“I and our entire team at nautilusfilm are dedicated wildlife filmmakers and we sometimes wonder, why there are so few slots, platforms etc. focusing on this genre. Since our whole planet is co-habited by so many more species than humans, it does seem strange that there is so little space for films that feature the life of these other species. The films that are made on nature and wildlife are, however, often fantastic documentaries made by passionate people, who truly care about Planet Earth. The future will be bright for documentary filmmaking, and I hope that more channels and platforms will take on wildlife and nature content. It is timeless and the films help promote the basis of life and that concerns everyone.” – Melanie Haft
As Managing Director and Head of Production for nautilusfilms GmbH, Melanie has been involved in their documentary productions for over two decades. With over 200 awards at international nature film festivals, including 18 from New York Festivals, nautilusfilm is Germany’s most awarded nature film production company.
New York Festivals TV & Film Awards: nautilusfilm is one the leaders in nature documentary filmmaking. Any backstories from your 2025 Gold winning documentary “Welcome to the Forest - Mind the Gap”?
Our documentary “Welcome to the Forest – Mind the Gap” is part of a three part mini-series we produced for Germany´s ARD, ARTE and TerraMater. The goal of this series is to promote open to semi-open woodland as a haven of biodiversity.
NYF: What are the most profound changes you’ve noticed in the art of storytelling in the past 5 years?
We notice that Blue-Chip wildlife films still are taken on by many broadcasters, but wider audiences can be reached by emotional stories that also include humans and their impact on nature.
NYF: How does the present financial climate for distributors affect long-form storytelling created by independent production companies?
The shift from films produced for audiences who watch linear productions to audiences online has been fast one. The audiences have become more diverse which also affects distributors: it is not easy to gain enough funding for documentaries these days, and we hope that this will change again. Especially in wildlife filmmaking where the films are often produced over two years or more, the budgets have decreased BUT we find that alternative fundings and collaborations with partners from other industries are an interesting and positive way to work as an independent production company.
NYF: Could you talk about international co-productions and development needs?
The globalization of documentary filmmaking is great for global stories and has a lot of potential for future productions. I am not so sure about local topics. I find it important to tell local stories for local and worldwide audiences and we need to promote these “small stories” more!
NYF: Given the popularity of documentary filmmaking with audiences, are there enough platforms dedicated to showing them?
I hope there will be more platforms in the future 😊
NYF: What types of technology do you finding yourself using?
Our latest investment is a ROV for underwater filming. It is a fantastic tool to explore a world that stays hidden from sight for most of us and we love to show the beauty and surprising stories from all habitats on this planet.