Kingdoms of Fire, Ice & Fairy Tales (2020)

Missing travel? Kingdoms of Fire, Ice & Fairy Tales will transport you to three of earth’s iconic wildernesses: Yellowstone National Park in America; the Black Forest in Germany; and the Arctic Circle in Swedish Lapland. These are lands where waters boil, trees talk and the skies light up as if they are on fire. Lands where bears and wolves rule, where the planet never forgets to remind us of its power. Timeless lands that reveal what life was like a million years ago.

Presenter Bonné de Bod and film director Susan Scott previously collaborated on STROOP – Journey Into The Rhino Horn War, which won over 30 awards around the world. “Bonné and I were absolutely gutted after making STROOP and felt like we needed to find the wonder that is out there in the natural world,” says Susan.

Not that filming Kingdoms of Fire, Ice & Fairy Tales turned out to be a holiday for them: they filmed in extremes – from temperatures bordering minus 20º in the Arctic Circle to the scalding thermal vents of Yellowstone’s super-volcano and then onto the immense challenge of bringing trees to life in the densely packed Black Forest.

In 2021, Kingdoms of Fire, Ice & Fairy Tales scooped Impact DOCS awards for Best Documentary, Cinematography, Script and Title design as well as two Awards of Excellence for Bonné de Bod’s on-screen presenting and narration.

These are on top of the Best Travel/Nature Documentary Award at the New York Cinematography Awards, and the nomination at the 2021 International Wildlife Film Festival (IWFF) for Best Feature Documentary.

Acclaimed film critic Leon van Nierop says, “Kingdoms is breathtaking, but it is the enthusiasm and respect with which Bonné de Bod observes nature that makes it so remarkable. The way in which she almost becomes one with the landscapes is what is the driving force behind this film.”

The result is an awe-inspiring reminder that there is a planet waiting…