat” in Seewinkle Hall.*

The panel discussions were insightful and notable, and covered important ground such as how to make a production as environmentally sustainable as possible, thoughts on increasing access to filmmaking for traditionally underrepresented creators, and intersectional storytelling.

One of my favorite panels was “Sometimes Life is Absurd: Comedy’s Crucial Role in the Climate Conservation”. As several other panels touched on, the feeling of impending doom that permeates so much of climate conservation can be a barrier to making changes. But as this panel laid out, comedy can be a powerful tool to propel viewers to a sense of action. Another stand out was “How The Hell Did They Get That Shot?” which, in addition to being an upbeat conversation with talented videographers, was a great reminder of the joys of cinema. Gail Jenkinson’s shots from “Patrick and the Whale” really blew me away, and her thoughts on having an open mind about perspective reminded me of why it’s important to include many different aesthetic voices when creating a film. On the virtual side, Think Lemonade’s own Angel Morris presented a must watch panel “Out In The Wild” about the experiences of LGBTQ+ creators.

*A still from “Patrick and the Whale” by Terra Mater Studios GmbH*

Another memorable presentation was the live scored film performance by the NEWF Composers Showcase, featuring musicians Aphiwe Marcia Buwa, Labdi Ommes, Neil Darmon, Dèrcio Gomate, Ania Safa, and Samuel Safa. The musicians were all incredible, and the alchemy of their ensemble electrified the audience. This was perhaps the most well attended event next to the presentation by Juma Xipaia, the keynote speaker. The rapt attention that I felt in the crowd reminded me of the power of live scoring, and how it relates to early film. It is this warm physicality of a live performer next to the shimmery memory preserved in film creates a special magic that helped early film lift off in the first place. As we move forward in the never ending quest of what’s next, I am reminded that we can learn from the power of the early film innovators (including musicians and composers).

This NEWF Composers Showcase performance was accompanied by an important conversation about considering the historical roots of music when pairing them with a nature film. Specifically, as Noel Kok pointed out, if a film is shot in a particular country, the music should also reflect the history and/or contemporary music of that country. Don’t bring Beethoven and a fourteen person orchestra to the field, he said. Although there has been great music composed for nature films in the past, as the nature film industry moves forward with the way it considers authenticity and honesty in storytelling, I think he makes an important point and I’m excited for how locally reflective music can infuse new life into nature film scores moving forward. This is not to say that western orchestra music can never be used. I think it can be used to great effect in the right context, and I want to acknowledge the power and beauty that classical music has contributed to music composition, past and present. But this is a call to more thoughtfully address the context that music adds to the film as a whole. Music, which always has a historical and cultural story of its own, is never neutral and should never be an afterthought in a production. Personally, I’d be happy to never hear “silly bird waltzes” on another production ever again, but that’s a subject for another blog post. Another composer who exemplified this idea is Ian McLeod for his score for “Wild Miami” by Days Edge Productions. The score reflected the film’s content in that it embraced the multitude of roots that local and immigrant communities contribute to the fabric of the country, its natural spaces, and its music. It was a joy to hear reggaetón in a nature documentary! Unsurprisingly, the score for “Wild Miami” won the Jackson for Best Original Score.

One of my favorite parts of the festival were the screenings, which primarily took place in an intimate hall in the main Vila Vita building. A great benefit of attending the festival in person was the opportunity to hear from the filmmakers about their own work, as well as to enjoy the presence of other viewers when considering a film. This is a magic that brings David Bordwell’s “Poetics of Cinema” to mind. A particularly fantastic screening was the African Conservation Voices screening of the short films made by the ACV fellows. Other notable viewings were “Wild Miami”, “Deep In The Heart”, “The Fire Within”, “The Territory”, and “Path of the Panther”. For “Path of the Panther”, photographer Carlton Ward was in attendance even though he was preparing to immediately leave to return to Florida, which was simultaneously undergoing a hurricane.

*The African Conservation Voices screening, showing “A Vulture’s Tale: One Man’s Quest” by Rachel Wambui, and Samuel Thuku.*

I just wanted to give a shout out to my favorite film of the group, All The Breathes. Congratulations Kiterabbit Films, Rise Films, and HHMI Tangled Bank Studios - this film was a true accomplishment on a fresh, sensitive, and open way to tell stories. I enjoyed every minute of it and applaud its Jackson award for Best Feature.

In a still from a film, a man and a hawk look at each other. The hawk stands on a desk. — *All That Breathes*

I only have one wish that wasn’t fulfilled by the programming. Panels were presented all day from Monday - Thursday, and a lot of important topics were covered, but unfortunately post production wasn’t highlighted in any of them. I know there are only so many hours in a day and many important things to discuss, and I think that it’s correct that Jackson has opted to turn the spotlight to issues that are critical to improve in our field. It really was an amazing line up of ideas and people. But in upcoming Summits I hope that a moment can be carved out for post production or a consideration for post can be folded into the existing panels, because post is vital when thinking about nature film as a whole, including to support the vital social and environmental justice conversations that are already in progress. The power of editing can go a long way to advancing these goals, and if we can present this tool as less of an afterthought and more as an agent of change, we might be able to move forward faster.

I’m looking forward to the 2023 Summit already!

Four printed photos are laid out on the table. They each show four people in the same configuration, making funny faces at the camera.

Drinking from a Fire Hose