Silverback Films

Meet baby Emen one of the stars of our new documentary film ‘Secret Lives of Orangutans’ narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Premiering on Netflix 22 August.

Filmed over two years, we follow a remarkable group of orangutans in the pristine jungles of Sumatra. The story centres on new mum Ellie and Eden, who both captured the hearts of Our Planet viewers in 2019, as Eden now embarks on the most challenging period of her life.

We’re excited to reveal this intimate and never-before-seen perspective of one of our closest relatives.

Add to your watchlist: www.netflix.com/gb/title/81312307 

Announcing our new feature-length documentary special with Sir David Attenborough about the health of the world’s oceans – coming 2025! Presented and authored by the 98-year-old broadcaster, ‘David Attenborough: Ocean’ will share the story of how we can, and must, restore the glory of Earth’s vast, interconnected waters.

After nearly a hundred years filming every aspect of the natural world, Attenborough delivers his most powerful message yet. In this film, he draws on his lifetime of knowledge and experience to take us on a journey of wonder through the planet’s most spectacular undersea habitats, revealing that we are currently living in the greatest age of ocean discovery, and showing beyond doubt they are the most important places on Earth.

While Attenborough exposes the biggest problems facing our ocean, his story is one of hope, and that in front of us is an opportunity for marine life to recover on a scale no one alive has ever seen before. Attenborough said,

“My lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Over the last hundred years, scientists and explorers have revealed remarkable new species, epic migrations and dazzling, complex ecosystems beyond anything I could have imagined as a young man. In this film, we share those wonderful discoveries, uncover why our ocean is in such poor health, and, perhaps most importantly, show how it can bounce back to life.”

Our cameras will film across the Americas, Europe, Africa and Oceania, capturing the practical and affordable solutions to reversing harmful human activity along coral reefs, mangroves, coastal communities, fish farms, marine sanctuaries and many other habitats in order to return the ocean to its most pristine and vibrant.

The timely film will debut in 2025, midway through the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030). It is clear without doubt that we can only stabilise the climate by restoring the ocean, and our film will amplify the solutions that are already at hand and ready to be immediately implemented to help turn the tide.

‘David Attenborough: Ocean’ will release in theatres before premiering globally on National Geographic and streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

The film is being produced by Silverback with the backing of All3Media International, Ocean Ten Media, Minderoo Productions, National Geographic Society and Pristine Seas, Don Quixote ASBL and The Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation. The film is directed by Toby Nowlan, Keith Scholey and Colin Butfield and produced by Nowlan for Silverback. 

Nominations for the 76th Emmy® Awards have just been announced (17 June 2024) and we’re thrilled to share that our series for Netflix have received two nominations:

Our Planet II reveals life’s extraordinary journeys in a world that is changing faster than ever. Nominated for ‘Outstanding Cinematography’ our filmmakers set out to show scale in fresh and awe-inspiring ways, from the movement of the world’s largest herds to the massive odyssey ahead of single albatross chick.

Nominated for ‘Outstanding Narrator’, Life on Our Planet traces the four billion-year journey of life on earth to reveal how we can shape our future. Our team knew there was no better fit than the voice of Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman to tell the world’s biggest story.

The 2024 ceremony will be held on September 15 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

Many congratulations to our Silverback Films teams and the nominees.

Since it’s release last June (2023), our 4-part series Our Planet II narrated by Sir David Attenborough has topped the Netflix chart in 77 countries, with over 80 million viewing hours in 2023 alone.

The show unravels the mystery of migration, telling an unprecedented story about overcoming obstacles on a global scale. Each episode represents three months of the Earth’s orbit, highlighting major animal gatherings and events to showcase the mind-boggling diversity of the animal kingdom as well as rare and never-before-seen moments of animal behaviour.

From an abandoned albatross chick leaving his island home, to the perilous journey of billions of baby red crablets of Christmas Island, to the biggest buffalo mega-herd ever recorded… it’s a spectacular, educational, and eye-opening look at life’s extraordinary journeys, in a world that is itself changing faster than ever.

“Only now are we beginning to understand that all life on Earth depends on the freedom to move” – Sir David Attenborough

Hear Silverback Films Producer Huw Cordey discuss the creation of the series Our Planet II at the Netflix FYSEE space in Los Angeles last month – sharing how we worked to raise the bar for natural history, combining world-class visuals with environmental story-telling

Today (7 Jun) Silverback has donated a professional drone kit to the Film School at boomsatsuma to help media and film students develop their aerial photography skills. Bristol Film School, at boomsatsuma, offers dynamic and exciting degrees co-created with Bristol’s globally renowned film and TV production companies. We hope this will help those on their degree programme get a head start in the creative industry.

We’re proud to be able to support emerging talent and we work with boomsatsuma to share entry-level opportunities within Silverback – helping young people start their careers in film & TV production (two of our team having come straight from finishing their course to start their career with us as runners!). 

Darren, our Silverback Tech / Drone Manager, handed over a DJI Inspire 2 pro drone with X7 camera with a case to Executive Dean Dr Susan McMillan and David Neal Head of Production. It was a fantastic day, building on our long-standing relationship, with Darren excited to return to give a talk to the students in the future.

Executive Dean for the Bristol Film School, Dr Susan McMillan, is delighted: “We are so pleased and want to thank Darren – and everyone at Silverback Films – for this generous gift. Silverback Films are an award-winning Bristol production company with a global reputation, it is a real accolade to have their support.”

Nirmala Valinciute, the Technical Lead at Bristol Film School, is excited about training up on the kit: “The drone will be a vital training tool for our filmmaking degree students. Most education institutions stay away from drones, due to the training required, but we realise that flying drones is a crucial craft skill and we are committed to training our students in this exciting area.”

Read more about boomsatsuma here: https://www.boomsatsuma.com/  

Repurposing kit for good causes  

Our team also repurposed a Phantom 4 pro drone with one of our production teams giving this to the Inuit community while on-location for a shoot.  

We’ve also helped junior members of our team to get flying, with an internal drone sale for staff. Silverback donated the £1500 from the sales to 3 wildlife charities, giving £500 each to the Dian Fossey Gorilla fund, Mark Furnell Avon tree-planting in chew valley and the Blue Marine Foundation. 

Silverback Films has joined more than 70 Bristol businesses – including Triodos Bank, Boston Tea Party, Arup, Sawday’s and Finisterre – to issue a joint letter to the parliamentary candidates for all five of the city’s constituencies, asking them to back the Climate and Nature Bill ahead of the General Election on 4 July. 

The Climate and Nature (CAN) Bill is new framework legislation which aims to tackle climate change and environmental destruction. It was first introduced in Parliament in September 2020 and has two main goals: to reduce UK emissions in line with the UK’s share of the remaining global carbon budget for 1.5°C of global warming; and to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.

The Bill offers multiple benefits to businesses including a regulatory framework to support the transition to net zero with the least emissions possible, the creation of new jobs in green industries, a potential reduction in energy costs as renewable sources continue to expand and, ultimately, a more sustainable local economy.

Bevis Watts, CEO of Triodos Bank UK, which coordinated the letter, said: “The business community in Bristol has joined forces today, on World Environment Day, to advocate for people and nature. We all stand to benefit from the transition to a low carbon, nature positive future, and we are calling on our local candidates to represent our combined voices in Parliament. By backing the Climate and Nature Bill they will be playing a vital part in ensuring a bright future for the businesses of Bristol and a happy, healthy and prosperous future for its people. And that’s something we would all vote for.”

James Sutton, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Zero Hour, the campaign group behind the Bill, added: “It’s very telling that this many businesses in Bristol have made such a direct call to the prospective parliamentary candidates and incumbent MPs in the Bristol constituencies for them to publicly declare their backing for the Climate and Nature Bill. Business clearly understands that the CAN Bill represents opportunity for their companies, as well as an instrument to manage governance risk posed by the climate and nature crises. The economy and businesses are always central to the plans of government, so we stand with the businesses of Bristol and hope that their voice is heard and that the PPCs make the sensible, obvious choice and commit to the CAN Bill.” 

The Bill is supported by 180 MPs and Peers from all main parties in the UK Parliament. It also has the backing of 851 prospective parliamentary candidates who will be running for election in July.

The joint letter, issued to the parliamentary candidates for Bristol Central, Bristol East, Bristol North East, Bristol North West and Bristol South on the eve of World Environment Day, states: “As local businesses, we are increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of climate-related extreme weather events, as their frequency continues to rise throughout the UK. We want this to stop.  

“Climate and ecological breakdown is a governance risk to businesses everywhere. Our supply chains will be even more disrupted by unpredictable and chaotic climate, and the costs to our businesses have the potential to skyrocket due to climate-related weather events or disasters. The CAN Bill can help mitigate this risk to our businesses. 

“As we so often hear, there is no business on a dead planet. Our companies and their products and services rely on stable value chains many of which depend on nature inputs. The CAN Bill will help reverse the destruction of nature here in the UK, as well as address the damage that the UK causes to nature globally through our ecological footprint overseas.” 

Like all cities, Bristol is increasingly vulnerable to the impacts of extreme weather events, as their frequency continues to rise here in the UK and further afield. Immediate risks include high temperatures and flooding, which destroyed several shops in Avonmeads Retail Park and Cabot Circus last year. And this is expected to increase, with the City Council estimating that tidal flooding will pose a risk to some 4,500 existing properties by 2125. Furthermore, according to the Met Office, the maximum summer temperature in Bristol is projected to be over 9°C hotter in 2080 compared to a 1981-2000 baseline.

Download the full letter here.

For more information about Zero Hour’s campaign for the Climate and Nature Bill, visit zerohour.uk

Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story is capturing audience hearts winning awards at film festivals around the world, winning:

• The Audience Award for Best International Feature at NorthwestFest International Documentary Festival, Canada’s longest running non-fiction film festival.
• The inaugural Best of Festival award at ECOador International Environmental Film Festival.
• The Audience Choice Award at Mendocino Film Festival.

Our heart-warming story of friendship between an otter and a man set in the remote Scottish islands of Shetland, shows how love can reawaken us to the beauty of nature.

Produced by Silverback Films, and from Director Charlie Hamilton James and Producer Jeff Wilson, our Nat Geo documentary follows Billy, a salt-of-the-earth philosopher and Molly, a half-drowned, starving young female otter that Billy stumbles on one rainy evening in the Scottish subarctic. From there, an unlikely relationship begins that eventually saves them both.

Streaming now on Disney+ and Hulu in the US (UK release date to be confirmed).

We’re excited to announce our brand new series for Netflix (as yet untitled) which will “tell the story of the rise and fall of the dinosaurs – where they came from, why they mattered, how they evolved and how they met their ultimate fate.”

Created by Silverback Films, part of All3 Media Group, and in association with Amblin Documentaries, the 4-part documentary will be the next iteration” of Life on Our Planet.

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) will return to craft the visual effects and animation, and Steven Spielberg will once again join Keith Scholey, Darryl Frank, and Justin Falvey as an Executive Producer. Morgan Freeman is set to narrate and Grammy Award-winner Lorne Balfe is back as composer. Nick Shoolingin-Jordan is directing the new series.

Our ground-breaking 8-part Emmy-contending series Life on Our Planet, which premiered last October (2023), revealed the story of life on planet Earth. It followed not only the dinosaurs, but the rise of invertebrates, mammals, plants, and other life forms across billions of years of evolution up until the present.

“It is an extraordinary privilege to bring the most iconic creatures in Earth’s history to the screen,” Dan Tapster, showrunner at Silverback Films. Speaking of the new iteration of the show, he said, “This series, covering 170 million years, will immerse viewers in the awe-inspiring world of dinosaurs, capturing the majesty and drama of their lives in unprecedented detail.”

Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, executive producers and presidents of Amblin Television & Documentaries, added, “We couldn’t be more excited to partner again with our good friends at Silverback, Netflix and ILM as we transport audiences back in time to the age of the dinosaurs and bring these wonderful extinct creatures back to life in all their beautiful glory.