Multi award-winning Elanti Media is a small production house with a big heart.

Established in 2016 by producer/director Vanessa Wells, our BHAG* is to help make the world a better place. A little cheesy we know, but hey, talking out loud about stuff is a great way to start making change.

Elanti creates impact with award-winning film, television and interactive content, mostly in the documentary genre. Over the years we have grown to collaborate with some incredible people and companies. We’re drawn to stories that are curious, adventurous, and socially conscious: work that both entertains and shifts the way we see the world.

We strive to tread lightly. Since being fully certified with Toitū Envirocare (2020-2026), we are currently reassessing how we measure our footprint independently. We’re always happy to share how we track our emissions, what we’ve learned about reducing them, and how we offset what’s left.

In our time with Toitū we reduced our footprint by 60%. That was the easy part: refining our systems, switching providers and educating ourselves. The hard part begins now: managing our footprint as we grow. Being from the bottom of the world - travel remains our biggest challenge.

*BHAG = Big Hairy Audacious Goal!

THE FINE PRINT: Measuring our Carbon Footprint - our journey:

We walk the talk, and recognise that we need to be accountable for our impacts on the world. As such, Elanti commits to operating as lightly as possible, and encourages collaborators to do the same. We happily discuss our past audit process and our current Environmental Policy (which we review each year) - please contact Vanessa directly with any questions.

The techy bit … across our work with Toitū, our “carbon footprint” decreased from 15.16 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2018/19, to our last formal audit for the 2021/22 financial year at 5.84 tCO2e. This was an over 60% reduction. And this is only the start of our carbon reduction journey. We are actively reducing our impacts by:

  • reducing our travel where we can

  • when we do travel (and making global work requires flying from New Zealand) - we make our travel count, packing in as much as possible to every trip. Domestically, is it better to drive or fly? We often have choices.

  • reducing our direct fossil fuel use (diesel and LPG specifically), switching to renewable energy sources and reducing our reliance on “the grid”.

  • supporting our regenerative farmers and other local suppliers where we can, and using other partners who are also “treading lightly”.

While we take action to reduce our emissions, we also proactively offset emissions we can’t remove through purchasing of carbon credits. When we can, we prefer to support local projects such as Hinewai Reserve, an ecological restoration project on Banks Peninsula, and other similar businesses in New Zealand. Our certification with Toitū expired in April 2026, and we are currently reassessing how to measure our footprint independently.

Photo credit: Dan Poulton

Vanessa Wells
Filmmaker and Impact Producer
vanessa@elantimedia.com

Office team
office@elantimedia.com

OUR TEAM

Vanessa Wells is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, working at the intersection of storytelling and impact, whose work follows people meeting hard things head-on. For the past decade, that has taken her into Antarctica and the world of climate and environmental storytelling – but her career has always been about people, connection and stories that can make a difference.

Her feature documentary Mighty Indeed won Best NZ Film and Best NZ Director at Doc Edge 2025 and continues to tour internationally. Vanessa is now increasingly working in the space beyond production - bringing together filmmaking, partnerships and impact to help stories travel further and have a life in the world.

Vanessa has had three expeditions to Antarctica - the first in 2018 supported by Antarctica New Zealand's Community Engagement Programme, leading to a touring educational play seen by more than 70,000 primary school children, as well as content for Sesame Street. Following her second trip, Vanessa’s short documentary Te Whakairo has screened internationally and been used to support Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area research and monitoring work (in association with Manaaki Whenua and NIWA), while her short film The Climate Canary plays continuously to hundreds of thousands of visitors at the International Antarctic Centre. The third expedition resulted in the multi-award-winning Mighty Indeed. Vanessa’s company, Elanti Media, is also a Founding Member of the Christchurch Antarctic Network.

Vanessa has spent over 25 years in storytelling through performance and broadcast media, working previously as a performer, presenter, and voice artist. She served a decade on the board of Women in Film and Television New Zealand (2015-2025).

Based in Canterbury, New Zealand, Vanessa runs, bikes and hikes when she's not filming, and is an operational member of Land Search and Rescue NZ. She remains, by her own account, the shortest member of her family – not counting the spaniel.