Award for the UNIVERSUM production "Leopard Legacy" at the 44^th International Wildlife Film Festival of Missoula/Montana, April 17-May 15.

Missoula/Vienna - Another win for the nature film brand ORF UNIVERSUM:
The documentary “Leopard Legacy“ – a co-production by Into Nature Productions and Kurt Mayer Film, ORF, ARTE and WDR, in association with ORF-Enterprise – was awarded in the category "Best Animal Behavior" at the renowned International Wildlife Film Festival of Missoula/Montana - the oldest nature film festival in the USA.

The International Wildlife Film Festival announced the award winners for its 44^th edition as part of a pop-up installation at the First Montana Bank building in downtown Missoula. The sixty-five films, from over 300 submissions, were selected by an international jury consisting of filmmakers, producers, field biologists, conservationists, cinephiles, teachers, and University of Montana graduate students specializing in environmentally-focused or wildlife biology studies. “Leopard Legacy” was selected by the final jurors Janet Han Vissering, Ami Vitale and Pipaluk Lykke in the category “Animal Behavior”; i.e. any program that includes especially notable footage of animal behavior that is rare and impactful in terms of our understanding of the natural world or which was captured using innovative techniques.

The acclaimed South African nature filmmaking duo Will and Lianne Steenkamp, also known for the multiple award-winning UNIVERSUM two-parter "Vanishing Kings - Lions of the Namib”, once again score a major international success: For three years, the Steenkamps lived and filmed along Zambia’s Luangwa River. Day after day, in a specially adapted all-terrain vehicle, they followed every movement of a devoted mother leopard and her two newborn cubs. They filmed the daily routine of their survival at close range as each of them faces its own challenges, threats, and triumphs in the African wilderness. The directors named the female leopard "Olimba”, which means "courage and strength" in the local language. In general, Lianne and Will Steenkamp's focus in their work is to provide support for the vanishing cat populations in Africa.

The program is distributed worldwide by ORF-Enterprise https://contentsales.ORF.at.

About IWFF
IWFF exists to champion wildlife filmmakers and inspire a new generation to challenge conventional expectations about how we conserve wildlife and habitat.
Founded in 1977 at the University of Montana, IWFF is the first and longest-running event of its kind. In 2002, the festival purchased the historic Roxy Theater as its home. In 2013 The Roxy launched its year-round screening series and began an extensive collaboration with the university, businesses, and community, serving a diverse, all-ages population with broad programming. IWFF embraces its home inside The Roxy Theater and as the heart of the Missoula community.

About ORF-Enterprise

As a marketing subsidiary of ORF, ORF-Enterprise is exclusively responsible for marketing the leading Austrian media group’s entire national media output. The portfolio includes four television stations (ORF 1, ORF 2, ORF III Kultur und Information, ORF SPORT +), three national radio stations (Ö1, Hitradio Ö3, radio FM4), the print magazine ORF nachlese, the entire digital output on ORF.at, ORF-TVthek and ORF-Radiothek as well as ORF TELETEXT. The Content Sales International and Licensing and Media Cooperations division licences ORF content and brands worldwide. ORF-Enterprise operates its own music publishing house ORF-Enterprise Musikverlag as well as its own record label. The company is the national representative of leading international creative festivals such as Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and organiser of national advertising prizes such as ORF-TOP SPOT, ORF-WERBEHAHN and ORF-ONWARD. The management consists of Oliver Böhm (CEO, advertising marketing, content exploitation) and Heinz Mosser (finance and administration, music publishing & label, sound & vision, ORF nachlese). ORF-Enterprise is a 100 percent subsidiary of the ORF media group. More information at https://enterprise.ORF.at, https://contentsales.ORF.at and https://musikverlag.ORF.at

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