VANCOUVER - The international wildlife film festival Wildscreen in Bristol, UK just awarded the Wilderness Committee its Terra Mater Factual Studios Impact Award (small budget) for the film Toad People. The film is dedicated to local communities in B.C. taking action to save B.C. species at risk and focuses on the plight of the western toad.

“I can't believe that our little toads made it so far, from British Columbia to Bristol. I am very happy that the Wildscreen Impact Award acknowledges the power of local communities that take action to save species at risk right in their own backyards,” said Isabelle Groc, award-winning environmental writer, conservation photographer and film co-director. 

“This award is for all the people who work hard for endangered species, even smaller ones like toads. Anyone can make a difference and help create impact.”

Produced by the Wilderness Committee, Toad People tells the story of individuals, families and communities across western British Columbia taking action to save endangered species in their own backyards. For years, the team documented intensive community efforts to save species at risk in British Columbia and explored the urgent need for a B.C. endangered species law. 

“I was overwhelmed by the fact that we were nominated for an Impact Award in the first place, at the most prestigious wildlife film festival in the world,” said Mike McKinlay, award-winning cinematographer and film co-director. “I’ll never forget the feeling at that single moment when the words ‘and the winner is...’ were followed by ‘Toad People.’ It was truly unforgettable.”

For the Wilderness Committee and the film’s production team, the win is bittersweet. The film’s passionate producer Gwen Barlee, policy director for the Wilderness Committee, passed away six months after its completion. Barlee saw the film as a way to build support for a B.C. endangered species law.

“This film really was a labour of love,” said Wilderness Committee Co-Executive Director Joe Foy. “It’s very exciting to have a locally made film about local people and species win on the world stage. We are looking forward to the day that Barlee’s dream of a B.C. law to protect endangered plants and animals comes true.”

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For more information, please contact:

Isabelle Groc | isabellegroc.com
604-816-6903, isabelle.groc@gmail.com

Mike McKinlay | mikemckinlay.com
604-240-5706, info@mikemckinlay.com

Joe Foy | Co-Executive Director,  Wilderness Committee
604-880-2580, joe@wildernesscommittee.org