''Honestly, I still can't believe it,'' she said yesterday after winning the Panda, and the Newcomer's Award at an international wildlife film festival in Britain.
''There's the Panda in my room. It's just very unreal.''
The Panda award has also been called a ''Green Oscar''.
Films about Asiatic lions and rhinos were the other contenders in the award finals.
But Ms Kapur's film, largely made at the Orokonui Ecosanctuary, ran away with the prize at the Wildscreen Film Festival in Bristol, England, on Thursday night.
Sirocco is New Zealand's first and only kakapo recovery programme ambassador.
Ms Kapur made her winning film, Sirocco: how a dud became a stud, when she was studying at the university last year for an Otago postgraduate diploma in natural history film-making and communication.
The Wildscreen festival is held every second year in Bristol and celebrates natural history and wildlife film-making.
The winning 15-minute film was her major creative project when she was studying at the Otago Centre for Science Communication's film course last year.
This year she has been back in her home country India, working as an assistant producer on a major new series being produced by NHNZ.
Ms Kapur (27), from Kolkata (Calcutta), India, said the award ceremony had been ''absolutely fantastic'', and she had been warmly welcomed by leading industry figures.
She believed the award should also be shared with the Otago Centre for Science Communication, and praised film-making course director Ross Johnston and another teacher on her course, Robert Brown, whom she termed a ''legendary'' figure in cinematography.
Mr Johnston said the Panda was ''a stunning award'' and that ''winning at Wildscreen is about as good as it gets''.
Centre director Prof Lloyd Davis said another former Otago student had won the award in 2006, and Otago students had been consistently recognised as finalists in the newcomers' category.
