WATCH: Lerwick date for first Wilderland Film Festival tour

The Mareel cinema will be one of the venues for a new film festival that is to be played at 22 theatres across the UK this autumn.

Wilderland Film Festival promises to share important stories from the natural world and is said to be the UK’s first touring wildlife film festival. The Shetland screening will be on 19th November.

Promoters say it will shine a light on some astonishing and thought-provoking stories, filmed by a host of independent international filmmakers.

Wilderland is the brainchild of zoologist filmmakers Dan O’Neill and Isaac Rice, who recruited some of the most acclaimed wildlife filmmakers to whittle down a shortlist of over 50 short films to the chosen nine that will be seen during the tour.

Judges, included award-winning cameraman Doug Allan (The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, Frozen Planet) who has appeared in Shetland, previously. He said: “Anyone with a fascination for the natural world and conservation should make sure they book their ticket to Wilderland. It’s inspirational.”

O’Neill and Rice said, in a joint statement: “Wilderland is a platform for the new era of independent wildlife filmmakers. It will inspire everyone to think more about the natural world in our daily lives. Wilderland’s ethos is that anyone can be a conservationist, and everyone has a part to play in the future of our planet.”

Audiences will also have the opportunity to support the effort to save some of our planet’s most endangered species. At each show, the audience will be invited to vote for one of five endangered species identified by the not-for-profit Wildlerlight Campaign. More details in Friday’s Shetland Times newspaper.