Jens is a genuine Hamburg boy. Even during his primary school years, it was already clear to him: Either I will be a zoo director or a wildlife filmmaker!
Already as a boy with binoculars, landing net and preserving jars, Jens roams the woods and brings all kinds of crawling things home with him. His children’s room resembles a small natural history museum: besides minerals and fossils there are terrariums full of reptiles and amphibians from all over the world – and Jens dreams of travelling later to the home of his darlings.
He begins early with nature photography and makes his first short wildlife films with a Super8 camera. After graduating from high school, Jens travels through South America for a year. Afterwards he does community service and studies biology with a focus on zoology and ecology in Hamburg. During the semester break Jens takes photo excursions to Central America, Borneo, Sumatra and southern Africa.
At ZORILLAFILM, Jens mainly takes care of the concepts, scripts and narration texts of the films in addition to camera work in the bush.
Jens Westphalen lives with his family in Hamburg.