Tasha Van Zandt is an award-winning film director, cinematographer, photojournalist, and Emmy-nominated producer whose work spans all seven continents. From descending 3,300 feet beneath the ocean's surface to filming at the farthest reaches of both poles, she has built a career transporting audiences into unseen worlds.

Her latest feature documentary, A Life Illuminated, premiered at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and has screened at numerous festivals around the world. Produced by Sandbox Films, the Academy Award-nominated team behind Fire of Love, this award-winning film follows pioneering marine biologist Dr. Edie Widder on a groundbreaking expedition into the ocean's darkest depths in pursuit of a mysterious bioluminescent phenomenon that could forever transform our understanding of life on Earth.

Her award-winning debut feature documentary, After Antarctica, follows legendary polar explorer Will Steger, one of National Geographic's most celebrated explorers, whose historic expeditions and lifelong journey across the polar regions offer an intimate portrait of a remarkable life spent witnessing some of the most profound transformations of our planet.

For nearly a decade, Van Zandt has collaborated with internationally renowned artist JR, directing films documenting his impactful public art projects around the world. Her award-winning documentary One Thousand Stories captures the creation of a monumental collective portrait bringing together more than a thousand individuals into one work of art. Their collaborations also include The Gun Chronicles for TIME Magazine, a nationwide project exploring perspectives on gun control in America, The Chronicles of New York City, The Chronicles of Miami, The Chronicles of Cuba, and Tehachapi, which explores an unprecedented participatory art project within the walls of a supermax federal prison.

Van Zandt is currently directing the feature documentary Penny & Koko, following the extraordinary life of Koko the gorilla. The project has received support from the Sundance Institute, Catapult Film Fund, and the Redford Center, and is produced in partnership with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin's production company Little Monster Films.

As an award-winning director of photography, Van Zandt brings a distinctive visual sensibility to her work, with cinematography credits including Paper & Glue, Jagged, White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch, Tell Them You Love Me, What’s Next? The Future With Bill Gates, Tehachapi, Wild Wild Space, and Art for Everybody.

Her work has screened at leading international film festivals, including TIFF, Tribeca, Telluride, CPH:DOX, and SXSW, and has been featured by The New York Times, TIME Magazine, National Geographic, The Guardian, Netflix, HBO, and NPR. Her work has also been exhibited at renowned museums and cultural institutions worldwide, including SFMOMA, the Brooklyn Museum, Pace Gallery, Perrotin, Superblue, ArtScience Museum Singapore, and Saatchi Gallery.

Her filmmaking has earned recognition and support from leading institutions including the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, SFFILM, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Mountainfilm, and the Redford Center. She is a DOC NYC 40 Under 40 honoree, a Woods Hole Filmmaker-in-Residence, a Eames Institute Artist-in-Residence, and a 2026 Eames Institute Curious 100 honoree. Her commercial clients include Apple, Adobe, Google, Airbnb, Levi’s, Leica, and many more. Beyond her films, she has led international filmmaking workshops for National Geographic across Tanzania, Japan, Iceland, and Australia, and has been invited to speak at COP26, Adobe MAX, The New York Times Climate Hub, National Geographic, the OceanX Summit, and the Explorers Club.

Through her production company, Earthling Pictures, Van Zandt develops and directs bold, cinematic, impact-driven films that push the boundaries of nonfiction storytelling. Her work inspires us to see our planet - and our place within it - in entirely new ways.