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The Serengeti Rules

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The Serengeti Rules
Directed byNicolas Brown
Produced byDavid Allen
StarringGreg Kriek
Ashlyn Jade Lopez
Johnathan Newport
CinematographyTim Cragg
Edited byAndy R. Worboys
Music byAnne Nikitin
Production
companies
Distributed byAbramorama
Release dates
  • April 21, 2018 (2018-04-21) (Tribeca)
  • May 10, 2019 (2019-05-10) (United States)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The Serengeti Rules is a 2018 American documentary film directed by Nicolas Brown, and based on the book by Sean B. Carroll.[1][2][3] The film explores the discoveries of five pioneering scientists—Tony Sinclair, Mary E. Power, Bob Paine, John Terborgh, and Jim Estes—whose decades of research laid the groundwork for modern ecology and offer hope that environmentalists today may be able to “upgrade” damaged ecosystems by understanding the rules that govern them.[4][5][6]

The film was produced by David Allen. Executive producers are David Guy Elisco, John Battsek and Dennis WC. Liu.[7] The Serengeti Rules received support from Science Sandbox, an initiative of the Simons Foundation.[8] The Serengeti Rules premiered April 21, 2018 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released theatrically in select theaters in North America beginning on May 10, 2019 at the Quad Cinema in New York City.[9][10][11][12] The Serengeti Rules aired as an episode of the PBS series Nature on October 9, 2019.

The Serengeti Rules features the song “Society”, performed by Eddie Vedder, and written by Jerry Hannan.[13]

Synopsis

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Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth—from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools—they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life. Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology—Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Mary Power, Tony Sinclair, and John Terborgh—share the stories of their adventures, and how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head. Across the globe, they discovered that among the millions of species on our planet, some are far more important than others. They called these species keystone species, because they hold the natural world together.

The role of keystones is both revelatory and surprising: sea otters help kelp forests flourish, supporting everything from salmon to eagles; wolves enable rivers to run clear and help forests thrive; and the humble wildebeest controls the numbers of trees, butterflies, elephants, and even giraffes on the savanna.

Unfortunately, these deep connections also work in reverse. When keystones are removed, ecosystems unravel and collapse—a phenomenon no one had imagined—or understood until their revolutionary discoveries. But with new knowledge also comes new hope, and these same visionaries reveal the remarkable resilience of nature—and how the rules they discovered can be used to upgrade and restore the natural world. They give us the chance to reimagine the world as it could and should be.

Based on the book by Sean B. Carroll, The Serengeti Rules will forever change the way we see nature.[14]

Awards

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The Serengeti Rules has received the following awards:

  • 2019 Chuck Jonkel Scientific Legacy Award, International Wildlife Film Festival[15]
  • 2019 Best Environmental Film, Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival[16]
  • 2018 Wildscreen Panda Award: Smithsonian Channel Best Theatrical Film, Wildscreen Film Festival[17][18]
  • 2018 Jackson Hole Science Media Award for Editing[19][20]
  • 2018 Golden Owl Award, Best Science Documentary, Bergen International Film Festival[21]
  • 2018 Green Fire Award, American Conservation Film Festival[22][23]
  • 2018 Family Friendly Documentary, Maui Film Festival[24]
  • 2019 Best Environmental Film, Sedona International Film Festival[25]
  • 2019 Best Film, Ocean Environment; Best Film, Audience Choice; Waimea Ocean Film Festival[26]
  • 2019 Prix Grand Écran, Festival international du film scientifique Pariscience[27]
  • 2020 News & Documentary Emmy Award nominee for Best Nature Documentary.[28]

Cast

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  • Tony Sinclair (scientist, as himself)
  • Greg Kriek (Young Tony Sinclair)
  • Mary Power  (scientist, as herself)
  • Ashlyn Jade Lopez (Mary Power age 8)
  • Samantha Nugent (Mary Power age 33)
  • Bob Paine (scientist, as himself)
  • Matthieson McCrae (Young Bob Paine)
  • John Terborgh (scientist, as himself)
  • Johnathan Newport (Young John Terborgh)
  • Jim Estes (scientist, as himself)
  • Jaime Excell (Young Jim Estes)
  • Sean B. Carroll (scientist, as himself)
  • Laurie Spiegel (Mary Power’s Mother)[29]

References

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  1. ^ Regan, Chelsea (2019-04-07). "PBS International & HHMI Tangled Bank Partner on Science Docs". TVREAL. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  2. ^ "MIPTV '19: PBS Int'l inks distribution partnership with Tangled Bank Studios". Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  3. ^ "The Serengeti Rules | Tangled Bank Studios". www.tangledbankstudios.org. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  4. ^ "About The Film". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  5. ^ Mongilio, Heather. "Best of Fest to take viewers to the Serengeti, U.S.-Mexico Border and Denmark". The Frederick News-Post. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  6. ^ "The Serengeti Rules Offers Hope For Our Ecology :: The Pavlovic Today". The Serengeti Rules Offers Hope For Our Ecology :: The Pavlovic Today. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  7. ^ "Press information for The Serengeti Rules theatrical release". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  8. ^ ""The Serengeti Rules" To Premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival". Simons Foundation. 2018-03-09. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  9. ^ Ide2018-04-21T21:00:00+01:00, Wendy. "'The Serengeti Rules': Tribeca Review". Screen. Retrieved 2019-04-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ "The Serengeti Rules | Tribeca Film Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  11. ^ "Tribeca". Tribeca. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  12. ^ "Now Playing". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  13. ^ "Press information for The Serengeti Rules theatrical release". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  14. ^ "Press information for The Serengeti Rules theatrical release". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  15. ^ "Home • International Wildlife Film Festival". International Wildlife Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  16. ^ "VIMFF 2019 Film Awards". VIMFF | Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  17. ^ "Panda Awards". Wildscreen. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  18. ^ "2018 Wildscreen Panda Award winners revealed". Wildscreen. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  19. ^ "Wildlife-film.com Feature Page - Jackson Hole Science Media Awards Announces 2018 Winners". www.wildlife-film.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  20. ^ "HHMI TANGLED BANK STUDIOS WINS AN EMMY, TOP JACKSON HOLE SCIENCE MEDIA AWARDS, AND SWEEPS THE GIANT SCREEN CINEMA ASSOCIATION HONORS". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  21. ^ "Passion Pictures Films – More". Pictures Films. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  22. ^ "2018 Film Schedule – American Conservation Film Festival | ACFF". Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  23. ^ "The 2018 American Conservation Film Festival: Inspiring Change, Offering Solutions". Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  24. ^ "Maui Film Festival". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  25. ^ "2019 Festival Award Winners". Sedona International Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  26. ^ "Festival Awards • Waimea Ocean Film Festival". Waimea Ocean Film Festival. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
  27. ^ "Palmarès 2019" (PDF). Pariscience (in French). Retrieved 2019-11-08.
  28. ^ 2020-41st-News-Doc-Emmy-Awards-Nominations-Rev-10.09.20.pdf (PDF), retrieved 2021-04-25
  29. ^ "Press information for The Serengeti Rules theatrical release". The Serengeti Rules. Retrieved 2019-04-23.
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