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Eshika Fyzee: Wildlife Filmmaker with a Pinpoint Focus

Here’s to Fit the Soul’s Wonder Woman of October, Eshika Fyzee!

Eshika Fyzee is the founder of Pangea Films, a National Geographic Explorer, and a wildlife filmmaker par excellence. Her work emphasises conservation, and she aims to give back to the earth by telling its stories through film.

With a Bachelor’s in Film Studies and a Master’s in Wildlife Filmmaking, Eshika has filmed across the Indian subcontinent; photographed wild Asiatic lions, rhinoceroses in Assam, and King cobras in South India; and trekked through some of the most conflict-ridden zones in the Himalayas. She has travelled to Drass and in Kashmir—some of the coldest inhabited places on earth with extreme terrains—in search of the brown bear and documented the ongoing human–bear conflict

An Unconventional Career

After working with experienced wildlife filmmakers for a few years, Eshika founded Pangea Films, her own wildlife film production company. She is currently working on her first feature-length documentary on the critically endangered snow leopard; she previously made a short film on the elusive creature. She focuses on creating work that inspires change and furthers protection of the natural world.

Eshika’s love for wildlife began when she was a young girl. Growing up, she found herself drawn to the mysteries and magnificence of the wild. Spending days, weeks, and sometimes even months on location, as filmmakers often must, without interacting with other people can be quite daunting. But Eshika spent her childhood on a farm with a forest nearby, so she grew up loving solitude and nature. She has realised that when she is in nature, she is not really alone. Through her work, she has developed an immense amount of patience while waiting to catch sight of elusive animals in the wild. Being in the wild is therapeutic for this 27-year-old.

‘Luckily, I wasn’t tied to a job for too long before this. Still, everyone told me that wildlife filmmaking had absolutely no job security, no money, and barely any opportunities. And they were absolutely right! I previously did projects for a newspaper company and an animation studio, and as interesting as those two lines of work were in their own right, I couldn’t stop thinking about being out in the wilderness and working on location. The biggest challenge I’ve faced recently is to not let wildlife tragedies get me heavy-hearted to a point where it affects my work. I’m constantly exposed to atrocities that wildlife around the world faces every single day. It requires quite a lot of effort to turn that energy around and use it to motivate me to work harder’, she says.

In wildlife storytelling, Eshika believes in questioning every step. For example, before starting a film, she asks whether the project would intrude on the animals’ behaviour. She wants to tread lightly on their territory. Eshika is serious about her ethics, which comes through in her storytelling.

Accolades

Eshika’s first documentary, Vinu the Elephant Keeper, got nominated at the Cleveland International Film Festival. Then, her film on the snow leopard won The Best Mountain Wildlife Film at the IMF Mountain Film Festival. Later, her brown bear film won multiple accolades, which opened up many other opportunities for her.

What matters most for Eshika is not the awards themselves but the impact her films create. If her work spreads awareness, inspires people to take more responsibility, and encourages authorities to make informed changes, she feels she has achieved her goal. She wants her audience to feel the same urgency she feels to fiercely protect nature.

Eshika has a pinpoint focus on her work and does whatever it takes to create her films. Blinkers on, adjust the focus, navigate. With this purpose-driven approach, she has overcome many obstacles.

Go forth and make it happen!

Go for your goals and projects with a pinpoint focus and navigate smoothly through every process to achieve your targets. Like Eshika, wear blinkers and go create an impact in your chosen field.