Last night, at the closing ceremony of the Wildscreen International Film Festival — known as the Oscars of Wildlife Filmmaking — the documentary film “In the Realm of the Spider-Tailed Viper”, directed by Fathollah Amiri, won the Golden Panda Award in the Emerging Talent category.
According to the event’s renowned host, Harry Marshall, this marks the first time that this prestigious award has been presented to an Iranian filmmaker. In this category, Mahmoud Mansouri — the subject and cinematographer of the documentary — earned this international honor, competing against two entries from the host country, the United Kingdom.
Despite an official invitation from the Wildscreen Festival and support from Sir David Attenborough, Mahmoud was unable to attend the ceremony due to a visa rejection. On his behalf, Dr. Mohammad Ala (the film’s independent producer) received the Golden Panda Trophy.
The Wildscreen Festival, recognized as the world’s most prestigious wildlife filmmaking event, celebrated its 36th edition this year from October 15 to 19 (Mehr 23–27, 2018) in the city of Bristol — known as the Green Hollywood. From 792 submissions worldwide, the jury selected nominees for the Panda Awards in 17 categories, including Best Film, Short Film, Cinematography, Series, and Emerging Talent.
Mahmoud Mansouri began his collaboration with Fathollah Amiri and Dr. Behzad Fathinia (the film’s researcher) in 2010 during the production of “Alamto, a Reptile Wonderland”. He played a key role in the discovery of the Spider-Tailed Viper and, under Amiri’s mentorship, gradually became recognized as both the cinematographer and guardian of this rare species.
Later, through collaboration with the Ilam-based filmmaker Mehdi Noormohammadi and extensive field research alongside Dr. Fathinia, Mahmoud’s knowledge of this valuable species deepened. Ultimately, he captured the iconic shot of the spider-tailed hunting scene, which was later featured in the documentary “Alamto, a Reptile Wonderland” and earned him several awards, including Best Cinematography at the Iran Cinema House Awards and the Tehran Short Film Festival.
