Award-Winning Conservation Storytelling at Sungani Lodge

In May 2025,  Sungani Lodge in Zambia’s South Luangwa National Park received a Silver award at the  International Tourism Film Festival Africa. The film that earned this recognition was a collaboration led by  Tommy Joyce and the team at  Triage Creative. For me, being part of this project carried far more meaning than the beauty of the images themselves. It was about telling a story that matters, a story about how tourism sustains wild places.

The film was created entirely on location in the South Luangwa Valley, a place where elephants move across river channels, leopards slip between winterthorn trees and birdlife fills the skies. To capture Sungani was to capture a living system where community, wildlife and travelers are bound together in a cycle of conservation.

Many safari films lean on familiar imagery, with sweeping sunsets, roaring lions and heavily produced portrayals of luxury. The story of Sungani called for something different. Yes, there were sweeping aerial views of the valley and close moments with a lioness resting in the shade or an elephant calf splashing in the shallows. But there was also the laughter of staff welcoming guests home, the stillness of the bush before dawn and the quiet anticipation of following fresh leopard tracks.

The heart of the film was not about a luxury escape but about a message. Tourism funds conservation and without it, these landscapes and the species that inhabit them would not survive.

At Sungani, every guest stay directly contributes to conservation. Tourism revenue supports anti poaching patrols, habitat restoration and monitoring programs for endangered species.

The model is built to include local communities. The lodge employs and trains residents from nearby villages, providing opportunities in guiding, hospitality and logistics. These jobs create ambassadors for conservation who carry the value of protecting wildlife back into their own communities. The result is a loop that is simple but powerful. Tourism generates revenue, revenue funds conservation, conservation protects wildlife, wildlife draws travelers and communities thrive.

Without this cycle, much of Africa’s wilderness would be lost. Sungani shows what is possible when travel is approached with responsibility and intention.

Winning at the ITFFA meant more than recognition for cinematic achievement. It validated that stories like this resonate across cultures and continents. For Sungani Lodge, the award brings global visibility and encourages more travelers to choose destinations that reinvest in conservation and community. For the creative team, it reaffirmed the belief that storytelling can move people to action.

For me, this project also felt deeply personal. During that same assignment in Zambia, Tommy proposed under a wide African sky, making Sungani not only the setting of an important conservation story but also the place where our own story took a new turn. The experience blended love, art, and purpose into a single chapter we will never forget.

The Sungani project did not end when the film was completed. Many of the images created during the assignment have become part of our fine art collections. In my own store,  Britt Elizabeth Art, collectors can bring home pieces that carry the spirit of Sungani, from elephants moving across the floodplains to the quiet glow of the Luangwa River. Tommy has also included his photography from this project in  Tommy Joyce Fine Art Photography, extending Sungani’s reach into homes, galleries and public spaces around the world.

Fine art prints serve as more than decoration. They become conversation starters and daily reminders of why these wild places matter. Each piece is both art and advocacy, carrying the story of conservation into everyday life.

Projects like Sungani remind me that films and photographs don’t just live on screens or wall, they ripple outward. Guests who watch the film may choose Sungani for their next journey, collectors who bring home a print may be moved to support conservation, and festival audiences may leave with a new understanding of Africa’s fragile ecosystems. Each layer expands the reach of the story, proving that visual storytelling can be as impactful as policy or science when it comes to protecting the natural world.

Conservation storytelling is at its strongest when it connects head to heart. Data and reports may outline the threats facing ecosystems, but film and photography allow people to feel them. That emotional connection often sparks action, whether it’s choosing a safari operator who invests in conservation, donating to a wildlife initiative, or simply carrying a new respect for wild places into daily life. 

The Sungani film is about amplifying a message that is urgent and enduring. Africa’s wild places depend on tourism not as a luxury but as a lifeline. Every journey taken with care and intention contributes directly to the protection of species and the survival of ecosystems.

As someone who has built a career telling stories in wild spaces, this project reminded me why I do this work. Cameras are more than tools for creating art or film. They are instruments of preservation. The images we make influence choices, inspire travelers and shape the way people value landscapes far beyond their own.

The award at ITFFA was an honor, but the greater success is knowing that Sungani’s story will reach more people, inspire more journeys and safeguard more of the Luangwa Valley for generations to come. Looking ahead, I believe conservation storytelling will only grow more critical. As climate change accelerates and biodiversity faces new threats, the role of filmmakers, photographers and storytellers is to bridge the gap between distant ecosystems and everyday lives.

When people can see and feel what is at stake, they are far more likely to protect it.