‘Nuisance Bear’ Directors on Why Their ‘Super-Scrappy,’ A24-Backed Sundance Winner Isn’t a ‘Traditional Nature Documentary’
#Nuisance Bear#Sundance Film Festival#documentary#polar bear#Manitoba#A24#Jack Weisman#Gabriela Osio Vanden
📌 Key Takeaways
Nuisance Bear won Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival
Evolved from acclaimed 2021 short film about polar bear migration
A24's documentary division came on board as producers
Filmmakers describe it as 'super-scrappy' approach to nature documentaries
Challenges conventional formats in nature filmmaking
📖 Full Retelling
Canadian filmmakers Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden celebrated their unconventional documentary 'Nuisance Bear' winning the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, a feature project that evolved from their acclaimed 2021 short film about polar bear migration in Manitoba after gaining recognition from both New Yorker Studios and an Academy Awards shortlist. The directors knew they had created something special when their 14-minute short was picked up by The New Yorker following its Toronto International Film Festival premiere, but neither could predict the remarkable journey that would lead to A24's now-shuttered documentary division coming on board as producers for the feature-length version. 'Nuisance Bear' stands apart from traditional nature documentaries by adopting what the filmmakers describe as a 'super-scrappy' approach to capturing the annual polar bear migration, offering viewers an intimate and unvarnished look at these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat without the typical polished narration or dramatic score that characterizes the genre. The film's success at Sundance marks a significant milestone for the Canadian directors and highlights the growing appetite for innovative documentary storytelling that challenges conventional formats and approaches to nature filmmaking.
🏷️ Themes
Documentary Innovation, Nature Conservation, Canadian Cinema, Film Festival Circuit
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted as a showcase for new work from American and internationa...
Manitoba is a province of Canada at the longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's fifth-most populous province, with a population estimated at 1,507,057 in 2025. Manitoba has a widely varied landscape, from arctic tundra and the Hudson Bay coastline in the north to dense boreal forest, larg...
Mar 4, 2026 4:06am PT ‘Nuisance Bear’ Directors on Why Their ‘Super-Scrappy,’ A24-Backed Sundance Winner Isn’t a ‘Traditional Nature Documentary’ By Christopher Vourlias Plus Icon Christopher Vourlias Latest Joburg Film Festival Head on Celebrating ‘Unseen Hands Behind Filmmaking,’ Growing Next Generation of South African Moviegoers 2 days ago JBX Market Head on How Johannesburg Event Is ‘Helping Shape’ Future of Africa’s Screen Industries 2 days ago ‘Rising Giants’ Documentary Set to Follow Fate of Africa’s World Cup Hopefuls in Search of Elusive Soccer Glory 2 days ago See All Canadian filmmakers Jack Weisman and Gabriela Osio Vanden knew they were onto something when their short film “Nuisance Bear,” an unconventional nature documentary centered on the annual polar bear migration in Manitoba, was picked up by the New Yorker Studios following its Toronto Film Festival premiere in 2021 and shortlisted for the Academy Awards. But while the 14-minute short was conceived as “proof of concept” for a feature-length documentary, neither filmmaker could predict the success to come, with A24 ’s now-shuttered doc division coming on board as producers and the “ Nuisance Bear ” feature winning the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary at this year’s Sundance Film Festival . Related Stories Japan Exports Hit Formats But Imports Few, WIT Says at Mip London
