Brett (B.J.) Kuxhausen

My roots stretch deep into the Great Plains of America’s Heartland, a place where storytelling grew slowly and quietly within me. It was in the moments of cracking jokes and playing cards at my grandparent’s farm, the chronicle of lives I witnessed working at a mortuary as a teenager, and the daily dramas of crops, communities, and critters that defined my home. Only after earning a BS in Biological Sciences with a focus on animal behavior, and later an MFA in Science and Natural History Filmmaking, did my purpose fully coalesce—becoming a deliberate part of a storytelling tradition that is aligned with how I approach life itself.

I’m driven to tell stories, specifically through documentary visual media, and believe they hold a positive power to spotlight those wounded by our systems, to heal by building bridges through cooperation and knowledge, to grow towards a more just world for all life during the age of the Anthropocene. Through my filmmaking and photography, I bear witness using a universal language that advocates for moral action and change in humanity’s evolving relationship with itself and the world. I find purpose in telling biocentric stories of resilient lives and landscapes that are grounded in hope, reaching and empowering a broad audience across diverse platforms.

Some of my professional accomplishments include an Emmy award as part of a cinematography team, as well as multiple nominations for long and short form documentaries. I’ve shot and/or produced for large broadcasters such as National Geographic, The BBC, and PBS. I also collaborate with conservation organizations and NGOs like Rainforest Trust, The Smithsonian Institution, The Nature Conservancy, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Most notably, I was lead cinematographer and field producer for the media unit of Mozambique's flagship conservation area, Gorongosa National Park. There, I crafted feature-length films, television specials, and short-form videos for institutions such as National Geographic, PBS, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute/Tangled Bank Studios, and Mozambique national television. My photography and writing has been featured for clients such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Nature Conservancy, The Associated Press, African Geographic, Mongabay, and Nature scientific journal.