The best children’s documentary at the Golden Bee International Children’s Film Festival in New Delhi, India, was a South African children’s documentary series called “Siyaya – Come Wild With Us,” which attempts to ignite young viewers’ interest in learning more about the natural world.
The series won the award for outstanding children’s documentary for bridging the gap between young children and nature. The festival had 186 submissions from 18 countries, with three categories: best documentary, best short film, and best feature film.
Dr Francois Odendaal, a prominent biologist and the series’ director, remarked, “How can we expect future generations to care for nature, our wild places, and the magnificent creatures in them if they don’t have the opportunity to learn to appreciate nature.” The festival director, Rao Narender Yadav, said the series has all the components of an invigorating experience. “A great visual treat for all,” Yadav said of the series, which “puts children in the lap of nature, exploring, learning, and most importantly, understanding nature.”
SA National Parks, CapeNature, and Wesgro, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, collaborated to make the series possible. SANParks acting CEO Luthando Dziba stated the organisation’s delight in being a part of the creation and production of Siyaya since its inception ten years ago.
“We believe in building a successful, ecologically conscious nation where people live in harmony with nature and reap long-term advantages from its vast biological diversity,” Dziba said. The documentary series has aired in more than half of the world’s countries and is available locally on various platforms, including SABC2 and the Mindset Network on DStv. It is also available on video-on-demand streaming service Showmax.
The fifth season will premiere on SABC2 on October 6 at 4 p.m., with episodes airing every Wednesday. According to SANParks, the first three seasons have already been licensed by major networks such as National Geographic.
