- Chris Palmer (film producer)
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Chris Palmer (film producer) Born August 25, 1947
Hong KongOccupation Film producer, Professor, Author Chris Palmer (born August 25, 1947) is an environmental and wildlife film producer and director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. He was executive producer for the Oscar nominated film Dolphins and is author of Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom (ISBN 1578051487).
Contents
Early life
Born in Hong Kong, Palmer grew up in England, served as an officer in the Royal Navy for seven years, and immigrated to the United States in 1972. He holds a B.S. with First Class Honors in Mechanical Engineering and an M.S. in Ocean Engineering and Naval Architecture from University College London and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University where he was a Kennedy Scholar and received a Harkness Fellowship.
Career
After his immigration to the United States in 1972, he worked as chief energy advisor to Senator Charles H. Percy. He then served as a political appointee in the Environmental Protection Agency under President Jimmy Carter. In 1983, he founded National Audubon Society Productions, where he served as president and CEO for 11 years. In 1994, he founded the nonprofit National Wildlife Productions (part of the National Wildlife Federation, the largest conservation organization in the United States) which he managed as president and CEO for 10 years, directing NWF's launch into broadcast, cable, IMAX, and other media markets.
Film and Television Production
Since the early 1980s, Palmer has been actively involved in film and television production, specializing in environmental and wildlife filmmaking.[1] His films have been broadcast on the Disney Channel, TBS, PBS, Animal Planet, and other channels. Palmer has executive produced several IMAX films with MacGillivray Freeman Films, including Coral Reef Adventure and Dolphins. Dolphins was nominated for the 2000 Academy Award for Best Short Subject Documentary.[2] His other IMAX films include Bears, Wolves, and Whales. In 2004, Palmer was named president of the MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation, which produces and funds IMAX films and companion educational outreach materials and programs.[3]
Filmography
Producer (58 titles)
2004 Bears (documentary short) (co-executive producer)
2003 Coral Reef Adventure (documentary) (executive producer - as Christopher Palmer)
2002 India: Kingdom of the Tiger (documentary short) (executive producer)
2000 Troubled Waters (TV documentary) (executive producer)
2000 Dolphins (documentary short) (executive producer)
1996-2000 Wild Life Adventures (TV series) (executive producer - 8 episodes)
– Pollinators in Peril (2000) (executive producer)
– Wildlife Legacy (1999) (executive producer)
– Alaska's Bush Pilots (1998) (executive producer)
– Underdogs: Prairie Dogs Under Attack (1998) (executive producer)
– Wildlife Wars (1998) (executive producer)
2000 Tracks: Tracking with the San People of the Kalahari (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1999 Wild City (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1999 Wolves (documentary short) (executive producer)
1999 Return of the Eagle (TV movie) (executive producer)
1998 Wildlife Emergency (TV series documentary) (executive producer - 1998)
1998 Wildlife Wars (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1998 Nature (TV series documentary) (executive producer - 1 episode)
– American Buffalo: Spirit of a Nation (1998) (executive producer)
1998 Whales: An Unforgettable Journey (documentary short) (producer - as Christopher Palmer)
1997 BirdWatch (TV series documentary) (executive producer)
1997 Wildlife Encounters: Alaska (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1997 Tiger! (documentary) (executive producer)
1996 The Last Great American Gold Heist (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1996 Survival of the Yellowstone Wolves (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1996 Dolphins in Danger (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1996 An African Love Story (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1994 The World of Audubon 10th Anniversary Special (TV movie) (executive producer)
1994 Hunt for the Giant Bluefin (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1994 Desperately Seeking Sanctuary (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1993 Cathedrals in the Sea (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1993 Backlash in the Wild (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1993 Galapagos: My Fragile World (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1993 Hawaii: Paradise in Peril (executive producer)
1992 Sex, Lies and Holes in the Skies (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1992 Greenhouse Gamble (documentary) (executive producer)
1992 The Environmental Tourist (executive producer)
1992 Battle for the Great Plains (TV movie) (executive producer)
1992 This Island Earth (TV movie) (executive producer)
1991 Mysterious Elephants of the Congo (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1991 Caribbean Cool (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1991 Great Lakes, Bitter Legacy (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1991 The New Range Wars (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1991 Hope for the Tropics (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1990/I Wildfire (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1990 Danger at the Beach (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1990 Ivory Hunters (TV movie) (executive producer)
1990 Arctic Refuge: A Vanishing Wilderness? (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1990 If Dolphins Could Talk (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1989 Wolves (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1989 Ancient Forests: Rage Over Trees (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1989 Crane River (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1989 Greed and Wildlife: Poaching in America (video documentary) (executive producer)
1988 World of Audubon: Sharks! (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1988 Sea Turtles: Ancient Nomads (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1988 Messages from the Birds (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1988 Grizzly & Man: Uneasy Truce (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1987 Whales! (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1987 Woodstork: Barometer of the Everglades (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1987 Ducks Under Siege (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1987 Common Ground: Farming and Wildlife (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1987 On the Edge of Extinction: Panthers and Cheetahs (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1986 The Mysterious Black-Footed Ferret (TV documentary) (executive producer)
1986/II Condor (TV documentary) (executive producer)Teaching
In August 2004, Palmer joined the full-time faculty of American University as Distinguished Film Producer in Residence. At American, he founded the Center for Environmental Filmmaking. He continues to serve as director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking while also teaching classes in the School of Communication.
Palmer is a frequent speaker at conferences and film festivals and gives workshops on such subjects as effective networking and giving effective presentations. In 2010, he was a featured speaker at the Environmental Film Festival in Washington, DC as well as at the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He has been interviewed on The Today Show and The Fox News Channel and in May, 2010, appeared on the Diane Rehm Show as a guest panelist.[4] His book, Shooting in the Wild: An Insider's Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom was published in 2010 by Sierra Club Books and has received critical acclaim for being "a sharp and searching assessment of the contemporary wildlife media universe from someone who loves the field and wants to see it live up to its promise."[5]
Awards
In 1994, Palmer received the Frank G. Wells Award for ongoing commitment to environmental protection from the Environmental Media Association. In 2009, he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award for Media at the International Wildlife Film Festival. Palmer was recognized in 2010 as the "Environmental Film Educator of the Decade" at the Green Globe Film Awards.[6][7][8] Palmer received the International Wildlife Film Festival's first-ever "IWFF Wildlife Hero of the Year Award" on Friday, May 13th in Missoula, Montana at the 34th annual award ceremony.
Personal life
Palmer lives in Bethesda, Maryland. He is married to Gail Shearer and is father to three grown daughters: Kimberly, Christina, and Jennifer. In his free time, he performs stand-up comedy in DC area comedy clubs.
References
- ^ "IMAX producer makes conservation cool". Gazette.net. 2007-09-19. http://www.gazette.net/stories/091907/entenew150631_32366.shtml. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ^ "Dolphins - Cast, Crew, Director and Awards - NYTimes.com". Movies.nytimes.com. 2010-05-16. http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/211781/Dolphins/details. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ^ "MacGillivray Freeman Films Educational Foundation". Macgillivrayfreemanfilms.com. http://www.macgillivrayfreemanfilms.com/site/our-company/macgillivray-freeman-films-educational-foundation.html. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ^ "The Future of Commercial Whaling | The Diane Rehm Show from WAMU and NPR". The Diane Rehm Show. 2010-05-24. http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-05-24/future-commercial-whaling. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ^ "Wayne Pacelle: New Book Goes Behind the Scenes of Nature Films". Huffingtonpost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-pacelle/new-book-goes-behind-the_b_580684.html. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
- ^ "Chris Palmer to Receive Lifetime Achievement Award". BigMovieZone.com. http://www.bigmoviezone.com/articles/index.html?uniq=343. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ "1994 Award Winners". EMA-Online.org. http://www.ema-online.org/EMA-1994AwardWinners.php. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
- ^ "The Green Planet Movie Awards". Movie-Voters.com. http://www.movie-voters.com/3001.html. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
External links
Categories:- Documentary film producers
- Environmentalists
- Alumni of University College London
- Living people
- 1947 births
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