Kartiki Gonsalves
Kartiki Gonsalves (born 2 November 1986) is an Indian director and producer. In 2023, she won the Best Documentary Short Subject at the 95th Academy Awards for The Elephant Whisperers. She is also one of the first women chosen as a Sony Alpha Artisan of Imagery in India and also associated with brands like Peak Design, Swarovski Optik Nature Explorer 2021.
Also recorded as Karthiki Gonsalves
Kartiki Gonsalves

Sachin Chandane · From subject · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Name
- Kartiki Gonsalves
- Born
- 2 November 1986
- Birthplace
- Pune, Maharashtra, India
- Education
- Dr G R Damodaran College of Science
- Occupation
- * Director
- Nationality
- India
- Honours
- Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject)
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Kartiki Gonsalves (born 2 November 1986) is an Indian director and producer. In 2023, she won the Best Documentary Short Subject at the 95th Academy Awards for The Elephant Whisperers. She is also one of the first women chosen as a Sony Alpha Artisan of Imagery in India and also associated with brands like Peak Design, Swarovski Optik Nature Explorer 2021.
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Note VALÉORINE
No house-authored Note is published until its assertions and sources pass the VALÉORINE evidence contract. The documentary article remains available in full while that enrichment is being consolidated.
Documentary enrichment in progress · no unsupported statement published
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Kartiki Gonsalves. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Evidence Panel
not yet certified
- Identity
- resolved
- Independent source families
- 0
- Admitted assertions
- 0
- Open conflicts
- 0
Authority files
wikidata · Q115367297 · wikipedia · Kartiki Gonsalves
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Kartiki Gonsalves • Born — 2 November 1986 • Birthplace — Pune, Maharashtra, India • Education — Dr G R Damodaran College of Science • Occupation — * Director • producer • photographer • Organization — International League of Conservation Photographers (Associate Fellow) • Notable Works — The Elephant Whisperers (2022, director) • Parents — * Timothy A. Gonsalves • Priscilla Tapley Gonsalves • Website — kartikigonsalves.com
Early life and education
Early life and education
Kartiki is the younger daughter of Timothy A. Gonsalves and Priscilla Tapley Gonsalves, who is from Binghamton, New York. She has one older sister, Danica Gonsalves. She grew up in Ooty, within the Nilgiri Biosphere reserve in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu. She studied at the Dr G R Damodaran College of Science in Coimbatore and graduated in 2007, before continuing her studies, focusing on photography at Light & Life Academy, Ooty.
Career
Career
• Illustration — Raghu at Theppakadu Elephant Camp Gonsalves is a documentary filmmaker and photographer and has worked as a camera operator for Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. She is the director, co-executive producer and cinematographer of the documentary film The Elephant Whisperers produced by Sikhya Entertainment and acquired and distributed by Netflix. The 39.5-minute documentary was produced at the Mudumalai tiger reserve which is part of the Nilgiri biosphere reserve in Tamil Nadu, 30-minutes from where Gonsalves grew up. On 13 March 2023, the film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards. It was the first Indian film to win the award. • Illustration — Kartiki and Priscilla Gonsalves at the 95th Academy Awards Kartiki Gonsalves is a Sony Artisan of Imagery India since 2020, specialising in nature and social documentaries. She gives workshops on nature and wildlife photography and has conducted tours of Bangalore and Mysore cities. Gonsalves is an International League of Conservation Photographers Associate Fellow.
Identity
Identity
Kartiki Gonsalves is recorded as having received Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject).

Part of The Elephant Whisperers team at the London Hotel prior to the Oscars95 function. Los Angeles, USA.
This Photo was taken by Timothy A. Gonsalves. Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author. I would much appreciate if you send me an email tagooty@yahoo.com or write on my talk pa

Kartiki Gonsalves with parents Priscilla and Timothy Gonsalves after receiving the Academy award, Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, USA
Sven Faulconer · Email from the author
Awards
• Award — Year — Nominated work — Category — Result • DOC NYC — 2022 — The Elephant Whisperers — Shorts: Change Makers — Shortlisted • 95th Academy Awards — 2023 — The Elephant Whisperers — Best Documentary Short Subject — style="text-align:center;" • Grierson Awards — 2023 — The Elephant Whisperers — Best Natural History or Environmental Documentary — Shortlisted On 28 June 2023 King Charles III and Queen Camilla presented Kartiki with the Elephant Family award called the Tara Award, to recognise her contributions to protecting Asian wildlife.
Literature
Scholarly footprint
A count of publications is evidence of attention, not of standing, and is given here only as a measure.
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Partially resolvedreference work
Partially resolved
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 15 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Film memorabilia
37,408 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Karsten KiilerichPerson
- Kartal TibetPerson
- Karthik SubbarajPerson
- Karthika NairPerson
- Karyme LozanoPerson
- Karyn DwyerPerson
- Karyn KusamaPerson
- Karzan KaderPerson
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Kartiki Gonsalves?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.