South x South (NEWF x Santiago Wild)

19 - 26 March 2025 | Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa

Meet the NEWF FELLOWS

// ANTHONY OCHIENG ONYANGO, KENYA
conservation photographer and filmmaker

Anthony is a Kenyan conservation photographer, filmmaker, and environmental educator dedicated to inspiring ecological stewardship in Africa. As the founder of the TonyWild Foundation, he uses visual storytelling to drive conservation action through photography, film, and immersive education programs.  His stories explore critical wildlife and marine conservation efforts across Africa.

// GÉRARD ZINZINDOHOUÉ, BENIN
Oceanographer

Gerard is an Oceanographer from Benin, passionate about using technology to understand and protect the ocean. With a Master’s in Climate Change and Marine Science he applies his skills in the field to study marine ecosystems up close. His work bridges scientific research and advanced technology, developing tools that improve our ability to monitor marine environments with the aim to rediscover cold-water coral reefs in Benin and promote their conservation.

// LABDI OMMES, KENYA
singer-songwriter, composer, producer, and Orutu player

Labdi is a Kenyan singer-songwriter, film composer, producer, and Orutu player—an African single-stringed fiddle from Western Kenya, historically seen as taboo for women. Labdi blends indigenous Kenyan sounds with modern genres, reflecting her diverse artistic expression. She is inspired by the beauty of sound and its effects on people and is driven by her mission  to promote African music globally and inspire young women to explore traditional instrumentation.

// MOGAMAT SHAMIER MAGMOET, sOUTH AFRICA
Multidisciplinary diver, Underwater Cinematographer

Shamier is a South African Underwater cinematographer and ocean educator based in Cape Town. Using his personal story to drive change, Shamier's award-winning documentary, "Rise From The Cape Flats," highlights the need for ocean access for African people. His work focuses on documenting the Great African Seaforest, sharks, and whales amongst other oceanscapes and showcases his dedication to bringing these environments to a wider audience.

// DERCIO ’MUHA’ GOMATE, MOZAMBIQUE
composer, aural collector, and storyteller

Muhamago is a Mozambican composer, aural collector, and storyteller who brings unseen worlds to life through sound. His work explores the intersection of music and nature, blending immersive field recordings, composition, and mapping technology to transport listeners into wild landscapes. Muha’s journey playing the mbira has led him to explore the echoes and the rhythm of rivers - could the ocean have a song of its own? This curiosity pulled him beneath the waves, where he discovered a world alive with untold stories.

// SAMIRA VERA-CRUZ, CABO VERDE
filmmaker, DIRECTOR, AND PRODUCER

Samira Vera-Cruz is a Cape Verdean filmmaker with extensive experience in Cabo Verde, Angola, Mozambique, and South Africa. Using her distinctive style and artistic expression to inspire audiences, her work has been recognised by film festivals globally. Passionate about amplifying untold stories, especially those of local communities, she explores how we intersect with our natural world. She is driven by the love for her island home and its ocean, and is dedicated to using storytelling to ignite an urgent call to protect it.

Meet THE NEWF global fellows

// OZAIR BAKHT, INDIA
director and cinematographer

Ozair is a director and cinematographer from Allahabad, India.  His work largely explores a rapidly changing India, where rebounding wildlife populations must coexist with a growing human presence. Drawing on his skills as a filmmaker and musician, and through using these creative intersections, his interest lies in studying the dynamics between humans and animals in these shared spaces and exploring these relationships through his art. His film project, ‘Treaty with the Tiger,’ was selected at the first Green Stories in 2024, and he has been selected to participate in Nature Environment Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) 2025 Cinematography Lab.

// YARMINIAH ROSA, USA, PUERTO RICO and HONDURAS
creative director and photographer

Yarminiah is a first generation Afrolatina creative director and photographer. With roots in Puerto Rico and Honduras, her storytelling is geared toward cultural preservation, sustainability, and climate justice. With a global perspective shaped by photographing and filming in over 40 countries, she crafts visually compelling narratives that elevate the vibrant heritage and wisdom of communities of color and indigenous peoples.  By producing high-impact content that builds trust and shifts perspective, Yarminiah aims to translate complex issues into poetic and powerful visual stories that engage diverse audiences and inspire action.

Meet the SANTIAGO WILD FELLOWS

// Asier Schwarzlose, Chile

Based in Chile, in the north of Patagonia, Asier is a photographer and filmmaker specializing in promotional videos, underwater, aerial and ground films. He is a content creator passionate about exploration, music and technology. Focused on making positive impacts on society through filming to help conserve and inspire. Experience as a rock climber, kayaker, helicopter pilot and underwater filmmaker.

// Daniel Venturini, Brazil

Daniel Venturini is a marine biologist from Brazil, with an M.S. degree in ecology and conservation. He has researched humpback whales for four years in the Abrolhos Bank, a fascinating area that supports the largest Brazilian marine biodiversity. In 2016, he founded ECO360, a project focused on spreading nature- and conservation-related initiatives through informative videos. Diving deeper into science telling as a National Geographic Explorer, his goal is to make people more familiar with the ocean through immersive 360-degree virtual-reality experiences, engage them in the conservation cause and raise awareness. Venturini is a strong supporter of the power of storytelling to sensitize people.

// Daniela Rakos, Chile

Daniela Rakos is a passionate documentary filmmaker. Native to the surroundings of the Andes mountain range of Chile. She is a versatile filmmaker capable of developing documentaries, advertising videos, and videoclips, among others. Equipped with extensive professional gear, which enables me to work independently at any location, like underwater landscapes as well as at high altitudes on the mountains. Regarding university studies, she specialized in documentaries and in the roles of director, photographer and editor.

// Lucía Floréz, Peru

Lucía is a Peruvian documentary filmmaker with 15 years of experience in social and environmental topics. A Fulbright Scholar with a master’s in documentary filmmaking, she directed "Shirampari: Legacies of the River," featured at Sundance 2023. Currently, she is producing her first feature film and co-directing a National Geographic-funded documentary on climate anxiety in the Arctic Circle.

// Manuel Novillo, Argentina

Manuel Novillo holds a Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from the National University of Córdoba (UNC] - Argentina. He is a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute of Animal Diversity and Ecology (IDEA-CONICET]. His studies focus on understanding marine environments to help protect them, with an emphasis on Antarctic fish research. He primarily works in Antarctica and in Argentine Patagonia. He began his studies in 2016, having participated in several campaigns to the white continent. As a professional scientific diver he investigates the underwater realm. He also has a passion for visual storytelling to spread knowledge of marine ecosystems to a broader audience and raise awareness about the importance of protecting them.

// Maritza Lavín González, Mexico

Maritza Lavín González is a photographer and filmmaker based in Mexico who specializes in nature photography and videography. Her photographic projects and documentary short films have explored a range of topics, including access to water resources, extractivism, gender, migration, and human rights. Her current work is focused on exploring the exploitation of different natural resources and how people are involved in these processes, with a particular emphasis on women, non-binary people and local communities. She collaborates with interdisciplinary teams to create impactful media that allow for a nuanced and diverse approach to storytelling. She is fascinated by the intricacies of ecosystems and the delicate balance that exists between humans and nature, with deep appreciation for the natural world driving her work.

// Pablo Albarenga Zamora, URUGUAY

Pablo Albarenga Zamora is a documentary photographer, filmmaker and visual storyteller based between São Paulo, Brazil, and Montevideo, Uruguay. His work focuses on social and environmental justice, science, and climate change. Albarenga is a National Geographic Explorer, a multiple beneficiary of the Pulitzer Center, and was honored as Photographer of the Year at the 2020 Sony World Photography Awards for his series "Seeds of Resistance," which highlights the struggles of indigenous communities in the Amazon.