Film / News
Bristol wins big at 2022 Wildscreen Festival Panda awards
Lockdown documentary My Garden of the Thousand Bees, in which Bristol wildlife filmmaker Martin Dohrn explores the secret lives of more than 60 species of bees in his back garden, swept the board at last night’s Wildscreen Festival Panda awards – aka the Green Oscars – at the Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel, bagging a total of four gongs, including the prestigious Golden Panda Award.
Back in July, My Garden of a Thousand Bees vied with another local production, the BBC Natural History Unit’s The Green Planet, for the largest number of nominations. On the night, The Green Planet walked away with the Terra Mater Studios Series Award.

Golden Panda award winner My Garden of a Thousand Bees
Of the 13 winners across 17 categories, five of the leading shorts, features and series were from Bristol-based teams, underlining the city’s reputation as a key centre of natural world storytelling. Other local winners included Polar Bear for the Films at 59 Cinematography award, Snakes and Ladders for the Tangled Bank Studios Emerging Talent Award and Welcome to Earth for the Films at 59 Sound Award.
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Wildscreen Festival CEO Lucie Muir said: “As a key part of Wildscreen Festival for 40 years, the Panda Awards has continued to celebrate the best in natural world storytelling among the globe’s leading innovators and creators, as well as fresh talent entering the sector. This year’s inspiring selection of shorts, features and series uncovered some of nature’s most fascinating and enduring stories, bringing them to a worldwide audience. Congratulations to everyone who was recognised and we look forward to seeing the evolution of natural world storytelling over the next few years.”
All images: Wildscreen
Read more: Bristol productions dominate this year’s Wildscreen Festival Panda Awards nominations