This recognition celebrates the extraordinary cinematography at the heart of the series - a result of innovation, endurance and a commitment to capturing the natural world in ways never seen before.

In some of the most extreme environments across the southern hemisphere, our crews went above and beyond in pursuit of the most powerful imagery. They devoted two summers and a full Antarctic winter to documenting the life cycle of emperor penguins at Atka Bay. Filming in Antarctica is always challenging, but the long, lightless winter presented unprecedented obstacles for the overwintering team.

Secrets of the Penguins became only the fifth production ever to send a specialist crew to live in a remote scientific research station in Antarctica for the entire winter. This allowed the team to work alongside an emperor penguin colony for nine gruelling months, capturing behaviours new even to science.

Enduring temperatures as low as –50°C, the crew documented not only the iconic march of the penguins, but also the remarkable survival strategies of the males as they huddled together to protect their eggs. Filming from above revealed the dynamic, shifting patterns of these huddles, offering new scientific insight into how the birds share warmth.

With the sun absent for six weeks, the team filmed the aurora australis shimmering over the colony, capturing in real time some of the most dramatic polar footage ever recorded.

The production also broke new ground technically. Our crew were the first to use advanced drone technology in the region, capturing the return of 20,000 emperor penguins, the “march of the penguins”, from a breathtaking aerial perspective never before seen on film.

As summer returned and the sea ice began to fracture, the team continued filming in highly unstable conditions. This seasonal transformation is critical for chick survival, but posed constant risks, requiring vigilant safety monitoring at all times.

One of the most remarkable sequences came as the chicks fledged. After tracking a group high on an ice shelf, the crew witnessed, and captured on film, hundreds of young penguins launching themselves from a 50-foot ice cliff into the ocean, a behaviour never previously filmed.

The sequence quickly gained worldwide attention, becoming one of National Geographic’s most-watched social media clips and earning recognition from outlets including National Geographic Magazine, The Guardian, and Nature as one of the defining wildlife images of 2024.

Through groundbreaking cinematography and extraordinary resilience in extreme conditions, Secrets of the Penguins offers a deeply immersive perspective on the world emperor penguins inhabit and a powerful insight into their adaptability and survival.

We are honoured to see the work of our exceptional cinematography team recognised by BAFTA, and would also like to thank our tireless production team and colleague at National Gerographic and Lightstorm Earth. We extend our congratulations to all fellow nominees.