Wicklow-based production company Crossing the Line has received three awards at the premier wildlife film festival in the world, Jackson Hole.
‘On a River in Ireland’, the feature version of the two-part documentary ‘The Secret Life of the Shannon’ that aired on RTÉ in May, was awarded for Best Editing and Best Wildlife Habitat Programme, as well as receiving the overall Grand Teton Best of Festival award.
The festival takes place every two years, and this year saw competition from over 540 features, not least among them BBC’s acclaimed ‘Frozen Planet’ series.
Produced by Cepa Giblin (‘Broken Tail’, ‘The Eagle’s Return’) and John Murray (‘Across the Himalaya’, ‘White Man, Dead Heart’), the series takes viewers down the Shannon on a canoe with presenter Colin Stafford Johnson, a 340km journey that took place over two years. The series was also edited by Emer Reynolds, who co-directed an inside look at the Cuban Missile Crisis, ‘Here Was Cuba’, with Murray this year.
In the wake of the win, RTÉ Commissioning Editor for Regional, Diversity and Wildlife programming Ray McCarthy was enthused at the “wonderful achievement”, praising the talent of Irish filmmakers and stating that “RTÉ is delighted to continue its support for ambitious Irish natural history and wildlife documentaries.”
This year’s festival marks the second time in row that Crossing the Line have taken home three awards from Jackson Hole, held in Wyoming, USA. 2011 saw the company awarded Best Presenter and Best Conservation Programme for ‘Broken Tail’s Last Journey’, a feature piecing together the journey of Broken Tail, a tiger escaped from an Indian reserve, which also picked up the Grand Teton Best of Festival Award the same year.
Currently airing on RTÉ Radio 1 is Crossing the Line’s latest offering, a ten-part radio series title ‘Nature on One’, documenting the unique sounds of some of Ireland’s most remote wildlife locations.
For more information on Crossing the line and their productions, click here .