The count-down has started, in less than 7 weeks time, the first-ever Wild
Talk Africa film festival and conference will be held in South Africa at
the Durban's International Conference Centre (ICC) from 24 - 27 April
2006.

Marcel Golding, CEO of e.tv and founder sponsor of the Wild Talk Africa
initiative will deliver the keynote address to an expected audience of 400
delegates from around the globe.

An extensive and full programme has been compiled which has attracted
international commissioning editors from major international wildlife
channels, international distributors and producers as well as key role
players in the south african broadcast industry.

A topical discussion up for debate is The co-production of international
wildlife documentaries and how local South African expertise can be used
to assist large international production houses in co-producing wildlife
documentaries.

The panelists for this discussion will be Mark Wild, senior evaluator and
executive producer of Discovery's Animal Planet; Keenan Smart, Head of
Natural History Unit for National Geographic Television and Film based in
USA; Ellen Windemuth, MD of Off the Fence Productions, from the
Netherlands; NFVF representatives, Jackie Motsepe and Ryan Haidarian;
and Andrew Jackson of Tigress Productions. Barbara Bellini of
Discovery Animal Planet will be in the chair.

Other important topics to be put under the spotlight include Ethics in
Filmmaking - how far does one go to get the ultimate shot? Is the
animal's space to be respected or can we invade that space in the
interests of wildlife programming and education? Mike Penman and Mark
Tennant from Animal Planets Mad Mike and Mark - are they transgressing a
code of ethics in the interests of edutainment or are they getting the
footage at no cost to the animals' welfare?

New trends in wildlife filmmaking - what are editors looking for in 2007?
Who owns the bright idea? - the cameraman, the producer, the researcher,
the investor, the broadcaster and why? The role of national parks and
private game reserves in wildlife production will also be debated with
representatives from Kwa-Zulu Natal national parks and Peter Borchert of
Africa Geographic on the panel.

One of the highlights will be Wildmind - a presentation by South Africa's
Craig and Damon Foster, best known for their award-winning film The Great
Dance - a Hunter's Story. On April 26 the Foster brothers will share their
experiences of creating a film with indigenous people that involves them
in the creative process and achieves a result that they are proud of.
They will discuss understanding the shamanic mind and its relationship to
animals and to the landscape - adapting camera, editing and sound
techniques to allow the western mind into the shamanic psyche.

The lively four-day programme will not only be about wild talk. Social
events include a below-the ocean function in the world famous uShaka
Marine Theme Park sponsored by KZN Wildlife and KZN Tourism; several
screenings of award-winning films; and a cocktail party in a marquee on
Durban's beautiful beachfront with fire dancers! The festival will be
rounded off with a gala dinner for delegates, complete with traditional
Zulu dancers, in the banqueting hall of the convention centre.

The Wild Talk Africa film festival is an event not to be missed.

Book now to catch the early bird discount rate which runs until 15 March.
The full event pass includes access to all keynote addresses, workshops,
screenings, seminars and social events.

Visit the website www.wildtalkafrica.com for all the details or contact
Peter Morgan + 27 21 422 3480 or email peter@wildtalkafrica.com

http://wildtalkafrica.com/