What to watch: Nature documentaries
From climate change, to clothing sustainability, to mating rituals, there are documentaries encompassing all elements of nature.
Here are some of our favourites.
Our Planet
Winners announced for the RTS West of England Awards 2020
The feature-length film, which tells the remarkable story of a diver who survived being trapped 100 metres under the sea with only minutes of breathable air remaining, scooped four awards.
Last Breath, made by MetFilm Production/Floating Harbour Films, won the Documentary award, with Paul Leonard-Morgan (Composer), Sam Rogers (Editing) and Ben Baird (Sound) also picking up prizes.
Netflix had more success with Our Planet, made by Bristol wildlife specialists Silverback Films, which won the Natural History and Cinematography awards.
The best documentaries about sustainability to watch now
Here are our top TV picks that will give you a new appreciation for the planet.
Down To Earth with Zac Efron
Netflix
Sophie Lanfear’s TV Diary
"It’s a lot smaller than the telly makes it seem,” I think to myself as I stare out at the infamous Hollywood sign. LA is the last place you’d expect to find a wildlife filmmaker who’s more accustomed to being holed up in a shack in the Arctic wilderness. I’m on the 10th floor of a Hollywood hotel pondering the events of the last week.
How Our Planet's social media halo is helping to reverse climate change
Is social media the environmentalist movement’s secret weapon? Could it put us all on the path to a pollution-free, sustainable future in which biodiversity thrives and climate change is pegged back?
Our Planet team talk filming the infamous walrus scene
Shocking scenes of walruses jammed together “out of desperation” on an ice-depleted beach, a consequence of climate change, have emerged as the defining image of Netflix’s high-profile natural history documentary, Our Planet.
Our Planet Q&A | Highlights
Following a screening of the Our Planet episode Frozen Worlds, members of the crew, including series producer, Keith Scholey, producer Sophie Lanfear, camera operator Jamie McPherson and assistant producer Olly Scholey, spoke to Lynn Barlow about how the episode was made.
The panel shared their experiences working on the nature series and how it was created.
How Netflix's Our Planet was made
The sequence – a huge topic on social media - was described by award-winning natural history cinematographer Jamie McPherson as “the most powerful he’s ever shot.”
McPherson was discussing the series, which launched on the streaming service on April 5, at a joint RTS-Wildscreen screening of the Frozen Worlds episode, which featured the walruses.
“The sequence has become a symbol of climate change,” said Keith Scholey, series producer of the eight-part Our Planet, which is narrated by David Attenborough.
TV picks of the week: 1st – 7th April
Secrets of the Royal Babies: Meghan and Harry
Monday: ITV, 9.00pm
ITV's one-off documentary explores what it’s like to experience motherhood as a royal.
Secrets of the Royal Babies follows the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as they prepare to welcome their first child, and look at how royal mothers have balanced their public duties with motherhood.
Reframing the documentary: how Amazon and Netflix are changing factual television
In February of this year, Netflix won its first Oscar and its first Bafta. Surprisingly, the awards were not for any of its high-profile drama series, but for two documentaries. The Academy Award went to The White Helmets, a film about a group of Syria Civil Defence volunteer rescue workers. The Bafta winner was 13th, Ava DuVernay’s film about race in the US criminal justice system.