Planet Earth III’s episode about Sơn Đoòng Cave received Emmy nominations

Officially surveyed on April 14, 2009, Sơn Đoòng Cave is certified by Guinness World Records as the largest cave in the world. Photo courtesy of Oxalis Adventure

HÀ NỘI — The television series Planet Earth III received five nominations at the 2024 Emmy Awards, including two nominations for Episode 6 – Extremes, with scenes of Việt Nam’s Sơn Đoòng Cave.

Episode 6 – Extremes received nominations in two categories, including ‘Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program’ and ‘Outstanding Music Composition For A Documentary Series Or Special (Original Dramatic Score)’.

Planet Earth III, the third installment in the Planet Earth series, is a 2023 British nature documentary series co-produced by BBC Studios, BBC America, and other studios.

Presented by British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian and writer David Attenborough, the series embarks on a journey to the far reaches of the planet Earth as he documents some of the world’s most amazing species.

Episode 6 showcases the remarkable strategies animals use to endure harsh environmental conditions in a world of extremes, such as Ellesmere wolves in Ellesmere Island, Canada or Golden-shouldered parrots in Cape York, in Queensland, Australia.

“These are the remotest parts of our planet, hard for us to reach. There remain many surprising secrets hidden here. The extremes are still home to Earth’s greatest natural wonders, but in our rapidly changing world, this could be planet Earth as you never see it again,” David Attenborough said.

In Sơn Đoòng Cave, the BBC series explores the blind, white cave fish that live in small water pools, subsisting on nutrients that flow in from the jungle above.

The series described the cave fish as “rarely seen species” because “it’s hard to say how rare they are because there is so little known about them!”.

Producer and Director Theo Webb said Sơn Đoòng Cave was his favourite: “It is the most remarkable place that I have ever been to and spending 18 days living underground inside was an immense privilege.”

Using lightweight drones, high-speed cameras, remotely operated deep-sea submersibles and other new technologies, the show travels to unseen landscapes all across the globe and considers how the natural world has reached a critical juncture in its long history.

Composers Hans Zimmer, Jacob Shea and Sara Barone brought the episode to life, creating a vivid and engaging soundscape that takes audiences deeper into the breathtaking natural world.

After being released on BBC One, Planet Earth III was officially premiered worldwide at the end of last year.

Originally discovered in 1991 by a Vietnamese man called Hồ Khanh, Sơn Đoòng Cave is located in the Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, Quảng Bình and was recognised as a world natural heritage by UNESCO.

It was surveyed by the British Royal Cave Research Association (BRCA) in 2009. Measuring a total of 38.5 million cubic metres, Sơn Đoòng Cave is currently the largest natural cave in the world, as recognised by Guinness World Records in 2013.

The cave has become the backdrop for many internationally famous programmes thanks to Good Morning America on US channel ABC in 2015 and MV Alone Pt II by British-born Norwegian DJ Alan Walker in 2019, which has promoted it as a new symbol of Việt Nam’s tourism sector.

The Emmy Awards are given out annually by the US Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, recognising outstanding artists and artworks for the American and international television industry.

The Emmys 2024 will be announced on September 15 on ABC. — VNS