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Vaquita porpoise image courtesy of the film “Sea of Shadows” by National Geographic.
Mongabay is pleased to announce that its Director of Partnerships, David Martin, is a member of the final jury for the 2019 Jackson Wild Media Awards. This festival which bestows awards on the best nature and science-inspired filmmaking happens this year between September 21 and 27 in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.
David played a key role in the launch of Mongabay’s diverse video content which is posted to social media channels and aims to raise awareness about unfolding events around the planet, while inspiring audiences to love nature and get involved with conservation. He deeply believes that media plays a powerful role in shaping the world as we know it, and works to elevate solutions-oriented content that moves the needle in terms of creating a livable and equitable planet for all.
Of today’s overall environmental media landscape, he said, “It’s really inspiring to see what’s being done to capture the minds and hearts of people and get them focused on wildlife and our planet. We are at a critical juncture.”
As a judge, he must watch each of the finalist films in each category, an impressive list totaling some 45 hours of viewing. The finalists in 30 categories were whittled down from over 1,000 entries and range from BBC’s “Blue Planet II: One Ocean” in the Animal Behavior-Long Form category to “Sea of Shadows” about the world’s most endangered porpoise, the vaquita, in the Best Conservation Film-Long Form category, to National Geographic’s “Last Wild Places: Gorongosa” film about Mozambique’s famous Gorongosa National Park in the Best People & Nature Film-Short Form category.
“I’m doing my best to apply a ‘critical eye’ when I watch these films, but honestly at this end point in the process, every one of these films deserves high praise and accolades,” he said. “There’s an incredible amount of quality here.”
Read more about Jackson Wild (which has a conservation focus of “Living Oceans” this year) and Media Awards here, and learn about David’s fellow members of the jury here.
If you plan to attend this event, please seek David out and say hello.
David Martin in his element, a rainforest in Costa Rica. Photo by Lily Kang.