Join The Explorers Club on November 22nd for a exclusive “sneak peek” special screening of Explorers Club 50 awardee Taira Malaney’s new film Turtle Walker, which premiered earlier this month at DOC NYC.
The film is produced by Tiger Baby and Emaho Films in association with HHMI Tangled Bank Studios, the mission-focused impact studio behind the Oscar-nominated film All That Breathes.
Stay after the screening to hear from director Taira Malaney about the film’s journey and the team’s plans for an extensive impact campaign to protect sea turtles.
About the film:
In the late 1970s, Satish Bhaskar embarked on an epic journey along India’s coastlines and the spectacular Andaman and Nicobar islands, where he uncovered the vital nesting beaches of sea turtles. During his death-defying quest, he unravels mysteries surrounding these enigmatic ocean creatures – and sets out to save them from extinction. After a devastating tsunami strikes in 2004, Bhaskar grapples with a pressing question: What happens to sea turtles when their nesting beaches disappear? Learn more at https://turtlewalker.com/
RESERVATIONS
This will be an in-person screening at Explorers Club Headquarters.
This is a free event, RSVP ticket required.
Check-in will begin at 6:00 pm, with a beer and wine reception from 6:00 – 7:00 pm. Screening begins at 7:00 pm.
Taira Malaney
Taira is a writer, director, and producer from Goa, India. A member of the Explorers Club 50 2023 cohort, she tells deeply moving, character-driven stories that explore the relationships between people and the natural world. Her films are developed alongside impact campaigns to address the social justice and environmental issues central to the films she creates. Taira received her B.A. in Psychology in 2013 from Occidental College, where her focus was on fostering empathy in youth. Since graduating, she has incorporated what she’s learned into the several award-winning short films that she has written and directed. Her directorial debut, Turtle Walker, just won the Grand Teton Award at the Jackson Wild Media Awards, and is set to release in the fall of 2024.
Krish Makhija
Krish Makhija is a Cinematographer from Bombay, India. Formally educated in Economics, he picked up the camera when he was eighteen years old to start documenting the chaotic world around him. His love for stills soon led him to being an Assistant Director on television commercials, branded content, and feature films. Krish went on to complete his Masters degree in Cinematography as part of the first-intake at the Kino Eyes European Film Masters Program in Lisbon, Tallinn, and Edinburgh.
After graduating, Krish has been responsible for the image creation of numerous projects, ranging from shorts to documentaries, music videos, commercials, and narrative feature films.
In the narrative long-form category, he has acted as the Cinematographer on two episodic shows, Afsos and Eternally Confused and Eager for Love, which are found on Amazon Prime and Netflix respectively. He has additionally lensed two feature films, Friday Night Plan and The House Guest, which are set to premiere in 2023 and 2024.
Krish works with passionate documentary story-tellers to bring their vision to life. He was involved as one of the three cinematographers on the Oscar winning documentary, The Elephant Whisperers, in 2022. He has also recently concluded production on a feature length documentary, Turtle Walker, which is set to have a world premiere in 2024.
Apart from his feature length projects, Krish has worked on multiple short films, including the award-winning, Mongolian film, Mountain Cat, which went on to screen at numerous prestigious film festivals across the world including Cannes, Sundance, TIFF, Busan, and many more.
Jill Ferguson
Jill Ferguson has a Master’s Degree in Peace and Justice Studies from the Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego, focusing on Human Rights and Development with a sub-focus on Environmental Conservation related to the two. Jill leverages her expertise and experience in this field as the Principal Consultant at Samasana Consulting LLP, which offers various services for startups, nonprofits, NGOs, and government bodies. She co-founded Vaayu and Prana, two hospitality brands operating for over a decade in Goa, India. Jill previously helped the professional football team, FC Goa, set up the Forca Goa Foundation and acted as its Managing Director for two years, developing and overseeing all the states grassroots and community outreach programs. From there, Jill went on to co-found ActforGoa, a platform designed to help individuals take informed action for the sustainable development of the state. She is a founding member of the Circlewallas, whose work helped develop the Resource Efficiency Policy for the state of Goa. Through her work as the Impact Producer for the feature film Turtle Walker, she has helped Reefwatch establish and expand a Marine Mammal Stranding Network in various states across the west coast of India and worked with all their NGO partners to develop an education and outreach program on marine conservation inspired by Satish’s legacy.
Mohit Arora
Mohit Arora is an independent filmmaker based out of Goa, India. He has directed and edited the short film The Glass Collector for Vice Asia, and assisted on the feature documentary Turtle Walker. Mohit’s first short documentary, Made in Madras, won the people’s choice award at the My Hero Film Festival in LA amongst other festivals. He has since then directed, shot, and edited multiple socio-environmental impact short documentaries for non-profits in India and the US. He also freelances as an assistant director and sound recordist for various productions.
