Latest news with #ITFFA
The Citizen
a day ago
- The Citizen
Owtram wins silver award for tourism
HOEDSPRUIT – A promotional video produced by Hoedspruit's Mel Owtram from Antares Bush Camp and Umgede Hide earned a silver award during the International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2025 (ITFFA). The festival was hosted from June 3-6 in Sandton and featured films and documentaries on tourism from all over the world. This year, 448 entries were initially submitted from across Africa and as far afield as Poland, Slovenia, Japan and several other countries. From those entries, the shortlist was reduced to 141 entries. The awards were founded in 2019 by Caroline Ungersbock and James Byrne to honour and promote works with exceptional and innovative content created on all continents and seen and used on various platforms. Each category is evaluated out of 10, giving a possible total of 70 points. Silver awards are given to any entry attaining 55-60 points, and a gold award to any entry attaining more than 60. According to Ian Owtram, Mel created a promotional video showcasing Antares Bush Camp as a tourism product. 'She created the whole video on her own, which is something she can be extremely proud of when one considers how many other films are produced using teams of videographers, directors and editors. One of the key elements, according to Caroline Undersbock, is that you need to grab the attention of the judges in the first seven seconds and continue to hold them. Mel managed to do that extremely well, and the result was being awarded a very pleasing silver award,' said Ian. To view the video, please visit the Antares website, and open the virtual tour video on the homepage. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
The Star
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Season 2 of multi-award-winning local conservation series lauded
Shamwari Untamed Season 2 , the sequel to the internationally lauded first series, has won two awards at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa Awards 2025 (ITFFA). Episode 9 won the gold award for a documentary, television and web conservation series, and the 10-part docu-series won the Festival Directors' Award in the wildlife and conservation category. The series has only recently been put into distribution and is not yet available in South Africa. The series was co-produced, filmed, directed and edited by wildlife filmmakers Janine Joubert and Andrew Barrat, both long-time collaborators with Shamwari Private Game Reserve. One of Andrew's documentaries about the largest vulture relocation in Africa previously won a top award at the ITFFA. As with the multi-award-winning first series, Shamwari Untamed Season 2 , is told largely from the perspective of wildlife vet, Johan Joubert, and ecologist, John O'Brien. It captures the team's latest and most ambitious endeavour: the restoration and re-wilding of newly acquired land and how the area is being transformed into a haven for wildlife. This includes the exhilarating, often dangerous and delicate process of relocating species such as zebras, elephants, rhinos and lions and the steps essential in rebuilding a balanced and thriving ecosystem. The series also explores the use of solar-powered GPS collars linked to artificial intelligence systems that allow anti-poaching teams to respond quickly if animals are acting unusually. One of the most poignant episodes records the successful rehabilitation and reintroduction of two orphaned elephants to a wild herd. The series also covers the relocation of 150 vultures to Shamwari, in one of the largest vulture relocation projects ever undertaken and the establishment of a rehabilitation centre and breeding colony. It follows John O'Brien as he tracks the progress of wild litters of lion and cheetah cubs. At the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, it shows how orphaned baby giraffes and rhinos are cared for and the construction of a new habitat for a meerkat colony, before their release back into the wild. 'The first series was a conservation classic. Andrew and Janine have built on that, and we expect the second series to be every bit as successful. It is a truly accurate, insightful and authentic depiction of a conservation team at work,' said Shamwari CEO, Joe Cloete. The original Shamwari Untamed series can be found on Netflix here:
IOL News
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- IOL News
Season 2 of multi-award-winning local conservation series lauded
Shamwari Untamed Season 2 , the sequel to the internationally lauded first series, has won two awards at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa Awards 2025 (ITFFA). Episode 9 won the gold award for a documentary, television and web conservation series, and the 10-part docu-series won the Festival Directors' Award in the wildlife and conservation category. The series has only recently been put into distribution and is not yet available in South Africa. The series was co-produced, filmed, directed and edited by wildlife filmmakers Janine Joubert and Andrew Barrat, both long-time collaborators with Shamwari Private Game Reserve. One of Andrew's documentaries about the largest vulture relocation in Africa previously won a top award at the ITFFA. As with the multi-award-winning first series, Shamwari Untamed Season 2, is told largely from the perspective of wildlife vet, Johan Joubert, and ecologist, John O'Brien. It captures the team's latest and most ambitious endeavour: the restoration and re-wilding of newly acquired land and how the area is being transformed into a haven for wildlife. This includes the exhilarating, often dangerous and delicate process of relocating species such as zebras, elephants, rhinos and lions and the steps essential in rebuilding a balanced and thriving ecosystem. The series also explores the use of solar-powered GPS collars linked to artificial intelligence systems that allow anti-poaching teams to respond quickly if animals are acting unusually. One of the most poignant episodes records the successful rehabilitation and reintroduction of two orphaned elephants to a wild herd. The series also covers the relocation of 150 vultures to Shamwari, in one of the largest vulture relocation projects ever undertaken and the establishment of a rehabilitation centre and breeding colony. It follows John O'Brien as he tracks the progress of wild litters of lion and cheetah cubs. At the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, it shows how orphaned baby giraffes and rhinos are cared for and the construction of a new habitat for a meerkat colony, before their release back into the wild. 'The first series was a conservation classic. Andrew and Janine have built on that, and we expect the second series to be every bit as successful. It is a truly accurate, insightful and authentic depiction of a conservation team at work,' said Shamwari CEO, Joe Cloete. The original Shamwari Untamed series can be found on Netflix here:
Irish Independent
13-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Cork anglers to represent Ireland in world-renowned fishing competition next year
Anne McWilliams, aged 60, and Declan O'Sullivan, aged 38, finished third and 13th respectively in the National Lake Championships, which was held on Lough Melvin, Co Fermanagh on Saturday, June 7. 'I would have qualified through the Munster Lake Championships, which was held in Killarney in May. 'Last weekend, I finished 13th with one fish out of 14 places, so I was lucky enough,' Declan O'Sullivan said. 126 competitors took part on the day, and Mr O'Sullivan described conditions as 'good', but the fishing was 'bad'. 'A lot of lakes these days are just not fishing very well for some reason. 'I don't know if it's the flies or what, but the fish don't seem to be looking up, they seem to be staying down the bottom,' he said. Ms McWilliams also qualified for the event hosted in Lough Melvin through the Munster Championships, which is deemed the hardest provincial competition due to the vast number of competitors. She echoed Mr O'Sullivan's thoughts on the challenging fishing performance. 'The conditions were lovely, and you would have expected the fish to rise, but there wasn't many. 'I saw a message from an angler to another angler, who said the conditions were 'brutally hard',' she said. ADVERTISEMENT Mr O'Sullivan will now go on to represent Ireland for the third time in his fishing career while Ms McWilliams will represent her country for the 13th time and captained her nation on three occasions. Both Mr O'Sullivan and Ms McWilliams will compete in the Irish Trout Fly Fishing Association (ITFFA) Home Nations competition against the national teams of England, Scotland and Wales. There were three people in each boat, two competitors and a driver who would line up the boat and place it in a good location to catch the fish. 'I was fishing with a man from Ballinrobe who would have fished the lake once about 20 years ago and I never fished that lake before. 'You are trusting the boatman to put us over fish from knowing the lake,' he added. The smallest you could kill was 28cm, and Declan's came in at 35cm, and placed him 13th in the leaderboards. Anything caught below 28cm in size was deemed too small and must be thrown back into the lake. Each boat would have a measuring device to measure the catches. 'We would have started at 11am and finished at 6pm. 'I literally caught three fish all day, and there would have been people out there who would have caught 10 or 15 fish, but they were too small. 'With these competitions, you really need a bit of luck,' he added. Ms McWilliams said representing your country is 'something that doesn't happen every day.' 'It's something that doesn't happen every day and it's not east to get onto it (national team). 'I have been trying for a long time to get onto the ITFFA team and it's very similar to the ladies set up,' she said. She hopes Lough Lein in Killarney will be a chosen venue as it has a 'special place' in her heart. 'It was the first time the Irish ladies won a gold medal, I think it was after 18 years, in Lough Lein, so it has a special place in my heart. 'It would be great to do the double there,' she added. Both Ms McWilliams and Mr O'Sullivan will represent both Kanturk and Munster at the Inter-provincial Lake Championships at Lough Lein on August 30.
IOL News
10-06-2025
- IOL News
Cape Town Tourism bags three awards at International Tourism Film Festival Africa
A view of Cape Town and Table Mountain. Cape Town Tourism has won three awards through showcasing the city's stunning tourism landscapes and appeal. Cape Town Tourism has clinched three Silver Awards at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa 2025 (ITFFA), held in Johannesburg from June 3 to 6. The festival celebrates excellence in tourism narratives conveyed through film and video content, highlighting the importance of dynamic storytelling in the travel sector. 'These awards aren't about shiny trophies on display; they reflect how we see Cape Town – layered, lively and full of love," says Enver Duminy, CEO of Cape Town Tourism. 'Each video serves as a postcard to the world, inviting everyone to experience the magic for themselves.'
