Amoghavarsha JS

Amoghavarsha is an award-winning filmmaker and wildlife photographer from Bangalore, India. Having worked with National Geographic and BBC, his work has been exhibited and appreciated across the world and won international awards such as the Impactdocs Award of Merit [1] and the Australia India Youth Dialogue alumni grant for the year 2015 [2]. His video work on climate change was showcased in the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President François Hollande in the presence of several world leaders.[3] He also addressed the United Nations headquarters at the time that his movie Wild Karnataka was screened there in 2020.[4] Amoghavarsha has appeared on the Star Plus show TED Talks India Nayi Soch hosted by Shah Rukh Khan.[5]

Amoghavarsha JS
Born
Bangalore, India
EducationBachelor of Computer Science
OccupationFilmmaker and wildlife photographer
Years active2005-present
Websiteamoghavarsha.com

In the year 2016, he founded Mudskipper (media company) which was the first factual entertainment startup at the time[6].

Early life

After completing his bachelor's degree in Computer Science, he joined Amazon as a Software Engineer. He later worked for the local search startup Asklaila as its first employee. He quit his job in 2008 to pursue his passion for wildlife photography.

Photography

Amoghavarsha works with government forest departments, non-profit organisations and media institutions on conservation and education projects. He works closely with CEE and has helped set up interpretation centres. He is also one of the key contributors to the "Science Express - Biodiversity Special", a Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change initiative which toured India for over a year and has been witnessed by more than 2.5 million people.[7] He has contributed to Microsoft research on the cutting-edge digital narratives media project at Hampi. He also conducts photography workshops[8] and expeditions.

His work has been exhibited in various national and international events. His work has also been exhibited by UGallery and Williams Sonoma.

Filming projects
  • "Wild Karnataka" [9] - As India's first blue-chip natural history movie, Wild Karnataka showcases the rich biodiversity of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is narrated by Sir David Attenborough. It was released in PVR screens within India in January 2020 and was shown at a special screening at the United Nations headquarters on World Wildlife Day (March 3) [10]. Amoghavarsha co-directed this 4K ultra-HD film with Kalyan Varma. It is the first Indian wildlife film to be released in theatres [11] as well as one that created history by completing 50 days in the theatres.
  • "Indian Wildlife National Anthem" – Amoghavarsha directed a pan-India wildlife national anthem music video was launched as part of the album Shanti Samsara by Grammy winner Ricky Kej.
  • "Secrets of the King Cobra" - This National Geographic film on the world's largest venomous snake saw Amoghavarsha working as an assistant cameraman. The film follows the King Cobra into its world, revealing what it does, where it goes and who it interacts with .
  • "Jaya Hai Kannada Thaye" – This music video saw Grammy winner Ricky Kej and Amoghavarsha (who not only served as Director but also as Director of Photography), joining hands. Launched on 6 regional channels, this is India’s first wildlife music video. It gained a million views in a week.
  • "Huli: How to Save the Tiger? (also known as Huli: Technology to the Frontiers of Tiger Conservation)" - This short film was nominated at India's reputed wildlife film festival "CMS Vatavaran Environment and Wildlife Film Festival 2013". It sheds light on the forest staff that protects our forests as well as what goes into saving the national animal, by going deep into the BRT Tiger Reserve of Karnataka.
  • "River Terns of Bhadra" - This film showcases the lives of beautiful River Terns that throng the Bhadra backwaters in the summers. It is one of India's first wildlife films to be licensed under Creative Commons (a copyright permission that grants creative work). Nominated at the CMS Vatavaran 2015 film festival [12], the film was made using hidden camera traps, underwater cameras and high-speed cameras. Premiering at the UB City Amphitheatre in Bangalore to celebrate Wildlife Week, the film assisted the cause of conservation.
  • "Kali" [13][14] - This award-winning film on the Kali River that flows through the Western Ghats of India, follows the journey of a 100-year-old grandmother to the source of the river. Following a univocal response from policymakers after watching the movie, the Dandeli Anshi Tiger Reserve was renamed to Kali Tiger Reserve. The movie won the Impactdocs Award of Merit in 2016.
  • "Wild Mumbai" - This upcoming directorial venture is a project that is similar to Wild Karnataka. Sanctioned by the Maharashtra government, it will be directed by Amoghavarsha. This documentary will showcase the biodiversity of places like Aarey Colony, Sanjay Gandhi National Park and the Sewri Mudflats [15].

Awards and Recognitions
  • He was invited to Australia in 2013 and 2015 to represent India as part of the Australia-India Youth Dialogue.[16]
  • He was also invited to Convention on Biological Diversity in 2012 to talk about the importance of photography and media in conservation education.
  • He was invited by Dr Ramesh Srinivasan to University of California, Los Angeles to present his work on use of media and technology in conservation.
  • His movie, River Terns of Bhadra[17] and Kali[18] have both been nominated at India's top Environment and Wildlife film festival CMS Vatavaran[19][20].
  • In 2020, he was a part of a panel discussion at the UN Environment Programme (along with Ricky Kej) where his film Wild Karnataka was screened on World Wildlife Day [21].
  • Canon India announced him as their new EOS Ambassador in June 2020 [22].
gollark: Ungone and release it || bee apio.
gollark: Make it so that Dale has a string table, and the strings can be defined by copying arbitrary substrings of other strings too!
gollark: I will use algorithms and coding.
gollark: Past performance is no guarantee of future results, so obviously the next one will be good.
gollark: Which reminds me, I should make a search engine again!

References
  1. Impactdocs award
  3. "PM's documentary show in Paris reveals state link". Bangalore Mirror.
  4. "Wild Karnataka to be screened at the UN headquarters on World Wildlife Day - Times of India". The Times of India.
  5. "TED Talks India Nayi Baat - Watch Episode 1 - Re-imagining India - TED Talks on Disney+ Hotstar". Hotstar.
  7. One world
  8. In search of a perfect shot
  9. Majestic celebration: Wild Karnataka
  13. anshi dandeli tiger reserve
  14. Kali wins global film honour
  16. "AIYD". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
  17. "IMDb Title: River Terns of Bhadra".
  18. "IMDb Title: Kali".
  19. CMS Vatavaran 2014
  20. CMS Vatavaran 2015
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