GRAND PRIX

Okavango: River of Dreams, South Africa

Directors: Dereck Joubert, Beverly Joubert

Jury: A film that employs a mesmerising pictorial language and executed with technical skill, containing memorable episodes and moments that stay with the viewer for a long time.

Okavango - unistuste jõgi / Okavango: River of Dreams

1ST PRIZE (NATURE)

NOMADS, MEXICO

Director: Emiliano Ruprah

Jury: The richness and variety of Mexican nature and the wealth of its species, the importance of migration and behaviour of animals has been shot beautifully and with great sensitivity. The film asks the viewer to think about the interrelatedness of world ecosystems and the necessity of their protection.

Nomaadid / Nomads

1ST PRIZE (MAN AND NATURE)

Animus Animalis. A Story about People, Animals and Things, Lithuania

Director: Aistė Žegulytė

Jury: A unique personal and intriguing view of homo sapiens as the only predator that hunts other animals in order to admire and share with other humans the dead bodies as trophies.

Animus Animalis. Lugu inimestest, loomadest ja asjadest / Animus Animalis. A Story about People

BEST DIRECTOR (NATURE)

Nomads, Mexico

Director: Emiliano Ruprah

Jury: It’s an exciting visual story about the nomads in Mexico that invite the viewers to travel with them. The survival of different species is at stake everywhere in the world. The film’s educational message has been done with a masterful selection and a big heart. The film is also special because the mainly  Mexican crew cares deeply for the land they inhabit.

Nomaadid / Nomads

BEST DIRECTOR (MAN AND NATURE)

Animus Animalis. A Story about People, Animals and Things, Lithuania

Director: Aistė Žegulytė

Jury: Morbid, yet paradoxical themes are observed here with courage, with playful humour and with a strong sense of form, characteristic of a strong director with a unique style.

Animus Animalis. Lugu inimestest, loomadest ja asjadest / Animus Animalis. A Story about People, Animals and Things

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (NATURE)

Going Nuts - Tales from the Squirrel World, Germany

Cinematographers: Yann Sochaczewski, Boas Schwarz, Henry M. Mix, Marlen Hundertmark, Pim Niesten, Gautam Pandey, Steve Romano, Matthew Kline

Jury: The film consists of a number of skilfully used camera angles and complicated techniques, allowing the viewers access to places generally hidden from the human eye.

Paras pähkel - lugusid oravamaailmast / Going Nuts - Tales from the Squirrel World

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (MAN AND NATURE)

Northern Wind can be warm, Russia

Cinematographer: Maly Pos

Jury: A spectacular view of the Arctic taiga in Yakutia and the life of one of the last hermits, a reindeer-herdsman, who regards the land stretching 300 kilometers around him, isolated from any kind of civilisation, as his home.

Põhjatuul võib olla soe / Northern Wind can be Warm

BEST EDITING (NATURE)

Okavango: River of Dreams, South Africa

Editing: Jolene van Antwerp

Jury: The scenes are masterfully edited and form a story-telling whole.

Okavango - unistuste jõgi / Okavango: River of Dreams

BEST EDITING (MAN AND NATURE)

The Story of Plastic, USA

Editing: Tony Hale, Brian Wilson

Jury: A well constructed and ruthlessly told uncomfortable story with a focus on an alarming man-made world crisis.

Plastiku lugu / The Story of Plastic

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (NATURE)

The Meadow - Paradise Lost, Germany

Director: Jan Haft

Jury: It’s a beautifully informative film close to all Estonians. It portrays meadows and its species that are still in existence. But for how long? We see what happens on the meadows and why it’s important to preserve them. The film broadens our horizons, provides exciting facts and shows both beauty and the drama of Nature.

Niidud - kaotatud paradiis / The Meadow - Paradise Lost

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE (MAN AND NATURE) 

The Season when Velvet Antlers get Ripe, Russia

Director: Galina Leontieva

Jury: The director gives an honest observation of  the life of Altai marals and the people who look after them. It portrays animals and humans  as equals. The velvet antlers are used to make a “miracle cure”. It’s a raw laconic yet artistic overview of the processes of exploitation of animals and human beings taking place all over the world.

Sametsarvede valmimise hooaeg / The Season when Velvet Antlers get Ripe

SPECIAL MENTION (NATURE) 

Cantabria - Spain's Magical Mountains, Austria

Director: Joaquin Gutiérrez Acha

Jury: The Cantabria mountains in Northern Spain form part of the European landscape. They show how majestic, mighty, and full of various species they are . The camera has caught the behaviour and survival of various animals during the different seasons of the year. The film shows not only the  exoticism but also the affinity of the Spanish landscape to all Europeans. 

Kantaabria - Hispaania maagilised mäed / Cantabria - Spain's Magical Mountains

SPECIAL MENTION (MAN AND NATURE)

The Beauty of Being, Estonia

Director: Jaan Tootsen

Jury: This film depicts a man whose lifelong work has inspired so many Estonians to recognise the links between human nature and Nature more broadly defined. The author has provided an opportunity to listen to deep silence.

Fred Jüssi. Olemise ilu / The Beauty of Being

SPECIAL PRIZE OF MATSALU NATIONAL PARK

The Meadow - Paradise Lost, Germany

Director: Jan Haft 

Environmental Board: There are few preserved heritage landscapes in Germany, where time, human labor and biodiversity have coexisted for centuries. Jan Haft's film highlights the close relationships of meadow life, but also some dangers. The film uses interesting techniques that bring the macro level of meadows very close to the viewer.

Niidud - kaotatud paradiis / The Meadow - Paradise Lost

SPECIAL PRIZE OF TALLINN ZOO

Mt. Suswa - Life in a Volcano, Germany

Director: Oliver Goetzl

Tallinn Zoo: The diversity of wildlife in the lava tubes and at the foot of Mount Suswa in Africa is a sight worth seeing – it is species-rich and full of biodiveristy. Animals such as olive baboons, spotted hyenas, bats, african elephants, african wild dogs and many others find shelther and safety in the volcanic caves and its surrounding areas. The movie offers a chance to peek into an unseen world where only a few have ever been.

Suswa mägi - vulkaani südames / Mt. Suswa - Life in a Volcano

SPECIAL PRIZE OF NGO MONDO

Generation Greta, France

Directors: Simon Kessler, Johan Boulanger

Mondo: The film shows us the journey of 9 climate activists - young women, who in their respective countries, but also on a global scale fight for a future for us all on this planet. It is a tough journey where they experience personal attacks, hypocrisy of politicians, but also achieve some big and small victories, which encourage them to continue the fight. An inspiring film, which should be seen by all young people in Estonia!

Greta põlvkond / Generation Greta