Filmmakers and environmental celebrators stand their ground on capturing and sharing the present beauty of the natural world before it’s too late at the “Into The Wild: Capturing The Awe” panel at the AMC Networks second annual Summit held in New York City’s Lower East Side.
BBC America is set to redefine nature and wildlife television content with its new series, Project Awe, streaming every Saturday for a full 24 hours. In addition, BBC’s Project Awe has recently announced its continued partnership to stream iconic series from the BBC Natural History unit, namely, Planet Earth, Planet Earth II, The Blue Planet and The Blue Planet II, Frozen Planet and Frozen Planet II, and One Planet: Seven Worlds.
Nature and wildlife fanatics / filmmakers made it clear that the programming has no outward agenda. With a plethora of controversy regarding climate change in today’s recent headlines, BBC America is looking to rekindle humanity’s connection with the natural world in a celebratory and hopeful manner.
According to the panelists, exposure to nature has immense benefits such as reducing anxiety levels and mental exhaustion. By utilizing innovative drone technologies to capture the incomparable beauty of the natural world and bring it right to your television screen, Blue Planet II producer Orla Doherty is excited to rekindle that relationship in the most efficient way possible.
“It’s using technological innovation to make that emotional connection,” added Doherty. Other panelists including Courtney Thomasma, Jonny Keeling, Mark Brownlow, Mike Gunton and Susan Kresnicka nodded in agreement to Doherty’s acknowledgement of the modern and natural world colliding for the benefit of the masses.
The President and Cultural Anthropologist of Kresnicka Research, Susan Kresnicka, strongly believes that “there’s a strong argument for the emotional impact that this type of content has on people being appropriate and much needed at this moment of time. It inspires feelings of awe and gratitude and hope and calm. Most importantly, a connectedness that a lot of us don’t have the opportunity to explore in this stage.”
While the televised content has no outward agenda, it does not shy away from showcasing the truth of today’s contaminated environment. According to producer Mark Brownlow (Blue Plant II, Dynasties, Planet Earth III), Blue Planet II has even captured the attention of England’s Queen Elizabeth II.
“On Blue Planet II, unintentionally, we covered a lot of popular issues impacting the world’s oceans, but one issue in particular that captured the imagination of the general public globally, and that was around ocean plastics,” said Brownlow. “In fact, the Queen [of England] has now banned plastic bottles on her royal estate, so its gone all the way.”
President of Entertainment Networks at AMC Sarah Barnett excitedly prefaced the panel by proclaiming “It is a privilege to be a home for experiences that make us feel part of something bigger than ourselves and remind us of our profound connectedness. BBC AMERICA’s Project Awe is created as a place for audiences to gather together and feel something bigger than themselves.”
“As the past, present and future U.S. home to this iconic BBC nature and wildlife programming, we know that epic documentaries about this spellbinding blue planet we all share pulls people from all backgrounds and all ages together in a transcendent way that’s unlike anything else, which is why we have been ‘all in,’ on this groundbreaking programming for many years, and will continue to be for many more to come,” added Barnett.