Zakouma National Park is a 3,000 km2 (1,158 sq mi) national park in southeastern Chad, straddling the border of Guéra Region and Salamat Region. Zakouma is the nation's oldest national park, declared a national park in 1963 by presidential decree, giving it the highest form of protection available under the nation's laws. It has been managed by the nonprofit conservation organization African Parks since 2010 in partnership with Chad's government.
Garamba National Park is a national park in the north-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo covering nearly 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi). It is among Africa's oldest parks and was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980 for its protection of critical habitat for northern white rhinoceroses, African elephants, hippopotamuses, and giraffes. Garamba National Park has been managed by African Parks in partnership with the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature since 2005.
Akashinga, is a non-profit organisation registered in Australia, predominantly operating on the African continent. The group initially created a structured military-like approach to conservation, employing tactics and technology generally reserved for the modern-day battlefield, and has since moved to a community oriented approach. This has included the training of local women as rangers.
Damien Mander is an anti-poaching activist and the founder of Akashinga. He is a former Australian Royal Navy Clearance Diver and Special Operations military sniper. He is also a director of the Conservation Guardians. In 2019, he received the Winsome Constance Kindness Trust Gold Medal.
TheBlack Mamba Anti-Poaching Unit is the world's first officially-formed, registered and recognised all-female wildlife ranger unit, founded in 2013, with the purpose of protecting wildlife in the regions of the Olifants West Nature Reserve, and the buffer zone in the Greater Kruger of South Africa. The Black Mamba APU was awarded the Champions of the Earth Award, in 2015, by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). In the period between 2013 and 2022, the Black Mamba APU has won 10 International awards, for innovative approach to wildlife conservation.
STROOP - Journey into the Rhino Horn War is a 2018 South African documentary film about rhino poaching made by first-time filmmakers Bonné de Bod, an SABC wildlife presenter and Susan Scott, a trained cinematographer. The title "Stroop" refers to the Afrikaans word for poach. Presented by de Bod, the film also includes the participation of Trang Nguyen, Jane Goodall and Karen Trendler. The film premiered at the San Francisco Green Film Festival in September 2018 before receiving a theatrical release in South Africa. It was released digitally worldwide on 12 February 2019.
Rhinoceros poaching in southern Africa is the illegal act of slaughtering rhinoceros in the southern African countries of Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, where most of Africa's rhinos live. The most common reason for rhino poaching is to meet the high demand for their horns in Asian countries, where the horn is predominantly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine but is increasingly being used as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. In previous generations, the most common rhino poaching activity was hunting for recreational purposes. Because of excessive poaching, rhino populations have decline rapidly since the 1970s, leaving some species critically endangered and facing extinction.
Baxu and the Giants is a 2019 Namibian 29-minute bilingual short fiction film directed by Florian Schott.
Bonné de Bod is a South African television presenter and documentary film producer. She is best known for her film STROOP - Journey into the Rhino Horn War. She is also noted for field reporting on the nature television series 50/50 for seven seasons. Recognition for her television presenting include a Jackson Wild Media Award nomination for 'Best Host/Presenter' in 2019 a SANParks Kudu Award for 'Best Journalist' in the years 2015 and 2019 and two Impact DOCS for 'Best On-Camera Talent' and 'Best Narration/Voice-Over Talent' in 2021. She has won over 30 awards as a film producer.
Dereck Joubert is a South African-born filmmaker, author, conservationist and National Geographic explorer-at-large based in Botswana. He is also the brother of South African artist and conservationist Keith Joubert.
Anton Mzimba was a South African field ranger who spent his 25 year career working at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve. He was murdered in an attack widely believed to be connected to his work as a ranger preventing rhino poaching in the Kruger National Park region.
Rhino Man is a feature-length documentary about South African field rangers protecting rhinos from poaching by crime syndicates. It's a film by the Global Conservation Corps produced by Friendly Human and directed by John Jurko II, Matt Lindenberg, and Daniel Roberts. It features the late, Anton Mzimba, the Head of Ranger Services at the Timbavati Private Nature Reserve, who was murdered in 2022 as the film was being completed.
Paris 70 is a 2023 Spanish short film directed by Dani Feixas Roka and written by Nach Solís. Starring Luisa Gavasa, Alain Hernández and Neus Asensi, it is about mother-son relationship. Jan, the son takes care of his mother Angela, who suffers from Alzheimer's disease, which tests his commitment and resistance. It premiered on 31 March 2023 at the Skyline Film Festival. It is also available on YouTube for a limited time.
Room Taken is a 2023 Irish short film directed by Tj O'Grady Peyton. Starring Bríd Brennan, Gabriel Adewusi and Walé Adebusuyi, it follows Isaac, newly arrived in Ireland and looking for a place to stay, when he secretly moves into the home of Victoria, an elderly blind woman, leading them to form a unique bond. It premiered on 11 November 2023 at the 68th Cork International Film Festival.
Anuja is a 2024 American Hindi-language short film written and directed by philosopher-turned-filmmaker Adam J. Graves. Starring Sajda Pathan, Ananya Shanbhag and Nagesh Bhonsle, it tells the story of a gifted nine-year-old girl who, alongside her sister Palak, faces a life-changing opportunity that tests their bond and mirrors the struggles of girls worldwide. The project is a collaboration between Graves and his wife Suchitra Mattai, a visual artists of South Asian decent who served as producer. It premiered on 17 August 2024 at the HollyShorts Film Festival.
A Swim Lesson is a 2024 American short documentary film directed by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack. The film documents the career of William Marsh, a swim instructor from Los Angeles with decades of experience teaching children how to swim. It had its world premiere on September 1, 2024, at the 51st Telluride Film Festival in Main Program Short Films. It was available for streaming live on November 26 on POV Shorts and L.A. Times Studios.
A Lien is a 2023 American short drama film written and directed by David Cutler-Kreutz and Sam Cutler-Kreutz. The film had its world premiere at the Flickerfest on January 23, 2023, in the Best Of International Shorts 3 – 2023.
I'm Not a Robot is a 2023 Dutch-language short science fiction film written and directed by Victoria Warmerdam. The film follows Lara, who after a series of failed CAPTCHA tests plunges into a strange new reality. The film had its world premiere at the Netherlands Film Festival on September 23, 2023 in the Golden Calf Competition.
The Only Girl in the Orchestra is a 2023 American musical short documentary film directed by Molly O'Brien. It had its world premiere on November 9, 2023, at DOC NYC in SHORTS: SHE STORIES. It is available for streaming from December 4, 2024 on Netflix.
Instruments of a Beating Heart is a 2024 short Japanese documentary film directed by Ema Ryan Yamazaki. The film adapted from a larger 2023 film of the director Yamazaki The Making of a Japanese, documents the challenge presented to the first graders in a Tokyo public elementary school of performing "Ode to Joy" at the ceremony for the new incoming first graders, as their assignment for the final semester.
