A few months ago, natural history filmmaker and Jackson Wild jury member Akanksha Sood Singh became part of the festival’s advisory board, and while developing a curriculum, attempted to reach out to women working for science and nature in India. “I could barely come up with 20 names,” she says over a call with mid-day. Singh started the Women of the Wild India page on Instagram, driven by the need to create a database of women working in the field in different capacities—as journalists, photographers, educators, scientists—on one platform. She wanted to document stories of their journeys, struggles and hopes, to encourage networking, help find opportunities, to offer advice and ultimately build a community to inspire and uplift a new generation.

“There are a lot of people out there, but they are just not known, especially women,” says Singh. “I myself have worked in the field, which is quite male-dominated, and know the struggles one goes through in just trying to make oneself be heard and seen.” Primary among these struggles, she says, is the lack of parental support, associated both with concerns around instability and safety, the work invariably financially unrewarding, and demanding a degree of physical strain in remote areas, seen as unsuitable for women.