A Natural History New Zealand (NHNZ) series and a one-hour special have received accolades at the Fifth Japan Wildlife Film Festival, one of the industryŐs highest-regarded wildlife television festivals.

The Crystal Ocean won the Underwater Award, while the nine-part Wild Asia series picked up the Asia/Oceania Award at the festivalŐs gala ceremony in Japan on Sunday.

The festival, which is held every second year, attracted a record number of entries with 435 programmes sent in from more than 30 countries around the world. Only 15 prizes were awarded.

Receiving such prestigious awards helps confirm Natural History New ZealandŐs position as a leading producer of factual television programming, says NHNZ managing director Michael Stedman.

"This is wonderful news for NHNZ and our parent company Fox Television Studios. The Crystal Ocean and Wild Asia were up against other programmes and series of a very high standard so receiving these two awards is indeed a privilege and a tribute to the hard work and dedication involved in making top quality natural history television."

In 2000 The Crystal OceanŐs producer/cinematographer Michael Single won an Emmy¨ award for Individual Achievement: Cinematographers. The one-hour programme, which is a spectacular exploration of the cycle of freeze and thaw in the oceans around Antarctica, is a co-production with WNET.

Wild Asia, a nine part series encompassing the diversity of habitats and animals on the largest continent on earth, has also won a number of prizes, including the prestigious NHK PresidentŐs Prize at the 2001 Banff Rockie Awards in Canada (for the episode Creatures of the Thaw). It also picked up a best animal behaviour award at the International World Wildlife Festival earlier this year for rare footage of the Himalayan snow leopard featured in the episode At the Edge. The series is a co-production with NHK in Japan, Discovery Channel and NDR in Germany.

The Japanese festivalŐs judges said they recognised the challenge involved in co-producing such a series internationally, and believe Wild Asia succeeded in capturing the essence of AsiaŐs natural world.

NHNZ producer Judith Curran also enjoyed success at the film festival. Her film Island Life Ń Christmas Island, made for ABC (Australia) won The Nature and People Award.

Island Life Ń Christmas Island is the story of the biological invasion of ants on Christmas Island, and how they are wiping out the famous migrating red crabs. The film won one of the top awards at the International Film Festival in Milano earlier this year.

The Fifth Japan Wildlife Film Festival took place from August 23-26 in Toyama, North Japan.

Natural History New Zealand is a Fox Television Studios company based in Dunedin, New Zealand. It produces a range of wildlife, science, health and adventure programming for broadcasters around the world.