Emi Kondo

Emi Kondo is a Japanese-Costa Rican nature documentary filmmaker and NatGeo Explorer. She holds a Master’s degree in Wildlife Filmmaking from UWE in collaboration with the BBC Natural History Unit. With over fifteen years of experience, her work explores the complex relationships between humans and wildlife: from documenting species in remote ecosystems to conducting undercover investigations that expose the exploitation of animals in the tourism industry and wildlife trafficking. Through stories told from a human perspective and grounded in science, she seeks to reveal little-known species and their importance in the ecosystems they inhabit. She has worked on projects for PBS, NBC, ZDF, Love Nature, BBC, and National Geographic. She produced and directed Jaguar Spirit, about jaguar trafficking in Bolivia, and Leaf Architects, about tent-building bats. Both projects were supported by the National Geographic Society. She is currently directing Beneath the Canopy for CuriosityStream and Tapir Valley: Land of Dreams, supported by a My World Film grant from Schoolyard Films and AmberJack Films. She is a Jackson Wild Fellow. and the Santiago Wild Media Lab.”