2023 WildViewTaiwan Film Festival
#1. 7/22(Sat.)
Panteras
PANTERAS is a documentary about big cats out of the ordinary. Andoni Canela brings us closer to these animals in a different way: from the contemplation and rapport with the natural environment where it is found, it manages to create emotional ties with the nature that it observes. Thus, a message that the photographer often claims becomes evident: in order to want to protect something, you first have to love it; and the only way to love him is to know him thoroughly. Canela achieves their goal by using a slow narration, a leisurely rhythm that manages to show the real time of nature and not using technical resources such as slow motion. Everything happens little by little, until an unforeseen event accelerates the action.Andoni Canela is accompanied by his son Unai, who begins the adventure at the age of twelve and ends it at the age of seventeen. The documentary is also a witness to the boy's adolescence: his growth is seen during the four years that the filming lasts, how he searches for his identity, his moments of rebellion, and how he develops in harmony with nature and creating a strong bond with his father. Through the figure of the young Unai, PANTERAS appeals directly to the new generations: with images of great beauty, the expression of his thoughts and conversations with his father, he makes it clear why it is necessary that things like the disappearance of felines matter. Unai is also the author of several of the songs on the soundtrack, becoming a mirror of how far youthful creativity can go. In conclusion, PANTERAS is a lyrical work about the need to conserve felines and also a call to future generations to be part of the natural environment that surrounds them. It is a documentary that connects with the youngest viewer and makes the adult reflect.
Los Grandes Felinos A.I.E - Wanda Films S.L.
100 mins/Spain
#2. 7/23(Sun.)
My Garden of a Thousand Bees
A story of surprise and revelation. A wildlife cameraman spends his time during the coronavirus pandemic lockdown filming the bees in his urban garden and discovers the many diverse species and personalities that exist in this insect family.
Passion Planet, The WNET Group, HHMI Tangled Bank Studios in association with Ammonite Films
53 mins/UK
#3. 7/29(Sat.)
Satoyama Niigate: Living with Snow
Japan’s satoyama regions are a world of beautiful coexistence between people and nature. They are said to surpass natural wilderness in terms of biodiversity. How did these regions come to exist in Japan, which since ancient times has been prone to natural disasters such as earthquakes and landslides? This documentary explores the secrets behind the satoyama regions’ existence. At a time when nature is making its fury felt due to global warming, this documentary thereby offers clues about ways in which people can build good relationships with it.
NHK Documentary
53 mins/Japan
#4. 7/30(Sun.)
The EGG- Bursting into Life
The egg is one of nature's most remarkable and versatile achievements. It’s a closed system that contains everything that is necessary for the emergence of a new living being. A more or less hard shell separates it from the outside world where death lurks. Who was there first? The chicken or the egg? The answer is clear: the egg! It evolved more than 300 million years ago. Eggs come in almost all sizes, colors and shapes. Birds, fish, amphibians or insects, each animal has adapted the eggs to its own habitat. Each species pursues its own strategy of survival, therefore there are correspondingly many variants of the egg. The egg's shell provides the perfect conditions to nurture the new life within and protect it from the outside world. 99 percent of all animal species lay eggs - such as the ladybird, the herring, the northern gannet or the pond turtle. There is hardly an area in the world where the egg does not ensure the survival of its species. Whether in the North Sea, on the rugged cliffs of the Faroe Islands, in the floodplain landscape of the Donau-Auen National Park in Austria or in the Kalahari dry savannah in Namibia. In contrast, the farm offers the chickens a protected habitat. But even here, the egg is coveted prey. The hen's egg is without a doubt the most famous egg in the world. But only a few people know the feat with which the chick fights its way through the shell into life. The new documentary "The Egg - Bursting into Life " by the directors Astrid Miller, Stephan Krasser and Johannes Berger puts the spotlight on the egg and shows that two eggs are never alike.
ORF-Enterprise
51 mins/Austria
#5. 8/5(Sat.)
The Green Planet: Human Worlds
We rely on plants for almost everything, including the air we breathe and the food we eat. Two in five wild plants are threatened with extinction, but people are finding new ways to help them, from projects in Africa to reseed the landscape to the rebuilding of a tropical forest in Brazil, tree by tree.
BBC Studios, PBS, bilibili, ZDF, China Media Group CCTV9, France Televisions & The Open University
58 mins/UK
#6. 8/12(Sat.)
Bear About The House 1
Conservationist Giles Clark helps build a pioneering new bear sanctuary in Southeast Asia, as well as rescuing vulnerable orphaned bear cubs from the illegal wildlife trade and raising them at home. Episode 1: Conservationist Giles Clark is in Laos to tackle wildlife crime and build a new bear sanctuary. Mary a baby sun bear arrives and needs urgent care and two moon bears are also rescued.
BBC Studios Natural History Unit
60 mins/UK
#7. 8/13(Sun.)
Bear About The House 2
Episode 2: Conservationist Giles Clark is in Laos caring for two traumatised five-month-old moon bear cubs. Mary the sun bear is becoming more confident and the sanctuary gets shocking news.
BBC Studios Natural History Unit
60 mins/UK
#8. 8/19(Sat.)
Tigre Gente
A Bolivian park ranger and a young Hong Kongese journalist risk their lives to go undercover and investigate a new, deadly jaguar trade that’s sweeping South America. Along the way, they grapple with questions of empathy, responsibility, and bridging a cultural gap to prevent the jaguar trade from spiraling out of control. Shuttling between the breathtaking biodiversity of Madidi National Park in Bolivia and the tense China-Myanmar border, TIGRE GENTE juxtaposes the tranquility and splendor of the jungle against the small-minded, sadistic nature of Man, its Destroyer.
Wanderlust Productions
94 mins/USA
#9. 8/20(Sat.)
Whales in a Changing Ocean
In Antarctica, nothing is stationary. The only constant is change. One noticeable and increasingly evident change is the recovery of the humpback whales that feed in the waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, after industrial whaling almost wiped them out. In February 2020, wildlife filmmaker Richard Sidey was invited to join a team of scientists undertaking humpback whale research in Antarctica with Conservation International. Whales in a Changing Ocean follows the team as they observe humpback whale behavior and gather information vital to protecting the Antarctic continent into the future.
Richard Sidey
21 mins/New Zealand
CAUGHT
"On average, 10,000 dolphins are slaughtered every year by unregulated commercial fishing on France’s Atlantic coast in the Bay of Biscay - twice as many as all other countries combined. Sea Shepherd France and the crew of the M/Y Age of Union are on the front lines, fighting to expose deadly fishing methods to get the government’s attention in any way possible. CAUGHT reveals the shocking consequences of excess consumerism, depleting oceanic ecosystems, while marine life are killed in massive fishing nets. These harmful practices would never be allowed on land where the public could see, and yet, there is still a lack of economic and political will to enforce marine laws and regulations. Through a raw, unfiltered look at boots-on-the-ground activism, the film pinpoints potential catastrophic ripple effects of overfishing, jeopardizing sustainability for all life on earth in the foreseeable future. There is, however, hope for protecting and restoring critically threatened oceans before it’s too late."
Age of Union
38 mins/Canada