October 3, 2025
For immediate release
JACKSON, WY – Today, Jackson Wild, the global forum amplifying impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science and climate, and Earth Alliance, a leading platform dedicated to co-creating, producing and elevating community-led and coalition-based impact campaigns, announced the inaugural recipients of its new grant program – the Jackson Wild x Earth Alliance Impact Pitch, which offers grants to filmmakers to boost or kickstart impact campaigns affiliated with their films. The partnership addresses a critical funding gap that has left many powerful films unable to leverage their stories for real-world impact.
"At Jackson Wild, we believe powerful stories are only the beginning,” said Christie Quinn, Interim Executive Director, Jackson Wild. “By partnering with Earth Alliance, we’re helping filmmakers turn inspiration into tangible impact, ensuring that the passion their films spark can grow into real change for communities and ecosystems worldwide.”
In first place, Chameleon Corridors – directed by Jigar Ganatra and produced by MyWorld Film Grant, African School of Storytelling (AFRISOS), Angela Mukajanga and Simona Nickmanova – is set in the cloud forest of Tanzania’s Eastern Arc Mountains, which are facing increasing destruction from agriculture. The film tells the true story of a young girl and her mother who mobilized their entire community to begin planting trees and recovering the cloud forest. The story creatively unfolds from the perspective of a wise old chameleon who speaks up about the importance of maintaining balance between humans and the cloud forest.
Chameleon Corridors will receive $30,000 in funding plus strategic support to implement its impact campaign. The team will work with local partners in Tanzania to screen the film for farmers, students, and authorities to dismantle ingrained superstitions around chameleons and promote reforestation programs.
“As Jane Goodall said to me just a couple of months ago: Planting trees is not enough,” said Simona Nickmanova, impact producer for Chameleon Corridors. “You have to plant the right tree in the right place and commit to taking care of it as it grows! And that’s exactly what we’re doing with this campaign and with the community in the Eastern Arc Mountains — reforesting the very special Chameleon Corridors of Tanzania!”
Two films will receive $15,000 – Iyo Ang Dagat (The Sea is Yours) and Qotzuñi: People of the Lake. Iyo Ang Dagat – directed by Sally Snow and produced by Large Marine Vertebrates Research Institute Philippines (LAMAVE) – explores the deep and complex relationship between people and sharks in the Philippines through the eyes of fishermen, park rangers, tour operators, enforcement officers, and conservationists. Qotzuñi: People of the Lake – directed by Michael Salama and Gastón Zilberman, and produced by Michael Salama, Gastón Zilberman, Florencio Inocente Aguilar and Jordan Salama in partnership with the three Uru communities of Lake Poopó – tells the powerful story of the Uru Indigenous Nation as it faces challenges caused by industrial mining which has contaminated and diverted Lake Poopó’s tributary streams.
The Iyo Ang Dagat (The Sea is Yours) team will leverage this funding to raise awareness about the value of sharks and rays and the ongoing efforts to protect them in Palawan, a hotspot for biodiversity and a center of illegal wildlife trade in the Philippines, and work alongside key stakeholders to draft and pass legislation regulating marine and wildlife tourism in Palawan. The team for Qotzuñi: People of the Lake will use this critical funding to continue working with the Uru Indigenous Nation and local partners in Bolivia to improve food security for communities, support sustainable livelihoods, and create fellowships for Uru youth in communities surrounding Lake Poopó.
“All of the impact pitch finalists had an impressive vision for how to leverage their films for impact in conservation working in close collaboration with local communities,” said Marianna Olinger, Earth Alliance senior impact strategist. “These are moving and also empowering stories, bringing to life some of the most pressing issues on our planet. We are thrilled to partner with Jackson Wild to support these teams to use the power of their films strategically to affect our world, and the communities portrayed in the films, positively.”
Applicants for the grant program included 2025 Jackson Wild Media Award nominees who wanted to take their films about threatened wildlife, irreplaceable places, and communities on the frontlines of conservation beyond commercial distribution. All finalists presented their campaign ideas during a competitive pitch process at the Jackson Wild Summit. The impact pitches included opportunities to influence policy, engage communities in conservation efforts, reduce threats to wildlife and local communities, strengthen legal protections for Indigenous Peoples, expand access to wild spaces and conservation careers, and promote sustainable economic opportunities.
The full list of finalists included:
Chameleon Corridors
Iyo Ang Dagat (The Sea is Yours)
Pantanal
Qotzuñi: People of the Lake
The Book of George
The collaboration between Jackson Wild and Earth Alliance addresses growing concerns within the entertainment industry about climate messaging that often leaves audiences feeling hopeless rather than motivated. The Jackson Wild x Earth Alliance Impact Pitch specifically aims to fund projects that shift the narrative toward solutions and actionable outcomes, responding to audience research showing that solutions-focused content drives higher engagement and behavioral change.
The initiative comes as documentary impact work has become increasingly relevant but chronically underfunded. While major streaming platforms and distributors now expect filmmakers to have impact strategies, most productions wrap without resources to execute meaningful campaigns, leaving compelling stories stranded at the awareness stage.
The timing of the initiative reflects broader industry recognition that impact work requires specialized expertise and dedicated funding. Major funders including Sundance Institute, Doc Society, Perspective Fund, and Chicken & Egg Pictures have increased impact-specific support in recent years, but demand still far outstrips available resources, particularly for campaign design and production.
The Jackson Wild Summit gathers filmmakers, broadcasters, distributors, short-form content creators, digital activists, scientists, immersive innovators, and more for five days of exciting programming, thought-provoking conversations and innovative storytelling aiming to elevate real-world impact.
Winners were announced at the Grand Teton Awards Gala on October 2. For more information, visit jacksonwild.org/2025-media-awards.
About Jackson Wild
For over 30 years, Jackson Wild has been a catalyst for accelerating and elevating impactful storytelling at the nexus of nature, science, and conservation. Through innovative and collaborative community gatherings, skill-building initiatives, and mentorship programs, Jackson Wild creates an inclusive forum for storytellers to more deeply illuminate connections to the natural world and our collective responsibility to the wild.
About Earth Alliance
Earth Alliance is a platform dedicated to co-creating, producing and elevating unbranded, community-led and coalition-based impact campaigns. We weave together local action and systemic change efforts to protect and restore irreplaceable wild places and advance planetary health, as we elevate the voices and work of the people on the frontlines of safeguarding the planet.