The wildlife documentary “Wad” by Ruben Smit has been getting attention from international media companies: the BBC, among others, have expressed interest in buying screening rights.
Translation by Traci White
Smit told Omrop Fryslân that he is in negotiations with the BBC and a number of American and Canadian media companies about the broadcast rights to “Wad: Living on the edge of Water and Land” (“Wad, overleven op de grens van Water en Land”).
Smit said that it would be huge boost if the film were to be aired internationally. The director describes the film as an ode to the Wadden Sea, which is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. The film crew was able to get (under)water footage of animal behaviour which have never previously been captured on film and also utilised special techniques to film microscopic life forms.
The movie features scenes of a peregrine on the prowl, a seal being born in the wild, endless skies full of stars and other unique natural phenomena such as the spring tide, the Northern Lights and a frozen sea of ice.
The world premiere of the film will be held at the WTC in Leeuwarden on the 1st of October. The venue is currently staging “De Stormruiter” and has recreated several earthen dykes as part of the show, a setting which will make the screening even more meaningful.
The film is not Smit’s first successful wildlife documentary focussed on the Netherlands: he also directed “The New Wilderness” (“De Nieuwe Wildernis”) about the Oostvaardersplassen nature reserve in Flevoland.
