Year in Review — 2025 at Conservation Connect Films
Above: Documenting HWC responders in Mozambique with Mozambique Wildlife Alliance (MWA) for The Conservation Link series with Alinea Network. (Photo: Wrightwel Nyirenda | Conservation Connect Films)
This year at Conservation Connect Films was one of milestones, collaboration, and quiet impact. We launched our first feature documentary, expanded our filming across southern Africa, partnered to strengthen conservation storytelling, and celebrated international recognition — all while keeping community and field partners at the heart of every story. Below are the moments that mattered most to us, what they taught us, and why they make us hopeful for the year ahead.
The year at a glance
Re-branding: Just under a decade of The Rusty Mokoro to Conservation Connect Films.
First Feature Film Launched: Abashimba — The Return of Lions to Nsumbu (feature conservation documentary, 2025)
In Other News: two films honoured at the International Travel & Tourism Film Festival (Johannesburg)
Festivals: Attended Wildscreen Festival Botswana and the International Travel & Tourism Film Festival (Johannesburg)
International productions: BBC Kingdom and AppleTV Born to Be Wild
Partnerships: new Alinea Network partnership to create the Conservation Link
Stories in Between: Other projects we have worked on this year
Giving back: Conservation Storytelling training for field rangers
Reflection and Looking Forward: What gave us hope and looking forward
Rebrand: “The Rusty Mokoro” to “Conservation Connect Films”
A new era
After almost a decade of The Rusty Mokoro it was time to make a shift into a new era of our conservation and wildlife film productions. Our objective still stays true: we are dedicated to authentic, story-driven conservation and wildlife filmmaking.
Abashimba | The Return of Lions to Nsumbu (conservation documentary, 2025)
A family affair!
Filmed over the course of nearly three years, it was very much a family affair with our son Zambezi coming along for month-long trips to some of Zambia’s remotest wilderness areas for many of the shoots. Production officially started a month before he was born — and we released the film four months before his third birthday.
International recognition for Abashimba - The Return of Lions to Nsumbu
Watch the film here:
In other news
International Travel and Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA)
In June we travelled to Johannesburg to attend the awards ceremony of the ITFFA where we met so many talented and incredible creatives, storytellers and industry professionals from across the world. We were thrilled to have two of our films recognised and awarded:
GOLD AWARD: “At Nature’s Pace” immerses the viewer into the secret magic of the Luangwa Valley, slowing down to the pace of nature (Tourism Category)
SILVER AWARD: “One Park, Many World’s” a short film we made for the Bale Mountains National Park in Ethiopia (Conservation Category)
Wildscreen Festival Botswana
Shortly after ITFFA we made our way across to Maun, Botswana to share a wonderful three days with industry experts and African filmmakers where we met old colleagues and came away with many new friends. The aim of the festival was to: Celebrate the role of Botswana and Africa in the International Wildlife Film Industry.
Festivals like Wildscreen give a sense of community and solidarity at a time when the filmmaking world is undergoing a massive shift. The industry has taken a massive downturn over the last couple of years, but through all the conversations and panels, we all remain positive that we will get through this.
International Productions
This year we saw the release of two landmark series that our own Matt Blair worked on with some incredibly talented and renowned Directors, Cinematographers and Producers. Both productions are now available on BBC Player iPlayer and AppleTV.
BBC Kingdom: Drone Pilot (Air-To-Air Cinematography) and Camera Operator
AppleTV Born to Be Wild: Camera Operator, Drone Pilot and Timelapse
BBC - Kingdom
Above: Behind the scenes on the making of BBC Kingdom (Photos: Matt Blair and Jo Harvey)
AppleTV - Born to Be Wild
Above: Behind the scenes on the making of AppleTV’s Born to Be Wild (Photos: Matt Blair)
Stories in between
Wildlife Crime Prevention
We did a short appeal for the Wildlife Crime Prevention (WCP) pangolin rescue and rehabilitation.
Musekese Conservation
Short promotional film. It has been a privilege to witness the growth of Musekese Conservation in the Greater Kafue Ecosystem.
Remote Africa Safaris
We loved spending time with our friends in South Luangwa making a Walking Safari promotional film.
Protecting and Empowering Women and Girls
Short film for the support from the Light Foundation in Nsumbu and North Luangwa National Parks (in production).
Partnerships that amplified impact
We were delighted to partner with the Alinea Network - a relatively young conservation organisation that are taking a fresh systems-first approach to conservation . Through our shared belief that grassroots organisations have a far greater impact across a landscape at a regional level than traditionally given credit for, the idea of The Conservation Link web-series was born. The objective - represent a collective of grassroots organisations across a region telling the story of their shared vision of achieving impactful and sustainable conservation solutions. Over the course of four months we travelled across the region, from Mozambique, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, to document five organisations.
The series goes into post-production early 2026 and will be available on YouTube by the end of the first quarter. You can learn more about Alinea here.
About The Conservation Link series in production (Photo: Matt Blair)
Conservation Storytelling
Giving Back
Many of you might remember the start of Conservation Storytelling, born during Covid. Due to many of life’s events, Conservation Storytelling was put on the back burner for a few years. With support from our previous Patreon’s and their generosity, we used these remaining funds to help rebuild Conservation Storytelling and subsidise four cohorts of trainings — total of 32 people — delivered to field rangers, researchers, guides and management in Botswana, Zimbabwe and Zambia. Each training built off the foundation of enabling field teams and organisations to tell their own narrative, equipping them with the capacity too take photographs, develop essential narrative skills and observational practices to improve their reporting and storytelling. By giving back to our craft both Conservation Connect Films and Mana Meadows Photography are proud to support Conservation Storytelling, and we look forward to collaborating with more teams in 2026.
If you would like to consider supporting Conservation Storytelling, please get in touch or learn more here.
Above: Behind the scenes of Conservation Storytelling workshops in Botswana and Zimbabwe (Photos: Matt Blair)
What made us hopeful this year
2025 was not without its challenges, but it was a year that left us feeling grounded and hopeful. What stood out most was the sense of collaboration - working alongside partners, filmmakers, brands and grassroots organisations across Southern Africa who, simply speaking, share a commitment of “doing conservation better”. We saw a growing appetite from audiences and festivals for honest, people-centred conservation stories, and it reaffirmed why this work matters. Some of the most encouraging moments came from watching the energy and curiosity of young rangers and emerging storytellers trained through Conservation Storytelling, finding and then using their voices with confidence. Our partnership with Alinea Network has been a natural extension of this journey, built around a shared vision to connect, support and promote grassroots organisations across the region - strengthening the stories, systems and people behind conservation efforts. We look forward to what 2026 brings and look forward to further collaboration across the region.
Above: Elephant collaring with Wrightwel Nyirenda with Mozambique Wildlife Alliance (MWA) for The Conservation Link series (in production)
Thank-you to our Supporters & Sponsors
DZOFILM very kindly sent out a set of their Catta Zoom Series Lenses for us to test for the production of The Conservation Link series (currently in production), and for the last year and a half we have been using a complimentary pair of Jim Green Barefoot African Ranger boots - honestly been a game-changer for those long days on our feet in the field with heavy gear!
DZOFILM Catta Zoom Series Lenses
The DZO Catta Zoom Series lenses have bought a cinematic-prime look to our work, whilst being versatile enough with their zoom range for our days in the field.
Jim Green Footwear (South Africa)
These boots have been the game changer we didn’t know we needed. For comfort and durability - tracking rhino in Gonarezhou or filming elephants in the rain in Kafue National Park, these boots have only gotten better.
