Brad Bestelink

Camera

Brad Bestelink

Botswana born Artist and Filmmaker. A life intrinsically linked to the Okavango Delta. Creative Director of the Natural History Film Unit in Botswana

Known For

The FloodThe Flood · 2018
The Flood
6.92018
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
Surrounded by the unforgiving Kalahari Desert, the Okavango Delta is a lush, vibrant oasis that pulses with life each year as the great flood rejuvenates the land with the return of water. Witness how incredible animals – like leopards, elephants, lions, hippos and more – adapt to this unpredictable and changing landscape. When the lands are flooded, the Okavango Delta is both a sanctuary and a trap, giving and taking life in equal measure. Then, like a living, breathing ecosystem, the waters soon recede and life becomes about one thing – survival. The fate of the tens of thousands of animals that live in this place of spectacular natural drama is at stake.
Lion BrotherhoodLion Brotherhood · 2013
Lion Brotherhood
2013
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
It begins at the end: Tau is dying; a slow shutting-down creeps over his body. Its time to reflect. His life is over but it was well spent.
Surviving Paradise: A Family TaleSurviving Paradise: A Family Tale · 2022
Surviving Paradise: A Family Tale
7.02022
MovieDocumentary
In this wildlife drama, a worsening dry season in the Kalahari Desert leaves prides, packs and herds to rely on the power of family to survive.
Underwater OkavangoUnderwater Okavango · 2012
Underwater Okavango
2012
MovieDocumentary
Living with LeopardsLiving with Leopards · 2024
Living with Leopards
7.72024
MovieDocumentary
A film crew follows two leopard cubs as they make the fascinating journey from infancy into adulthood in this up-close-and-personal nature documentary.
Electric AmazonElectric Amazon · 2015
Electric Amazon
6.72015
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
The Amazon is one of the wildest and least explored parts of the planet. Encompassing 6 countries and 2 million square miles of forest, river and floodplain, it has the highest diversity of life on the planet, but what lies below it is truly shocking. In its deep muddy rivers, clear streams and expansive floodplains a freak-show of fish life has exploded, with some of the strangest shapes and weirdest adaptations on Earth. Hiding in the vast rivers and streams is an electric grid, a bizarre community of fish with a highly sophisticated electric sixth sense. Using electricity, these "Super" fish can communicate wirelessly, control each other remotely and emit shocks that can stop a human heart. This cryptic world has mystified scientists throughout the ages. Now an intrepid scientist, Will Crampton ventures back into the dark jungles where the inspiration for our technology driven world first emerged, in an attempt to unravel their secrets and unlock the electric code.
Blood Rivals: Lion vs BuffaloBlood Rivals: Lion vs Buffalo · 2014
Blood Rivals: Lion vs Buffalo
5.02014
MovieDocumentary
Lions and buffalo battle for survival on the African grassland.
Pride in BattlePride in Battle · 2010
Pride in Battle
9.02010
MovieDocumentary
A documentary which follows two lion brothers as they become rulers of a pride in Botswana after a battle for dominance.

Filmography

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Electric AmazonElectric Amazon · 2015
Electric Amazon
6.72015
MovieDocumentaryTV Movie
The Amazon is one of the wildest and least explored parts of the planet. Encompassing 6 countries and 2 million square miles of forest, river and floodplain, it has the highest diversity of life on the planet, but what lies below it is truly shocking. In its deep muddy rivers, clear streams and expansive floodplains a freak-show of fish life has exploded, with some of the strangest shapes and weirdest adaptations on Earth. Hiding in the vast rivers and streams is an electric grid, a bizarre community of fish with a highly sophisticated electric sixth sense. Using electricity, these "Super" fish can communicate wirelessly, control each other remotely and emit shocks that can stop a human heart. This cryptic world has mystified scientists throughout the ages. Now an intrepid scientist, Will Crampton ventures back into the dark jungles where the inspiration for our technology driven world first emerged, in an attempt to unravel their secrets and unlock the electric code.

Camera Operator

Okavango: A Flood of LifeOkavango: A Flood of Life · 2021
Okavango: A Flood of Life
8.02021
MovieDocumentary
A great flood arrives in a desert kingdom, transforming a dustbowl into a vast and lush wetland, in one of the most diverse habitats on earth. This breath-taking blue-chip natural history film is a journey through Okavango’s seasons, seen through the eyes of an indigenous River Bushman. Our storyteller guides us through the course of Okavango’s flood and into a savage drought, interweaving intimate and spectacular wildlife stories. The arrival and disappearance of precious water determines the destiny of the millions of animals that call Okavango home. For many, the flood is a lifeline. For others, it brings the greatest challenges. Everyone lives or dies by this epic event. It is the heartbeat of the Kalahari.

Director of Photography

Natural WorldNatural World · 1983
Natural World
7.41983
SeriesDocumentary
Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

Director