Gunjan Menon is an Indian wildlife film director, camerawoman, and National Geographic Explorer.
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, 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. 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.
Gunjan is the recipient of the Jackson Wild Rising Star Award, 2020, given to leaders in nature, conservation and science media. Additionally, two of her short films have been screened at the United Nations for Jackson Wild’s World Wildlife Day Film Showcase in partnership with CITES and the UNDP in 2020 and 2023.
Education 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.
Career 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. 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. 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.
Wildlife films Year Title Credit Network Links2018The Firefox GuardianDirector, Camera, EditorShorts TV (Amazon Prime)Official Trailer2018On The Brink, Season 1Assistant Director, Shooting Researcher, SoundAnimal Planet India, Discovery India, Disney+Hotstar8 episodes, Season Trailer2019On The Brink, Season 2EditorNational Geographic India, Disney+Hotstar1 episode, Indian Pangolin2020Rajasthan RoyalsWriter, director, CameraRoundglass SustainEpisode 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 Magic2021Episode 6: Lakes of Udaipur Episode 7: Menar: A Lesson In LoveTBABorn to be WildDirector, Camera, Presenter
Awards and recognitions
Personal Jackson Wild Rising Star Award Young Achiever Award 2019, U-Special International Campus Film Festival, New Delhi National Geographic Storytelling Grant 2021 ALT-EFF (All Living Things Environmental Film Festival) Ambassador Jackson Wild Advisory Council Member 2025 EC50 Winner/Inductee | The Explorers Club
Films 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 Tarshis Film Award – Animal Film Festival, California, 2018 Best National Youth Film – CMS Vatavaran, New Delhi, 2019 Best Student Documentary – Woodpecker International Film Festival, New Delhi, 2018 Special Jury Award – Smita Patil International Documentary and Short Film Festival, Pune, 2018 Best Documentary Short – Independent Shorts Award, 2018 Special Mention – International Nature Film Festival Gödöllő - Hungary, 2019 Best TV Reportage – 35rd Ménigoute Festival International du Film Ornithologique, Ménigoute 2019 Best Documentary (student) for The Cyan Confluence' CIHWFF, Bhopal, 2013 Finalist – Elements Film Festival, Canada 2018 Finalist – NaturVision Film Festival, Germany 2018 Finalist – Miami Independent Film Festival 2018 Finalist – Golden Hollywood International Film Festival, Los Angeles, California 2019 Finalist, Special Mention by WWF Sassari – Life After Oil International Film Festival, Sardegna 2019 Finalist – Latin American Nature Awards, 2020 Official Selection, Viva Film Festival, Sarajevo 2019 Official Selection, Norwich Film Festival, Norfolk, 2018 Official Selection, National Film Festival for Talented Youth, Seattle, 2018 Annual European Union Film Festival Showcase, 2020 Official Selection, Green Film Network Awards, 2020
See also The Firefox Guardian
References
External links