2024 Awards: Professional Film and Photo Competitions

Discover the top prize winners in the professional film and photo competition categories at this 30th edition of the Namur International Nature Festival.

The Professional Film Gala and Photo Competition is a key evening of the Festival!

Our Professional Film Gala and Photo Competition, presented by Tanguy DUMOTIER and Ophélie FONTANA, took place on October 19, 2024. For this 2024 anniversary edition, you discovered 26 professional films and 60 photos competing in the festival's photo competition.

On this occasion, the public was invited to vote for their favorite film and their favorite photo in order to elect the Audience Award in these two categories. The jury, for its part, met a few hours before this evening to determine the awards. This means that 6 other Awards in addition to the Audience Award and the Grand Prize (determined by the jury) were distributed.

The 2024 Awards for professional films:

Man and Nature Award, Animal Behavior Award, Short Film Award, Environment Award, Image Award, Grand Prize and Audience Award.

The 2024 Awards in the photo category:

Youth Prize - 18 years old, Photo Portrait Prize, Man and Nature Prize, Mini Series Category Prize, Aesthetics Prize, President's Prize, Public Prize and Grand Prize.

2024 Professional Film Winners:

🏆 MAN AND NATURE AWARD​

Des baleines, des tortues et des hommes 

Rémi Tézier - 2023 – France (Tectec Production) - 55 minutes - VF 

The film tells the story of the first great transoceanic journey of a young whale calf born in the waters of Reunion Island, and a green turtle that grew up near the same island. The whale calf, accompanied by its mother, heads towards Antarctica: a 6,000 km voyage where it will go from waters of 24° to 0°. The green turtle, meanwhile, is preparing to reach Europa, its native island, to reproduce. A journey of more than 1,000 km. Before reaching these uninhabited lands, their journey will be punctuated by human encounters: in Reunion Island, Madagascar, the Comoros where men and women have chosen to put the protection of these species at the heart of their lives.

🏆 ANIMAL BEHAVIOR AWARD

Les îles sauvages d’Écosse 

Fergus Gill – 2023 – Austria – (Terra Mater) - 52 minutes - VF

Hundreds of islands dot Scotland's vast coastline. They are hotspots of biodiversity where low-intensity agriculture and wilder spaces have benefited nature. Locals have long found a way to coexist with animals, and with increased marine protection, it is hoped that a better recovery of the marine environment will follow.

🏆 GRAND PRIZE AND PUBLIC AWARD

Les lions de la côte des squelettes 

Will & Lianne Steenkamp - 2024 - Austria (Into nature productions) - 52 minutes - VF 

A true coming-of-age story of three orphaned desert lion cubs who discovered a most remarkable way to survive along the mystical shores of Namibia's Skeleton Coast. A story as surprising as it is inspiring: a real-life drama about resilience and survival. Documented over eight years, we follow the groundbreaking work of lion researcher Dr. Philip Stander, who witnesses the incredible journey of the orphaned cubs, from their first tentative steps in the heart of the desert to their extraordinary discovery of a life along the harsh Skeleton Coast.

🏆 SHORT FILM AWARD

L’oiseau au fond de mon jardin

Ryan Wilkes  - 2024 – Canada (Trochilus films) - 20 minutes - VF

The Bird in My Backyard follows citizen scientist Eric Pittman as he documents the journey of a female hummingbird who chose his backyard to build her nest. This film weaves a beautiful story around a curious citizen scientist and the secret, captivating, and nearly invisible lives of the hummingbirds who have grown accustomed to his constant presence. It’s a story about the childlike curiosity in all of us, the wonders it can reveal, and the doors it can open if we come a little closer.

🏆 ENVIRONMENTAL AWARD

Notre prairie

Josh Guyan - 2023 - Great Britain - 30 min - VOSTFR

🏆 BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY AWARD

Secrets de la forêt - un regard sur le vide 

Jan Haft - 2023 – Germany (Nautilus films) - 50 minutes – VF

Jan Haft presents the natural processes of a forest in which humans no longer touch a branch. When an old forest plantation is left to nature, the trees sometimes die due to climate change. A strange phenomenon then manifests itself: what was once a relatively monotonous forest must first be "destroyed" by storms and beetles for biodiversity to explode. This phenomenon is linked to the now available light. Ultimately, the film describes what happens when a new, resilient forest grows and what the consequences are for nature.

2024 Photo Competition Winners:

• Youth Award - 18 Years: "Symbiosis" by Maksymilian Paczkowski,

• Photo Portrait Award: "Mystère" by Emmanuel Tardy,

• Man and Nature Award: "Save Us" by Adhikary Arghia,

• Mini Series Category Award: "Hypnotise de Tized" by Mano Aliczki,

• Aesthetics Award: "Frozen Habitat" by Stefan Gerrits,

• President's Award: "A Man and an Owl" by Sarthak Agrawal,

• Audience Award - "Le Rouge-gorge" by Sylvain Rouvier,

• Grand Prize: "La Proie" by Joël Brunet.