Noted filmmakers and conservationists Beverly and Dereck Joubert received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the recent South African Film and Television Awards held at Gallagher Estate in Midrand on 5 April.
Pioneers in African conservation, the world-renowned couple were honoured for the contribution to and development of South Africa’s flourishing film industry.
“We thank you for this award, it gives us a platform to talk about the things we care about,’ said Dereck in his acceptance speech. “Beverly and I are truly “children of Africa’, Bana Ba Naga, children of the bush.’
He continued, “We have this amazing common currency in Africa that is invaluable because it is a currency of the heart and soul. So it hurts us to see this being plundered from the East, for rhino horn and ivory and used as a playground by colonial hunters from the West.’
Dereck said that Africa loses a rhino every nine hours, five lions a day and five elephants every hour of the day. “This is an African problem and we’ve dedicated our lives to fix it, but we will only be able to do it with African solutions. We have hope and confidence that we can do this together because we are all Bana ba Naga Ban aba Afrika,’ he concluded.
The Jouberts have produced films in Southern Africa for the 30 years, many of which have raised awareness of the plight of the Big Cats and other iconic species that are under severe threat. One of the Jouberts’ early films, Eternal Enemies, has been seen by more than one billion people globally.
Their 2011 movie The Last Lions was filmed in Botswana and has since become a powerful ambassador for critically endangered lions. In less than a year the film reached over 350 million people and continues receiving a variety of international awards.
The leopard Legadema that features in the Jouberts’ Eye of the Leopard (2006) has become a global ambassador for leopards while drawing attention to the fur industry, which is destroying their numbers.
The Jouberts, as National Geographic Explorers-in-Residence, have also founded the Big Cats Initiative with National Geographic to further protect all of the big cats worldwide through on-the-ground projects, research, education and ongoing awareness campaigns.
Through Great Plains Conservation, Beverly and Dereck continue to champion Africa’s wildlife and habitat.
Visit www.wildlifefilms.co for more information on the films and photography of Dereck and Beverly Joubert.
For further information, visit www.greatplainsconservation.com.
