Canadian documentary producers and filmmakers had their day in the Wyoming sunshine at this year’s Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival which wrapped Sept. 27, hosting more than 700 filmmakers, buyers, distributors and suppliers of documentary and non-fiction programming from around the world.

‘Thank you to the people of Newfoundland,’ declared executive producer Hugh Miles upon winning this year’s Grand Teton Award for Best of Festival and the Jimmy Stewart Award for Best Conversation Film for People of the Sea, a film exploring Newfoundland’s crisis as fish stocks become depleted. Miles accepted the awards on behalf of Patrick Morris of England’s International Wildlife Films.

Paragon Entertainment and independent producer Sarah Robertson came away winners in what has become an international competition for the ‘best of’ real-life programming.

Competing against the programs Feed your Mind, Operation Whalewatch by Turner Broadcasting and Amazing Planet, Creatures of the Deep by National Geographic, Paragon took home the award for Best Children’s Film for Kratt’s Creatures: Big Five, Little Five, about the adventures of Americans Martin and Chris Kratt on a scavenger hunt in Africa.

Toothwalkers: Giants of Arctic Ice won the Marion Zunz Newcomer Award. Produced by Robertson with her American husband Adam Ravetch, Toothwalkers was coproduced with Canal+ of France and NATURE/ WNET of New York. The yield of five years and $500,000, Toothwalkers has rare footage depicting the harsh life of walrus above and below the ice. It was in competition with King Koala by Wild Visuals of Australia and The Making of the Leopard Son by Discovery Communications USA.

National Geographic’s Puma: Lion of the Andes undercut Wolves and Buffalo – An Ancient Alliance for a Special Consideration Award. Produced by Canadians Jeff and Sue Turner with the BBC Natural History Unit, Wolves and Buffalos is about the entwined lives of the eponymous denizens of Wood Buffalo National Park.

Another Canadian film, Killed in Hudson Bay, was nominated for Best Investigative Film. Produced by Societe Radio-Canada, it chronicles how Inuits got the right from the Canadian government to kill a bowhead whale and how the hunt was held in an ill-fated manner. This film and Yellowstone – American’s Eden by Scandinature films were beaten by Tiger: Lord of the Wild by ABC/Kane Productions.

The remaining (non-Canadian) nominees and winners were: Mountain Gorillas: A Shattered Kingdom by Survival Anglia won best animal behavior film. The Living Edens by the BBC took best limited series kudos. Denalia – Alaska’s Great Wilderness won the award for cinematography. The Ultimate Guide to Elephants by Discovery Communications USA won the award for innovation. The Last Frog by National Geographic was declared best short film. Pygmy Chimpanzee: The Last Great Ape by the BBC won a special jury award. Non-broadcast films Land Snails and their Life Cycle, Whales and Flights of Fancy: Seabirds of the Oregon Coast won awards of merit.

As well, it was announced that Alastair Fothergill, head of the BBC Natural History Unit, and Sally Adams of Time Life will provide $250,000 grants to important and innovative projects. Fothergill is also spearheading an initiative to work with the world’s wildlife filmmakers to produce a worldwide television special about endangered species that will air on the dawn of the new millennium.

According to Canadian Barry Clark, chairman of the festival, ‘The biggest change in the festival since its inception has been the reflection of the growth of the non-fiction industry and the natural history genre in particular.’

Case in point, the number of films entered at Jackson Hole has moved to 518 entries this year from 125 entries in 1991. Delegate registration had to be cut off at 700 in August, but because international broadcasters and sponsors increased their number of attendees, 780 made the trek. More than 125 people had to be turned away.

Clark explains, ‘The main mission of the festival is to guide producers and broadcasters through the troubled waters of technical change. This year’s festival is particularly exciting because Digital 625 broadcasting is being rolled out in Europe and this is the first year since adoption of the U.S. digital linear standard. Now, networks such as HBO, Discovery, Turner and Bravo have a digital HD broadcast timetable.

‘It is a little known fact that natural history programs may cost as much as high-end episodic drama to produce and may earn almost as much back from the market. In a time when broadcast standards are shifting, you could be in serious trouble if you spend money on a program that is incompatible with future delivery systems.

‘The major players that are forging alliances to secure a larger share of the market include CBS and Discovery; NBC and National Geographic; Disney-ABC and PBS; BBC and Discovery; National Geographic and Canal+; Reader’s Digest and PBS; and Anglia, Discovery and TV New Zealand.’

The festival is also attracting attention from Hollywood. Clark has become a partner in Mandalay Media Arts with mogul Peter Guber, who attended the festival. Guber was the CEO of Sony for five years and since has become the largest producer of independent feature films in the U.S. He has garnered 58 Academy Award nominations for films such as Midnight Express, The Color Purple, Gorillas in the Mist, Missing, The Deep and Rain Man – which won an Academy Award for Best Picture.

Clark and Guber are now working on programs that will originate on S35 and air in HD. This includes the series Predators!, and Mysteries of the Deep and programs on the Sahara, Himalayas, Congo, Antarctica and The Andes. Clark believes that Guber’s presence is symbolic of change and it will attract more storytelling talent from Hollywood.

Freelance journalist Matthew Todd Paproski of Venturetainment Capital Corporation is based in Vancouver, B.C. He has produced the television special Fire-Attack and is currently producing Cougar Crossing.