A NEW wildlife film festival showcasing the best film and photography in Dumfries has been hailed a huge success with over 2,500 visitors recorded.
Organisers of the Wild Film Festival Scotland, which took place from Friday last week until Sunday had special guests including Springwatch’s Iolo Williams, Simon King of the Big Cat Diary and the woman dubbed the “human swan”, Sacha Dench.
Williams said: “It’s such a fantastic idea, and really refreshing, to have a festival like this somewhere outside a big city. It’s a chance to get out and enjoy the countryside as well as seeing films and hearing speakers.
“And there’s so much in Dumfries and Galloway, with the Solway Firth and all the great reserves there are here. It’s also within easy reach of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Carlisle, Newcastle and so many other places.”
Festival organiser Sid Ambrose described it at as a “fantastic weekend” with wonderful weather attracting thousands of visitors to the town.
He said: It was a great way to showcase this beautiful part of Scotland at its very best. This was the first event of its kind in Scotland and we’d really like to thank everyone who took part, including the public who came along to enjoy the events and all the volunteers, sponsors and supporters who made it happen.”
Ed Forrest, from the Southern Uplands Partnership which is behind the festival, added: “We have had so much positive feedback from this event – it has been quite remarkable and we very much hope this will the first of many Wild Film Festival Scotlands.”
The three-day event featured 30 films and 20 speakers including Rewilding expert David Ballharry and leading climate change scientist Professor Pete Smith.
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