Big award for Spellbound
Spellbound has won the Best Short Film award at the 2021 New Zealand Mountain Film Festival, just a few days after winning the same award at the London Mountain Film Festival.
The 5-minute black and white film on Wingsuit BASE also claimed Best Short Film at the China New Media Short Film Festival – Mountain Film Unit in March 2021.
Richard Sidey’s wingsuit BASE film Spellbound wins Best Short Film at the 2021 London Mountain Film Festival
From London Mountain Film Festival…
[𝗪𝗜𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥 – BEST SHORT FILM]
We’re delighted to announce that the winner of the Best Short Film Award for #LMFFvirtual 2021 is SPELLBOUND by Richard Sidey!
We took a peek at our judge’s notebook:
“The questions run deep in this magical ensemble of the spoken word, haunting music and breathtaking footage.“
Here’s what our festival goers had to say:
“Spellbound. Wow, what an incredible experience wingsuit flying must be. These beautifully filmed images make you feel like you’re flying too.”
“Spellbound had a really unique poetic direction. I don’t think I could ever be comfortable with the idea of wingsuit BASE jumping but it was a beautiful presentation and an insight into a person’s experiences of the activity.”
In the Theatre of the Gogs to premiere at Doc Edge 2021
My latest work, an artistic collaboration with renowned New Zealand landscape photographer Christopher David Thompson, has been selected to premiere at the 2021 Doc Edge festival in June.
In the Theatre of the Gogs is a contemplation of art and adventure in the southern wilds of New Zealand by both a landscape photographer and an adventure filmmaker. This film is the unexpected result of their two unique perspectives.’
More info here.
Aotearoa, New Zealand (20 April 2021) – Richard Sidey has just received the Director’s Award from the International Ocean Film Festival (IOFF) 2021 for his documentary, “Whales in a Changing Ocean.” The film, produced by Conservation International, follows the NGO’s study on the ecology of humpback whales in the Antarctic aboard a PONANT ship.
With perfect weather and curious whales, the expert wildlife filmmaker documented the expedition and captured rare, jaw-dropping footage. In an emotional once-in-a-lifetime experience, the animals were said to ‘mug’ the scientists, blocking the research team’s movement for hours and ironically investigating the researchers’ own presence.
“Over the years documenting Antarctica with my camera, nothing has been more evident than this constant change. It’s not only evident with the changes in ocean temperatures, weather patterns, ice volumes, and wildlife populations. But also in tourism, which has increased tremendously. Another noticeable and increasingly evident change in this period has been the recovery of humpback whales on this peninsula after industrial whales almost wiped them out,” said Richard Sidey in the narration.
Sidey is a New Zealand-based director, is a nature enthusiast and has won numerous awards for his Speechless trilogy, the final chapter “Elementa” having been released last year to critical acclaim.
“Whales in a Changing Ocean” will be shown in San Francisco at the 18th IOFF, an international festival of independent ocean-related films which runs from 15 April to 2 May 2021. Find out more about IOFF.
– Press Release (Conservation International)
Ambient Antarctica was featured on Nerdist, Laughing Squid and Yahoo! Life this week.
Michael Walsh writes…
Even under normal circumstances we all need to mentally get away sometimes. Of course, none of us have been living under anything close to normal for more than a year. So we can really use a little break from the stress of everyday life at the moment. We’ve tried by watching a million movies and TV shows. As well as by reading, playing games, or doing other hobbies a million times. We’ve even tried closing our eyes and visualizing a far away place. But now there’s even easier, more beautiful way to transport somewhere else. Take a journey to the edge of the world by losing yourself in this relaxing ultra high definition two hour ambient video tour of Antarctica.
“Ambient Antarctica” is accurately described as a “visual meditation.” It comes from Richard Sidey. He shot it in 4K with fellow cinematographer Aliscia Young around the Antarctic Peninsula. For two mesmerizing hours they take viewers up, around, and over some of the continents most striking natural features. Using a combination of both aerial and ground-based shots, this dialogue-free nature documentary shows off some of Antarctica’s most gorgeous features with a gentle hand.
Read the full article here.
Richard Sidey has won the Director’s Award at the 2021 International Ocean Film Festival for his film Whales in a Changing Ocean.
Whales in a Changing Ocean follows an international team of whale research scientists from Conservation International as they observe Humpback behaviour and gather information vital to protecting the species.
In 2015, Richard won the Wildlife Award at this same festival for his non-verbal nature film, Speechless: The Polar Realm.
See the full list of awards.
Chinese Film Award for Spellbound
Spellbound was awarded Best Short Film at the 2021 China International New Media Short Film Festival – Mountain Film Unit awards.
Read the Press Release
New Release: Ambient Antarctica
A two-hour long cinematic journey around the Antarctic Peninsula. Presented in ultra-crisp 4K and set to ambient music, Ambient Antarctica features both land-based and aerial cinematography.
This slow-nature film was photographed over three years by award-winning filmmakers Aliscia Young and Richard Sidey, and is one to be be enjoyed on a 4K TV if possible.
Free to view now on YouTube!
Fragile Realms – An Oceanographic Interview with Richard Sidey
“YOU CAN SEE ITS FRAGILITY, AND HOW OUR SMALL LIFE CHOICES CAN MAKE A BIG IMPACT AT THESES ENDS OF THE EARTH.”
Richard Sidey is an award-winning photographer and filmmaker. He co-founded his production company, Galaxiid Creative, with Aliscia Young, and together they create immersive experiences through visual storytelling. His work centres on wildlife conservation and adventure, often collaborating with NGOs to shine a light on those remote corners of the Earth that most need protection. In this interview, we find out a little more about his experiences in the wild.
Spellbound wins two awards at Outdocs festival in China
Spellbound won two awards yesterday at the 2020 International Outdoor Documentary Film Festival of China (OUTDOCS) in Foshan, China. 1228 films were submitted to the festival and eight awards were presented.
The artistic five minute film about the contemplative aspects of wingsuit B.A.S.E. won both the Best Visual Effects and Media Special Recommendation awards.
