Jessie Knierim

Roles: Director

With a background in wildlife conservation, Jessie was driven to a career in wildlife filmmaking after witnessing the power that incredible stories can have on inspiring people to protect our natural world. She made this film while completing a MA in Wildlife Filmmaking at the University of the West of England. While living in New York City, she earned a MA in Animal Behaviour and Conservation where she studied the illegal trade of ring-tailed lemurs. Jessie also spent five years in Development and Communications at Wildlife Alliance, raising awareness for conservation initiatives in Southeast Asia.

Through Îinha the director wanted to tell a story that shows the immense impact that the loss of a single species can have. By helping Jason Reed tell his story, Jessie hopes to shine light on the real people most affected by biodiversity loss and their sheer determination to fix what is broken.