New film festival in China screens nature films

Earthland-Wildscreen Film Festival screens 15 Panda Award-winning or nominated documentaries and nature films, such as Hebrides－Islands on the Edge and River Monsters－Demon Fish. [Photo provided to China Daily]

"I got the inspiration at a shopping mall in Taiwan," Huang says of her encounter with a DVD seller who spoke at length about documentaries on nature and prehistoric creatures.

She also discovered that a potential viewer's interest in such films is raised with detailed explanations on the subjects, which is why she decided to make the Earthland festival interactive.

The highlights of the festival included a section that was designed to engage the audience with the natural world.

Up to 13 leading conservationists shared their insights, including Wu Lixin, an underwater photographer, and Huang Yifeng, an eco-designer and winner of the Golden Tripod Award, the highest honor in Taiwan's publication industry.

A number of celebrities, including Hong Kong-based singer Karen Mok, director Tsui Hark and Taipei-based musician Jonathan Lee, promoted the event by airing their thoughts on conservation. So far, the posts about the event have received 2 million views on Sina Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter.

The Beauty of Nature, the festival's theme song composed by musician Zhang Yadong, earned around 1.1 billion views on Weibo.

Huang says she faced challenges, such as a limited budget and the long process of receiving government approval. But her love of nature helped her to stay on course.

Earthland, a company founded by her to manage the film festival, also hopes to collect photos and video footage of China's geographical features and endangered species for online display later.