The Jackson Wild Media Awards are some of the most prestigious in the world of nature filmmaking, and this year’s competition saw over 1,100 category entries from 74 countries. The awards were held on September 28 during the Jackson Wild Summit in Wyoming, USA. Botswana’s own Thato Kavinja also known as Mr. Seronga, produced six tracks for the film and licensed his viral hit, ‘Ko Seronga’. The soundtrack also features two tracks from the Nature Environment & Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) Composers Lab, which is part of the Society’s Africa Refocused program.
Following the awards, Thato Kavinja said having grown up in the Delta, he relates with Nkashi: Race for the Okavango on many levels. “After all, it’s about my home, Seronga, and our Wayei heritage. In many ways, my music is about returning to one’s roots, and I treasured the opportunity to make music for Nkashi for that very reason,” he said. Producer of the film and National Geographic Explorer, Thalefang Charles, said it has been an honor to take this film from Botswana to the world, and expressed hope that it would set precedent for other filmmakers to collaborate with local storytellers and return films to the communities where they were made.
