On Friday, October 17th, 2025, a new short film featuring the voices of renowned actors Sir Stephen Fry and Dame Joanna Lumley will be released. Titled “Act Now – Before Pictures Are All We Have Left,” the film is a powerful call to action to save the world’s wildlife before it’s too late.
Created by digital artist Nick Stone, the film was commissioned by conservation charity Explorers Against Extinction (EAE) and combines art, reality, and activism to deliver an emotional message. It serves as the centerpiece for EAE’s 2025 Sketch for Survival (SFS) campaign and fundraising art auction.
The film will be launched on October 17th, and bidding for the charity’s online auction will be open until November 23rd. The auction features over 150 original artworks and photographs donated by artists and photographers from around the world to raise funds for frontline conservation efforts.
Titled “A Vision of a World Without Wildlife – and the Hope to Change It,” the film depicts the natural habitats of threatened species being destroyed by human activity before placing them in the urban landscape of London. It features recognizable landmarks such as the Thames, London Eye, and Oxo Tower Wharf, the location of one of the charity’s exhibitions this November.
Fry and Lumley narrate the film, stating, “Natural habitats are vanishing. Destroyed by over-exploitation, pollution and climate change. And many species face extinction.” The film’s imagery is striking and poignant, with scenes of orangutans on the Tube, elephants walking past London buses, and a red panda clinging to a “Way Out” sign.
The film’s closing sequence shows various threatened species inside the Oxo Gallery, gazing up at artworks depicting their kind. These pieces will be featured in this year’s exhibition and auction. The film ends with a message of hope, stating, “We can make a difference. By working with conservation partners and communities worldwide we can protect endangered species and the habitats they need to survive. We must act now, before pictures are all we have left.”
All artworks in the Sketch for Survival collection are 100% donated to Explorers Against Extinction, a largely volunteer-led charity founded on the spirit of giving. The annual Sketch for Survival and Focus for Survival competitions celebrate creativity for conservation, with thousands of entries received from around the world. The finalists are exhibited and auctioned to raise funds for wildlife projects.
Since its inception nine years ago, artists from 119 nationalities have contributed to the Sketch for Survival campaign, each donating an original piece depicting a threatened species, at-risk wild space, or wider conservation story. This year’s 100 SFS finalist artworks alone feature more than 50 threatened species, from iconic elephants and big cats to lesser-known animals such as the spectacled flying fox, horned marsupial frog, and Cuban crocodile. All SFS100 artworks start at £100, while other auction lots vary in price.
Audiences can experience the film and view the Sketch for Survival collection at two UK exhibitions this autumn: Nature in Art in Gloucestershire from October 21st to November 16th (admission charges apply), and the Oxo Gallery at Oxo Tower Wharf in London from November 19th to 23rd (free admission).
Proceeds from the 2025 Sketch for Survival auction will support vital conservation initiatives with this year’s project partners, including the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust in Malawi, the Red Panda Network in Nepal, and the Wildlife Guardians Trust in India.
Sara White, Co-Founder of Explorers Against Extinction, stated, “This film captures exactly what we’re fighting to prevent – a world where habitats are eroded by human activity and wildlife exists only as memory, image, or in captivity. But it’s also a reminder that we can make a difference. Every artwork donated, every bid placed, every conversation sparked helps keep wild species where they belong – in the wild.”
The online auction will run from October 16th to November 23rd, and the film will be available to watch on October 17th at Explorers Against Extinction’s website. The exhibitions will take place at Nature in Art in Gloucestershire from October 21st to November 16th and the Oxo Gallery at Oxo Tower Wharf in London from November 19th to 23rd. For more information about Explorers Against Extinction, please visit their website or follow them on Instagram at @explorersagainstextinction.
