A new documentary by the Environmental Justice Foundation, Pantanal, has been announced as one of the nominees for the most prestigious accolade in natural history filmmaking - the Wildscreen Panda Awards, often referred to as the “Green Oscars.”

The film, from EJF’s award-winning film team, is nominated for the “Impact” award. It reveals the astonishing beauty and profound ecological importance of the Pantanal: the largest tropical wetland on Earth, spanning over 17 million hectares across Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay. The wetland is home to several groups of Indigenous peoples as well as rare and endangered wildlife, including species found nowhere else.

But the Pantanal is under extreme threat. In 2020, record-breaking fires released as much carbon as Belgium’s annual emissions, and new data from the Brazilian government released last month show that it has suffered more fire damage than any other ecosystem in the country.

EJF’s Pantanal documents the threats to the wetland while celebrating the biome’s unmatched biodiversity, its crucial role in climate regulation, and the lives of Indigenous peoples and local communities who call it home. Told through the journeys of two environmental defenders, and blending beautiful cinematography with insights from scientists, Indigenous leaders and activists, the film is a wake-up call and an invitation to stand alongside those working to protect one of the last truly wild places on the planet.

For Luciana Leite, one of the environmentalists featured in the film and EJF’s Chief Representative in Brazil, Pantanal’s selection for such a prestigious award highlights the ecosystem’s global importance and our shared duty to protect it. “Since I first set foot in the Pantanal, I believed that if people only knew what was happening, things would be different. The first time I came to the Pantanal was to celebrate my wedding anniversary five years ago, only to find, to my horror, that this magical place was suffering devastating, record-breaking fires. I spent my days rescuing wildlife and raising the alarm about the destruction of the Pantanal, as well as how special it still is. This chance moment brought new purpose to my life, and I am still here today.”

Steve Trent, CEO and Founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation, said: “I am delighted and honoured that our film is nominated alongside such fantastic productions for this prestigious award. At the same time, this is exactly where the Pantanal should be: on the world stage, with more people being introduced to its astonishing beauty, culture, and the desperate need to protect it before it disappears. At EJF, we have been using film to document environmental abuses and crimes and associated human rights abuses, providing irrefutable evidence to drive our advocacy to protect and restore our natural world, for over two decades.”

“When you watch the film, I’m sure you’ll feel the same way I did when I first saw it, and every time I have since: a sense of awe and urgency to stand up for one of our planet’s most precious, vulnerable wild places, and tell everyone who will listen that the time to protect the Pantanal has finally arrived. The film is a special sight, and one that is not easily forgotten.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

Watch the trailer here.

About EJF

Our work to secure environmental justice aims to protect our global climate, ocean, forests, wetlands, wildlife and defend the fundamental human right to a secure natural environment, recognising that all other rights are contingent on this. EJF works internationally to inform policy and drive systemic, durable reforms to protect our environment and defend human rights. We investigate and expose abuses and support environmental defenders, Indigenous peoples, communities, and independent journalists on the frontlines of environmental injustice. Our campaigns aim to secure peaceful, equitable and sustainable futures. Our investigators, researchers, filmmakers, and campaigners work with grassroots partners and environmental defenders across the globe. For more information, please contact media@ejfoundation.org.

Additional quotes

Heideger  Nascimento, who appears in the film alongside Luciana Leite and also served as its cinematographer, believes the documentary goes far beyond a simple showcase of natural beauty. “This film is an invitation to place the Pantanal at the very heart of the climate conversation, and an undeniable way for the wider world to grasp how this extraordinary wetland shapes other sites of immense importance that too often slip under the global radar,” he said. “Because the Pantanal links several Brazilian biomes, it proves that the climate crisis is just as interwoven everywhere on Earth. From my earliest days in the wetlands to now, my mission has been to show precisely that, and I am delighted to see the message finally reaching the stature it deserves.”

Sofija Korf, Video Producer at the Environmental Justice Foundation, said: “The Wildscreen nomination is a huge moment for our small crew – and a crucial opportunity for the Pantanal, which I sometimes jokingly call the film’s co-director since it was constantly creating incredible moments for us to capture. It truly is a place like no other, teeming with life in all shapes and forms. To see it under immense pressure from fires, drought and destruction is both heartbreaking and entirely avoidable. I hope this nomination helps shine a light on what’s happening, what's driving it, and how to stop it, reaching new eyes and hearts.”