Overview
Jackson Wild (formerly the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival) is the leading organization in nature, wildlife, and conservation media. Founded in 1991 and based in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Jackson Wild runs two main programs: the Jackson Wild Media Awards and the Jackson Wild Summit. The Media Awards are widely recognized as the highest honor in natural history filmmaking, often described as "nature film's equivalent to the Oscars."
The 2025 Jackson Wild Summit took place September 29 to October 3, 2025, at Grand Teton National Park and downtown Jackson, Wyoming. The summit included film screenings of Media Awards finalists, workshops, panel sessions, wildlife tours, and the Grand Teton Awards Gala on October 2, 2025, at the Center for the Arts in Jackson. The 2025 Grand Teton Award was won by YANUNI, produced by Malaika Pictures, Appian Way, Nia Tero, Age of Union, Tellux, and OFI+.
For 2026, Jackson Wild has partnered with the Hollywood Climate Summit to launch an expanded awards program. The 2026 Jackson Wild Media Awards and Hollywood Climate Summit Awards use a shared entry portal, with winners from both organizations announced at a joint awards gala in Los Angeles in November 2026. This represents a significant shift from the traditional Jackson Hole biennial summit model to a Los Angeles-based awards ceremony.
Submission Details
Submissions for the 2026 Media Awards are open through Submittable. Films and content must have been completed after June 1, 2025 (with exceptions for Impact Campaign and Narration categories). The deadline for Jackson Wild Media Awards entries is May 8, 2026, at 11:59 PM MT. The Hollywood Climate Summit Awards deadline is June 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM MT. Early bird pricing is available through April 1, 2026.
Jackson Wild Media Awards Categories and Entry Fees
| Category | Entry Fee |
|---|---|
| Animal Behavior | $180 |
| Ecosystem | $180 |
| Conservation | $180 |
| Planet in Crisis | $180 |
| People & Nature | $180 |
| Limited Series | $240 |
| Long Form (over 40 min) | $240 |
| Investigative | $180 |
| Global Stories | $50 |
| Onscreen Personality | $180 |
| Narration (new category) | $180 |
| Student (enrolled or within 2 years) | $50 |
| Documentary Short (new category) | $150 |
| Digital Short (new category) | $100 |
| Cinematography | $180 |
| Editing | $180 |
| Original Music Score | $180 |
| Writing | $180 |
Shared Categories (Jackson Wild + Hollywood Climate Summit)
| Category | Entry Fee |
|---|---|
| Content Creator Award | $50 |
| Social Media | $50 |
| Branded Content | $125 |
| Impact Campaign | $50 |
Hollywood Climate Summit Categories (Fiction and Expanded Media)
| Category | Entry Fee |
|---|---|
| Narrative Feature (75+ min) | $70 |
| Narrative Short (under 40 min) | $50 |
| Television Series Scripted Drama | $70 |
| Television Series Scripted Comedy | $70 |
| Television Series Unscripted | $70 |
| Video Game | $50 |
| Comedy Special | $50 |
| Digital Series (under 22 min) | $50 |
| Podcast (2 episodes) | $50 |
Key Eligibility Rules
- Films must have been completed after June 1, 2025
- Impact Campaign entries must have been active between June 2025 and June 2026 (no film completion date requirement)
- Documentary Short: under 40 minutes
- Digital Short: under 10 minutes
- Student entries: must be currently enrolled or no more than 2 years out of a program; Film Lab or Fellowship participants also qualify
- Films may be submitted to both a Jackson Wild category and a Hollywood Climate Summit category using the same form
- Early bird pricing ends April 1, 2026 at 11:59 PM MT
Awards and Prizes
The 2026 awards structure combines Jackson Wild's traditional nature and wildlife categories with Hollywood Climate Summit's climate and narrative categories. The top prize remains the Grand Teton Award, given to the most outstanding natural history film of the year. Additional Jackson Wild categories include Animal Behavior, Ecosystem, Conservation, Planet in Crisis, People & Nature, Limited Series, Long Form, Investigative, Cinematography, Editing, Original Music Score, Writing, Onscreen Personality, and the new Narration category.
Shared categories judged by combined juries from both organizations include Content Creator, Social Media, Branded Content, and Impact Campaign.
Hollywood Climate Summit categories recognize climate and nature storytelling across narrative features, narrative shorts, scripted and unscripted television, video games, comedy specials, digital series, and podcasts.
Cash prizes are not publicly listed for the 2026 cycle. The primary value of a Jackson Wild Media Award is industry recognition: the awards are judged by experienced wildlife filmmakers, natural history broadcasters, and conservation media professionals. Winning or being named a finalist carries significant weight in the natural history production community and can influence commissioning decisions by broadcasters like BBC Natural History Unit, National Geographic, and PBS Nature.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Industry Orientation
Jackson Wild is primarily an industry event, not a public film festival. The Summit brings together wildlife cinematographers, natural history producers, scientists, broadcasters, and conservation organizations. If you work in natural history or wildlife filmmaking, the Summit is where you meet commissioning editors from the major natural history broadcasters. The 2025 Summit included sessions like "Word from the Herd" (rapid-fire perspectives from leaders in storytelling, conservation, and funding), "Wild Women" (pioneering women in natural history storytelling), behind-the-scenes wildlife cinematography panels, and "Creators in the Wild" / "YouTube, You Win!" sessions connecting traditional storytellers with online content creators.
2026 Format Change
The 2026 edition marks a structural shift. Instead of the traditional biennial Jackson Hole summit with an in-person awards gala, the 2026 awards ceremony will take place in Los Angeles in November 2026 as a joint event with the Hollywood Climate Summit. This means the 2026 cycle does not include the traditional Jackson Hole Summit programming. Filmmakers who attended past summits specifically for the Jackson Hole networking experience should verify whether summit-style programming will be offered separately or if the 2026 format is awards-only.
Submission Strategy
The shared entry portal means a single submission can be considered for both Jackson Wild and Hollywood Climate Summit categories. If your film addresses both wildlife/nature and climate themes, submit to a Jackson Wild category and a Hollywood Climate Summit category simultaneously. The entry fees are per category, so submitting to multiple categories increases costs but also increases recognition chances.
For student filmmakers, the $50 student entry fee is significantly lower than the standard $180 for most categories. The new Documentary Short ($150) and Digital Short ($100) categories provide lower-cost entry points for shorter work.
My World Film Grant
Jackson Wild, in partnership with Amberjack Films and Schoolyard Films, offers the My World Film Grant for early-stage filmmakers. The grant funds a short 10 to 20 minute nature or environmental film, with mentorship through the editorial process and distribution support. This is a separate application from the Media Awards, with its own submission on Submittable.
Practical Considerations
Jackson Hole is accessible via Jackson Hole Airport (JAC), located within Grand Teton National Park. The town has limited accommodation, and rates during the Summit are high. Past summits have been based at Jackson Lake Lodge and downtown Jackson venues. For the 2026 Los Angeles awards, venue and logistics details had not been announced as of early 2026.
The 2025 Summit ran programming 9 AM to 5 PM Monday through Thursday, with evening events including a film premiere and sunset reception (Monday and Tuesday), a National Geographic Western BBQ (Wednesday), and the Grand Teton Awards Gala (Thursday). Daily wildlife tours and camera excursions were offered as supplementary programming.
Festival History
Jackson Wild was founded in 1991 as the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival. For over three decades, it operated as a biennial event in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, combining an industry conference with a competitive film festival focused on natural history and wildlife filmmaking. The Grand Teton Award established itself as the most recognized prize in the wildlife film industry.
The organization rebranded from "Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival" to "Jackson Wild" to reflect its expanded scope beyond traditional wildlife documentary into broader nature, conservation, and environmental storytelling across all media formats. The rebrand also acknowledged the organization's year-round programming, including the Summit, Media Awards, and filmmaker development programs.
The 2026 partnership with the Hollywood Climate Summit represents the most significant structural change in the organization's history. By combining the natural history focus of Jackson Wild with the climate storytelling focus of the Hollywood Climate Summit, the joint awards program recognizes nature and climate content across documentary, narrative film, television, video games, digital media, and podcasts. The move to Los Angeles for the 2026 awards ceremony positions the event closer to the mainstream entertainment industry while maintaining its natural history core.
Recent Grand Teton Award winners include YANUNI (2025), produced by Malaika Pictures, Appian Way, Nia Tero, Age of Union, Tellux, and OFI+.
See Also
Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. Estimate your acceptance probability with the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator. For documentary filmmaking strategy, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. For festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For the International Wildlife Film Festival in Missoula, see IWFF Missoula. Submit through the Jackson Wild Submittable portal or visit the official website.
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