I am a self-shooting factual researcher with a passion for the narratives of the natural world, past, present and future. Originally studying Palaeontology and Geology to a first class level, I made the transition to documentary filmmaking through completing the Directing and Producing Science and Natural History MFA course at the National Film and Television School, graduating in 2026. Having seen both sides of the coin of science communication, I was able to develop key skills and attain invaluable experience in the creation of narratives designed to educate and engage the public on scientific topics.
I am a hard worker both in the office and on-shoot, able to solve problems on the fly and develop close and fruitful relationships with local experts to maximise the authenticity of every project I contribute to. I am intimately familiar, and have practical experience in, every step of the production process. I have planned shoots, shot animals in the wild across several countries, both on the ground, in the air and underwater, worked in dangerous and exotic environments including rainforests, marshland and flooded caves, directed camerapeople and sound recordist, wrote shooting and editing scripts, edited films and created graphics, and pitched and presented my ideas and projects to panels of industry veterans. Across this experience I have learned the importance of maintaining a unifying creative vision for a project, and cultivating relationships with talented crewmembers and contributors without whom my productions would not exist. It takes a village, after all.
Through my time at the NFTS I was able to refine my directorial style to a focus on systemic narratives. My plethora of interests and expertise, including in human history, evolutionary biology, literature and natural and human geograpy allow me to bring in crucial and insightful context to more traditional natural history narratives, challenging the status quo of 'character-led' blue chip nature documentaries that so oversaturate the industry. I am also abreast of the changes in format and medium that documentary content has to make if it is to continue to see success in the age of the internet. As a digital native, the language of Youtube and other online-based streaming platforms is one I am fluent in, and my editorial style is one that meshes well with this new paradigm.
These approaches of telling stories that enrich themselves through intersytemic context was keenly seen in the two projects I created over the course of the 2-year masters.
Bovine Brothers is a film that attempts to blend the styles of blue chip natural history with an archive and recon-based history documentary. The story explores the sordid world of Aurochs breeding in 1930s Germany, combining a human and animal narrative to shine a light on conservation's darkest chapter.
Bovine Brothers saw success on the international festival circuit, screened at Menigoute and Gran Paradiso film festivals.
My 20-minute graduation project continued this theme of systemic storytelling.
It Blooms From Within tells the tale of the cenotes, the Yucatan's flooded cave network. Underwater natural history cinematography is interwoven with the archaeological and anthropological story of the Mayan people, who hold the caves sacred to this day, and explores how this community's relationship to the caves, their water and their wildlife is changing with the advent of modern industrial toruism, and the deadly pollution it brings with it. The film was screened at the
Truth Tellers investigative journalism festival, and at the Green Screen wildlife film festival.
I hope to continue to tell these sorts of large-scale, systemic narratives throughout my career, whilst also using my expertise in Earth's human history, natural history and prehistory to other blue chip projects, giving them an intellectual and educational richness which many find sorely lacking at present.At a time when the industry is changing rapidly, and staring down the barrel of a sixth global mass extinction, telling these sorts of interconnected narratives is, I believe, more crucial than ever, and I hope to be a key voice in pushing for this narrative evolution.
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