To maximise the experience that students gain from attending the course and to ensure the most professional tuition - spaces are limited to 10 students per course.


Course dates

The course dates for 2010 are:

  • 16 July – 15 August – fully booked
  • 14 September - 14 October
  • 14 October - 13 November

The course dates for 2011 are:

  • 06 February - 08 March - fully booked
  • 13 March - 12 April
  • 17 April - 17 May
  • 22 May - 21 June
  • 26 June - 26 July
  • 31 July - 30 August
  • 04 September - 04 October
  • 09 October - 08 November
  • 13 November - 13 December

If you are interested in a course which is fully booked, please email us, as there may be a cancellation.

Course fee

The course fee at present is R 27 500.00 (ZAR - South African Rand). This fee is subject to a 10% increase each year.

The course fee covers:

  • Transfers from OR Tambo, Johannesburg International airport, to the Academy and return.

  • Accommodation for the entire course and daily meals which include an early morning snack, light lunch and dinner.

  • All game drives.

  • All lectures and tuition by well known professional filmmaking experts in their chosen fields.

  • Access to camera equipment for practicals and lectures.

  • Experienced filmmaker and assistant on hand to give tuition during the location shoot.

  • Individual Apple iMac edit suites using Final Cut Studio, Soundtrack Pro, Livetype and DVD Studio Pro.

  • Course handouts and notes.

  • Laundry once a week.

  • Access to library reading material including journals and magazines.

  • Access to wildlife films to view.

  • Assistance in arranging internships after the course should you request it.

  • DVD master of your film to keep with your certificate of completion.

  • One free entry to the Wild Talk Africa film festival and conference, www.wildtalkafrica.com worth R3000 (approximately £250 and $450).

What the fee does not include:

  • Flights and travel expenses from your home country to Johannesburg.

  • Stationary.

  • +- 5 Sony Mini DV tapes which you can buy from Academy (R45 per tape) and +- 3 DVD discs (R5 per disc).

  • Any additional lenses or filters you may want to use on your camera.

  • Personal expenses, eg. alcoholic beverages, phone calls and tips to staff etc.

Assistance with Course Fee
With the support of the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa (NFVF), assistance with the course fee has been made available to South African citizens from African descent.

To qualify for this support, prospective students need to do the following:

Fill in the online application form and then send a motivational letter detailing why you are interested in this course, what you plan to do after the course, list any previous wildlife or filmmaking experience (if any), and motivate why you should receive financial assistance, to
marketing@wildlifefilmacademy.com please include your ID number in this letter. The Wildlife Film Academy will contact you if you have been successful.


International Travel and Visas:

Students can enter South Africa on a tourist visa, this is subject to not staying longer than 3 months from the date of entry and having proof of a return flight home. On a tourist visa no income can be earned in South Africa.

Please check with the South African embassy before you book your flight to South Africa as visa information may have changed.

Should you require a letter from the Wildlife Film Academy to facilitate a visa application please email marketing@wildlifefilmacademy.com together with your passport number and course date. Please note that this letter can only be sent once the 10% deposit has been paid.