Visual treat for nature lovers

Dolphins－Spy in the Pod is among the nature films screened at the ongoing Earthland Wildscreen Film Festival. Photos provided to China Daily

A dozen Wildscreen award-winning or nominated titles were screened in Beijing Oct 28-30. The event was part of a festival, which will now move to Shanghai. Xu Fan reports.

For Chinese wildlife photographer Xi Zhinong, seeing The Blue Planet, a documentary series created and premiered by the BBC, was a turning point. Xi first saw the film in 2002, when he became the first Chinese to win the TVE award at the prestigious Wildscreen Festival－an event started in 1982 and hailed as the "Green Oscars"－in Bristol, England.

The moment he saw the biennial festival's biggest winner that year－a film regarded as the first comprehensive production on the world's oceans－the naturalist from Yunnan province realized that China had a long way to go to catch up.

He also realized then that domestic audiences had very few opportunities to see such productions in theaters.

This sparked a strong desire for him to bring the best nature documentaries to China's big screens. This hope turned into reality recently when a dozen Wildscreen award-winning or nominated titles were screened in Beijing Oct 28-30. The event was part of the Earthland Wildscreen Film Festival, which will move to Shanghai, where the films will be screened on Nov 12 and 13.

From rare animals in remote terrain to extinct creatures recreated using digital technology, the 12 films－most of which aired on BBC between 2010 and 2014－provide a panoramic view of biodiversity.