TVO's The Water Brothers wins prestigious Panda Award for Best Newcomer at the 2012 Wildscreen Festival
TORONTO, Oct. 24, 2012 /CNW/ - The TVO-commissioned nature documentary-adventure series The Water Brothers, produced in association with SK Films Inc., took home the BBC Earth Panda Award for Best Newcomer at the 2012 Wildscreen Festival, held last week in the United Kingdom. Honouring the best production by a genuine newcomer to filmmaking, the award went to Tyler and Alex Mifflin, the talented first-time directors, producers and stars of The Water Brothers who explore the serious issue of the planet's water resources with boundless energy and enthusiasm.
The Wildscreen Festival is an internationally renowned wildlife and environmental film festival held every two years in Bristol, England, and the festival's Panda Awards evening is often referred to as the "Oscars" of the natural history world. The 2012 Panda Award submission list included a record-breaking number of entries from over 46 countries. Jurors expressed that they were deeply impressed with the calibre and quality of submissions and the shortlisted nominees, all of which demonstrated both great talent and a positive future for natural history/wildlife filmmaking.
"We'd like to congratulate Tyler and Alex on this prestigious honour and we are thrilled to have played a role in helping them share their passion for environmental issues with Ontario viewers," says Nancy Chapelle, TVO's Managing Director of Content and Programming. "TVO's role is to inform and engage people in the issues that matter, and we saw in The Water Brothers an excellent vehicle for raising awareness about the many concerns surrounding water. We look forward to broadcasting the second season of the series on TVO in March 2013."
Jonathan Barker, CEO of SK Films, Executive Producer of The Water Brothers and a world leader in 3D nature documentary production accepted the award on behalf of Tyler and Alex. "The Water Brothers are in the middle of filming the exciting second season around the world and in Canada. They worked so hard on this series and are so passionate about water that they are garnering an excellent international reputation among water scientists and advocates. It is great to have TVO supporting emerging documentary filmmakers - and then to have David Attenborough say how thrilled he is that there is such filmmaking talent and commitment in the next generation is very rewarding. This group is so much more knowledgeable and savvy about our environment and they want to hear from, and be inspired and entertained by, their own generation, including practical solutions within our reach."
Tyler and Alex Mifflin have just completed a climb of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro as part of the Kilimanjaro Climb for Life initiative, aimed at raising awareness about the global water crisis. The climb will be featured in an episode on women and water for Season 2 of The Water Brothers. Get more information on the brothers' climb.
Season 2 of The Water Brothers is currently in production, and the brothers will embark on many adventures such as sailing across the Pacific Ocean looking at ocean plastic and travel to destinations including Africa, India, Bangladesh and around North America. To stream episodes from the first season of The Water Brothers, visit tvo.org.
Along with The Water Brothers television series, Tyler and Alex Mifflin also created the QUENCH mobile app to help cut down on plastic water bottle consumption by directing users to water fountains or refill locations in the Greater Toronto Area. The app is available for download from thewaterbrothers.ca and TVO's App store and is sponsored by Brita.
About SK Films
SK Films Inc. is a Toronto-based, multi-platform entertainment content provider and a leader in 3D film production and distribution. The company was founded in 1998 together with the late Robert Kerr, the visionary co-founder of Imax Corporation. Its nature film Flight of the Butterflies 3D is currently playing on IMAX / Giant Screens in select markets. For more information, visit skfilms.ca.
About TVO
TVO is Ontario's public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO's vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. TVO is funded primarily by the Province of Ontario and is a registered charity supported by sponsors and thousands of donors. For more information, visit tvo.org.
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Media Contacts:
Amber Hawtin
Director of Sales and Marketing, SK Films Inc.
416.367.0440 x 3033
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Angela Garde
TVO Marketing and Communications
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