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Gunjan Menon
Born
Delhi,[citation needed] India
Alma mater
Occupations
  • Wildlife Film Director
  • Writer
  • Cinematographer
  • Presenter
  • Conservationist
Years active2012–present
Notable workThe Firefox Guardian

Gunjan Menon is an Indian wildlife film director, camerawoman, and National Geographic Explorer.[3]

Her work predominantly focuses on conservation and human-interest stories and has been broadcast on Animal Planet India, Discovery Channel India, National Geographic, BBC Earth, and Disney+Hotstar. In 2018, she directed, shot and edited The Firefox Guardian,[4][5][6] her debut film about the life of the first female forest guardian to work with Red Panda Network in Nepal, which premiered in Bristol, England. The film was noted for highlighting the role of community-driven conservation of red pandas and for having an intersectional and cross-genre approach in natural history storytelling.[7][8][9][10] In 2020, she directed a seven part web-series, Rajasthan Royals, which highlights the lesser-known habitat, species, and communities living in and around the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary. She is currently working on her first feature-length documentary supported by the National Geographic Society.[5]

Gunjan is the recipient of the Jackson Wild Rising Star Award, 2020, given to leaders in nature, conservation and science media.[2][1]

Education

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Menon graduated in 2018 with an MA in Wildlife Filmmaking from the University of West of England, Bristol, a specialised degree offered in partnership with BBC-Natural History Unit. She received her bachelor's degree in audio visual communication from Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication, Pune, Maharashtra in 2014.[11]

Career

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In addition to her professional role as a storyteller, Menon is also a conservation communicator and filmmaking mentor. She is a TEDx speaker and been invited as a panellist and speaker to several film festivals and seminars including Jackson Wild in Wyoming, Nature Environment Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) Congress in Durban, South Africa, the Green Hub in Tezpur, and several other events in India. She also takes guest lectures and inspires school and college students to use wildlife filmmaking as a tool for change.[12][13] She is currently a Girls Who Click partner photographer, leading workshops for female-identifying teenagers and a mentor for youngsters wishing to break into the field of wildlife filmmaking.[14] In 2021, she was invited as a speaker to the India Today Conclave in New Delhi as a part of the "Defenders of the Earth" panel to discuss the role young conservationists can play in making environmental concerns a global priority.[15][16]

Wildlife films

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Year Title Credit Network Links
2018 The Firefox Guardian Director, Camera, Editor Shorts TV (Amazon Prime) Official Trailer
2018 On The Brink, Season 1 Assistant Director, Shooting Researcher, Sound Animal Planet India, Discovery India, Disney+Hotstar 8 episodes, Season Trailer
2019 On The Brink, Season 2 Editor National Geographic India, Disney+Hotstar 1 episode, Indian Pangolin
2020 Rajasthan Royals Writer, director, Camera Roundglass Sustain Episode 1: Beyond the Fortress

Episode 2: Muskaan, the Leopard Queen

Episode 3: Kumbhalgarh through the eyes of a Forest Guard

Episode 4: Home Affairs

Episode 5: Black Magic

2021 Episode 6: Lakes of Udaipur

Episode 7: Menar: A Lesson In Love

TBA Born to be Wild Director, Camera, Presenter [17]

Awards and recognitions

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Personal

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  • Jackson Wild Rising Star Award[2]
  • Young Achiever Award 2019, U-Special International Campus Film Festival, New Delhi[citation needed]
  • National Geographic Storytelling Grant 2021 [3]
  • ALT-EFF (All Living Things Environmental Film Festival) Ambassador [18]
  • Jackson Wild Advisory Council Member [19]

Films

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  • BAFTA Student Awards Shortlist, 2018
  • Best Student Short Documentary – International Wildlife Film Festival, Missoula, Montana, 2018
  • Honourable Mention – Jackson Wild, UNEP and CITES World Wildlife Day Showcase, New York, 2020[20]
  • Tarshis Film Award – Animal Film Festival, California, 2018 [21]
  • Best National Youth Film – CMS Vatavaran, New Delhi, 2019 [22]
  • Best Student Documentary – Woodpecker International Film Festival, New Delhi, 2018 [23]
  • Special Jury Award – Smita Patil International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Pune, 2018 [24]
  • Best Documentary Short – Independent Shorts Award, 2018 [25]
  • Special Mention – International Nature Film Festival Gödöllő - Hungary, 2019
  • Best TV Reportage – 35rd Ménigoute Festival International du Film Ornithologique, Ménigoute 2019 [26]
  • Best Documentary (student) for The Cyan Confluence' CIHWFF, Bhopal, 2013 [27]
  • Finalist – Elements Film Festival, Canada 2018
  • Finalist – NaturVision Film Festival, Germany 2018 [28]
  • Finalist – Miami Independent Film Festival 2018 [29]
  • Finalist – Golden Hollywood International Film Festival, Los Angeles, California 2019
  • Finalist, Special Mention by WWF Sassari – Life After Oil International Film Festival, Sardegna 2019 [30]
  • Finalist – Latin American Nature Awards, 2020 [31]
  • Official Selection, Viva Film Festival, Sarajevo 2019 [32]
  • Official Selection, Norwich Film Festival, Norfolk, 2018 [33]
  • Official Selection, National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Seattle, 2018
  • Annual European Union Film Festival Showcase, 2020 [34]
  • Official Selection, Green Film Network Awards, 2020 [35]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "The Jackson Wild 2020 Rising Star Award goes to Gunjan Menon". 30 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b c "Rising Star Award". Jackson Wild: Nature. Media. Impact. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Explorer Page: Gunjan Menon". National Geographic Society.
  4. ^ "The Firefox Guardian". IMDB.
  5. ^ a b "Gunjan Menon - EarthStream".
  6. ^ "Ten Wildlife Short Films by Indian Filmmakers". www.sanctuarynaturefoundation.org. 13 April 2021.
  7. ^ "The Firefox Guardian". 3 February 2019.
  8. ^ "Menuka Bhattarai: The Firefox Guardian". redpandanetwork.org.
  9. ^ "Gunjan Menon on Living with Pandas for "The Firefox Guardian"". 22 March 2021.
  10. ^ "7 Female filmmakers from India who are documenting the wild on lens". Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Wildlife Filmmaker & Conservationist Interview". Offbeat, unusual, unconventional & interesting career interviews. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  12. ^ "Approaching Wildlife and Natural History Holistically gives Insights into Diverse Cultures: Gunjan Menon". Center for Soft Power. 27 September 2020. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  13. ^ "Jackson Wild Virtual Summit: Less is More: The Compelling World of Sh..." jacksonwild.sched.com. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  14. ^ "Free Online Videography Workshop with Gunjan Menon". Girls Who Click. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  15. ^ "Forest laws being diluted, environment must become global priority, say India's young conservationists". India Today.
  16. ^ "Defenders of the Earth". India Today. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 12 June 2022.
  17. ^ "Official Teaser". YouTube.
  18. ^ "ALT-EFF Ambassador". Cinestaan. Cinestaan. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021.
  19. ^ "Advisory Council". Jackson Wild.
  20. ^ "Finalists announced for World Wildlife Day film showcase". UNEP - UN Environment Programme. 19 February 2020. Retrieved 30 October 2020.
  21. ^ "ANIMAL FILM FESTIVAL PARTNERS WITH THE TARSHIS FOUNDATION AWARDING $12,000 TO WINNING FILMMAKERS". Nevada City Chamber.
  22. ^ "CMS Vatavaran". CMS Vatavaran.
  23. ^ "RPN's first female Forest Guardian—and the focus of the award-winning documentary The Firefox Guardian—shares her story and how she fell in love with the endangered red panda".
  24. ^ "7th Smita Patil international film festival to be held in Pune on December 8–9". Hindustan Times.
  25. ^ "Independent Shorts Award".
  26. ^ "Fifo 2019 à Ménigoute : les films en compétition à voir ce mercredi 30 octobre". La nouvelle republique.
  27. ^ "Gunjan Menon at CIHWFF". Central Indian Highlands Wildlife Film Festival-2013 (CIHfestival).
  28. ^ "NaturVision Film Festival" (PDF). NaturVision: 75. 0722.
  29. ^ "MIindie Monthly Edition". Mindie.
  30. ^ "VI EDITION OF THE "LIFE AFTER OIL INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL" IN SANTA TERESA DI GALLURA: ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN RIGHTS, THIS YEAR'S AWARD WINNERS". Tottus in Pari.
  31. ^ "Finalists 2020".
  32. ^ "VIVA CATALOGUE 2019". p. 21.
  33. ^ "Norwich Film Festival".
  34. ^ "NEPAL-EU Film Festival Sharing Culture". Spotlight Nepal.
  35. ^ "Green Film Awards" (PDF).
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