Elena Jean

Elena Jean is an award-winning filmmaker, writer and host specializing in documentary, natural history and adventure stories. Her vision is to inspire a renewed sense of curiousity and possibility – pairing research-backed ideas with wild creativity in explorative, character-driven and dramedy-style films and writing.
Elena’s home is British Columbia, where she can often be found reading, running, surfing, diving, or learning some new, obscure skill such as nunchucking. Follow her work and misadventures at @elena.jean and via her blog.

.jpeg)





Elena directed, produced and edited the 10-time award-winning full-feature documentary Coextinction (2021), as well as Beyond The Green Veil (2023), and various short films. She's covered numerous stories on wildlife conservationists around the world, for organizations such as CBC, Milkywire and One Species. And, has worked both independently and alongside some of the best in natural history and documentary production, in a variety of settings. Her most recent work includes titles such as The Anti Expedition, Food 2.0 (Netflix 2023), Incandescence, Bryanna, and multiple films exploring the decline of old growth forests in North America.
Elena began making videos as a child, and this creative passion persisted throughout her applied science degree and other career endeavours. Years later, introduced to the world of documentary film "formally" by her first feature, Coextinction, she realized she'd returned to her true calling. A calling also marked by an insatiable curiousity for the world. Growing up in a small Canadian town, her broader fascinations were initially sparked by her Dad's incredible animal stories from his job at a zoo. It was, and continues to be, her desire to learn, explore and share inspiration, that ultimately fuels her passion for storytelling.
Elena is grateful to have had the opportunity to share her story and work as a filmmaker, adventurer and conservationist on the news, podcasts and at various events.
Currently, Elena is working on her next independent projects and "Wild Docs". She's open to collaborations and offers film production services.
Awards, Distinctions
& Education
-
2022 Cressi Ambassador
-
2022 Environment Award, International Ocean Film Festival
-
2022 Best Documentary Cinematography Nominee, Canadian Screen Awards
-
2022 Audience Choice, Seoul International Eco Film Festival
-
2022 Canadian Screen Music Awards Nominated Best Original Score for a Documentary Feature
-
2022 Best Documentary Film & Best Original Score, Los Angeles Cinematography Awards
-
2021 Rob Stewart Eco-Warrior Award, Vancouver International Film Festival
-
2021 Best Canadian Documentary Nominee, Vancouver International Film Festival
-
2021 Winner of Our Human Planet Category, Nomination for Best Score, Jackson Wild
-
2021 People's Choice Award, Planet In Focus
-
2019 Telus Storyhive Documentary Edition Award
-
2017 QIC Summer Initiative Accelerator Cohort
-
2016 Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) Award
-
2015 Cansbridge Fellow
-
2013 Chief FREC, Queen's Engineering (iykyk)
Bachelor of Applied Science (Queen's University)
PADI, PFI Freediver



























