# George Thengummoottil

George Thengummoottil (born 10 January 1985) is an Indian filmmaker and editor. He has also DIT for the 2022 Academy award winning documentary The Elephant Whisperers. His films have been nominated for several film festivals like International Documentary and short-film festival of Kerala and CMS Vatavaran film festival.

## Early life and education

George was born in the town of Palakkad, Kerala on 10 January 1985. George Thengummoottil did his primary school education at Marthoma Senior Secondary School. He did his graduation in Computer Science at Marian College Kuttikkanam, Peermade. During when he wrote his first book The Story of Peermade, a book about the history of Peermade. He obtained Masters in Computer Science from Dr G R Damodaran College of Science, Coimbatore and later another Masters in Communication and Journalism from PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore. He has also completed short course on Application of Sound in Film and Television from Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute.
During his teenage, he was affected by Keratoconus, a degenerative disorder of the eye and was blind by the age of 13. He had to stop his studies and activities. Later he did Corneal transplantation and could partially recover vision in one of his eyes.

## Career

George was campus placed in Machine Vision and Robotics at Lucid Imaging, Bangalore after his post graduation. Even though the company offered cover of his treatments he could not continue for a long time due to Keratoconus. George was invited to work as a lecturer at Sherubtse College in Bhutan, where he served for several Years. Later he worked as a journalist with Times of India, Coimbatore and later worked with filmmaker Sandesh Kadur at Felis Creations before starting as an independent wildlife filmmaker.

### Film making

After his Masters in Journalism, he started making short edits, while working at Felis Creations and started as a documentary editor. In 2022, he founded Moundain Private Limited, which specializes on production and post-production of documentaries.
George was also motivational speaker and has been involved in many technical and art projects. He was instrumental to popularize the use of solar panels for filming in remote places.

### Community initiatives

George is the founder of Keratoconus Foundation India, a charitable trust registered under Indian Trusts Act, 1882 which guides Keratoconus patients in India to lead a better life and support them economically.

## Books

| Year | Title | Credit | |
| 2015 | Guhanagari A Book on Urban Wildlife | Contributor | Author : Pradeep Hegde |
| 2013 | Kaziranga National Park 2013 | Illustrator | Photography: Sanesh Kadur, Author Priya Singh |
| 2012 | Himalaya: Mountains of Life | Illustrator | Kamaljit S. Bawa, Sandesh Kadur |
| 2006 | The Story of Peermade | Author / Photographer | |

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Genre | Credit | Film Festivals | Awards | Production Company |
| 2024 | The Artist and his Bengaluru | Documentary / Biography | Editor | | | Aarnavi Films Moundain |
| 2024 | The Fable | Feature Film | | | | |
| 2023 | KODAGU – Where Rivers Set The Rhythm | Short Documentary | Editor | International Documentary and Shortfilm festival of Kerala Cambodia International Film Festival | | Felis Creations |
| 2023 | Dandeli Mosale | Short Documentary | Editor | | | Karnataka Forest Department Kalinga Foundation |
| 2022 | Elephant Whisperers | Documentary | DIT | | 95th Academy Awards for best short documentary | Netflix Kartiki Gonsalvus |
| 2021 | The Secret life of Bhopal Tigers | Documentary | Editor | Wildlife Film Festival of Rotterdam | | Nature Candid LLP Madhya Pradesh Forest Department |
| 2020 | Wild Cats of India | TV Series | Animation | CMS Vatavaran Film Festival, New Delhi | Nominated, Wildlife Conservation | National Geographic |
| 2020 | The Ridge Story | Short Documentary | Editing | Indian Mountaineering Film Festival | | Arpita Roy (Mountaineer) |
| 2020 | Communities and Sustainability | Documentary | Editor | International Science Film Festival of India, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India | | Ashoka Trust Trailing Wild |
| 2020 | Communities and Sustainability | Documentary | Editor | CMS Vatavaran Film Festival, New Delhi | Nominated, Livelihoods & Sustainable Technologies | |
| 2018 | Sarala Virala | Documentary | Design | 66th National Film Awards for best Educational Film | Won | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | CMS Vatavaran Film Festival | | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | Quotes from the earth | | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | 11th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, Kerala | Nominated | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | International Ecological Film Festival Russia | | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | Festival international du film ornithologique de Ménigoute, Ménigoute, France | | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | VIVA Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina | | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | Green Earth Film Festival, California | Semi Finalist | |
| 2018 | The Naga Pride | Documentary | Editor / Sound Design | Nagaon International Short & Documentary Film Festival | Won | |
| 2017 | The Return of Sangai | Short Documentary | Director | Kirloskar Vasundhara International Film Festival, Pune | | |
| 2017 | The Return of Sangai | Short Documentary | Director | India Heritage Walk Festival | | |
| 2017 | The Return of Sangai | Short Documentary | Director | Kadakam Forest and Environmental; Film Festival, Silent Valley National Park, Palakkad, Kerala | | |
| 2017 | The Return of Sangai | Short Documentary | Director | Smaragdni Eco Film Festival, Croatia | | |
| 2017 | The Return of Sangai | Short Documentary | Director | Sangai Festival, Keibul Lamjao National Park, India | | |
| 2016 | Singalila in the Himalaya | Documentary | Director | CMS Vatavaran Film Festival | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Singalila in the Himalaya | Documentary | Director | Kadakam Forest and Environmental; Film Festival, Silent Valley National Park, Palakkad, Kerala | | |
| 2016 | Singalila in the Himalaya | Documentary | Director | IMF Mountain Film Festival 2017, Indian Mountaineering Foundation, New Delhi, India | Won | |
| 2016 | Singalila in the Himalaya | Documentary | Director | 10th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, Kerala | Nominated | |
| 2016 | Singalila in the Himalaya | Documentary | Director | 16th Girimitra Sammelan, Mumbai | Won | |
| 2016 | Singalila in the Himalaya | Documentary | Director | Pokhara International Mountain Film Festival, Pokhara, Nepal | | |
| 2016 | Kalia : The Lost Gibbon | Short Documentary | Graphics | 9th International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala, Kerala | | |
| 2015 | Eastern Himalaya - Ancient Risks Future Threats | Short Documentary | Graphics | CMS Vatavaran 2015 | | |
| 2015 | Eastern Himalaya - Ancient Risks Future Threats | Short Documentary | Graphics | IMF Mountain Film Festival 2017, Indian Mountaineering Foundation, New Delhi, India | | |
| 2015 | Eastern Himalaya - Ancient Risks Future Threats | Short Documentary | Graphics | 10th Festival Gorniskega Filma | | |
| 2014 | In To the Darkroom Shortfilm | Short Film | | | | |
| 2012 | Goecha La In Search of Kangchenjunga | Documentary | Director | | | |