American Documentary Takes Prize at Nature Film Festival

During Autumn, Matsalu National Park is a special kind of place. Moose roam around, wildlife is abundant and bird migrations are underway with crane calls and the chatter of gathering flocks in the Matsalu bay and reed beds. The air is full of the golden glow of birch trees preparing for the long winter.

Photo by Ago Ruus, Matsalu Nature Film Festivals, www.matsalufilm.ee

But last week it wasn’t only Mother Nature who was putting on a great show in Matsalu, the park also hosted the Matsalu International Nature Film Festival, in its 11th annual installment. For more than 10 years the park has also been a special place for nature documentary film makers and enthusiasts and this year was no exception! More than 280 entries came from 60 countries, of which 30 films were accepted for competition in two categories: Nature and Man and nature. This event has clearly arrived on the international map of film festivals. More than 10 films from the United States from a diverse group of American film makers made it into the program and we are proud to congratulate one American filmmaker, Director Sandy Patch, who won 1st prize in the category of Man and Nature. His movie “The Last Ice Merchant” was praised by the jury for showing the global implications of a changing world in a simple and humane way.

I really enjoyed being on hand for the launch of this year’s festival which featured performances by local musicians and a screening of a documentary on the life of Jacques Cousteau. To attend the opening night we travelled to the small western Estonian town of Lihula which is located on the edge of Matsalu National Park with a population of approximately 2500 and a history dating back to 1211. Films were also screened in Haapsalu, and the best documentaries were screened on the national broadcast TV channel, ETV, much to the delight of many nature fans in Estonia.

Film festivals are not only about the movies – the program also featured many workshops, educational programs and also an Earth Day exhibition on loan from the U.S. Embassy at the Lihula Library. On the first day of the festival, school kids gathered for the screening of a documentary about the lives of owls, followed by an owl-drawing workshop. The children’s whimsical owl drawings were then exhibited at screening venues in Lihula.

It’s great that I get to attend film festival’s like Matsalu as part of my job, but our partnership with Matsalu International Nature Film Festival speaks to something bigger: treasuring nature and our environment – something we all care deeply about. I hope to see you at the festival in 2014!

Post by Jane Susi, Cultural/Educational Assistant