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DIRECTOR/CINEMATOGRAPHER/EDITOR

TANIA ESTEBAN

Tania is a bilingual Zoologist, wildlife camerawoman and researcher with a passion for visually stunning, cinematic storytelling and emotive natural history programme-making. 
As a keen adventurist and sports enthusiast, she also enjoys being out in the field caving, rock climbing (rope access), as well as running. Her love of Africa and big cats led to her filming the human-wildlife conflict in Kenya as well as the largest historical Ivory burn in Nairobi with the Born Free Foundation. She has recently worked on BBC Wild Cats and the One Show as a researcher/translator, and now working as a Digital Researcher for Planet Earth 2 and Oceans.

DIRECTORS STATEMENT

For me, the purpose of making A Lion's Tale was to emotionally engage and raise awareness audiences - focusing on one of the major issues not only concerning lions, but all wildlife in Kenya. The original Born Free story captured the emotions of millions during its release in 1956, a time when our relationship with the natural world was viewed negatively. I felt it timely to produce with the upcoming Ivory burn and CITES meetings, and wanted to shoot cinematically and use the characters voices in the film for audiences to connect with and care about the cause - not be lectured on it. The major theme of the film is hope - an emotion that all humans can relate to and a message that I believe everyone involved in the filmmaking and conservation industry can use as a device to inspire and drive change.

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This film reveals how Kenya's new generation of conservationists is looking out for all wildlife, including the elephants, which is witnessed at the world's largest ivory burn event - a symbol of stopping all wildlife trade and helping humans and nature co-exist. Gaining access to this historical event was one of the greatest challenges and provided me with the opportunity to capture a unique moment in time. It is quickly being adopted in the media with several feature films and documentaries which have captured highlights of these events (The Ivory Game, Hugh’s Ivory War and Virginia’s Born Free), thus this film is timely. It was a truly unforgettable experience, which I self-shot and have now begun to edit into a separate film alongside this production. Filming alongside my heroes, both in the conservation and camera world was one of the highlights of the shoot. 

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