George Duffield is a British marine conservationist, film producer and wildlife photographer. He is best known for the documentary film The End of the Line and is a co-founder of the marine charity, the Blue Marine Foundation and a co-founder of Ocean 14 Capital.

Life and education

Duffield is the son of Dame Vivien Duffield (née Clore), the British-Jewish philanthropist, and the financier John Duffield.[1][2][3] He graduated from Harvard University.[4] He is married to actress Natasha Wightman.

Career

Duffield co-founded Arcane Films with Meg Thomson.[4] Among the company's most successful films was the documentary The End of the Line which changed the attitudes of individuals and companies such as Pret a Manger and Marks & Spencer.[5][6] The End of the Line was inspired by the book The End of the Line: How Overfishing Is Changing the World and What We Eat by Charles Clover, the journalist and columnist.[7] The documentary followed him as he investigated how overfishing is having a dramatic effect on the number, quantity and types of fish in the seas.[8] It was described by the Chicago Tribune as "an apocalyptic documentary that is as beautiful as it is damning".[9]

In 2011 the low-budget film won the inaugural Puma Creative Impact for its success in changing consumer behaviour.[10][11] A study by the Channel 4 Britdoc Foundation found that it had been seen by more than 1 million people and had created press and media attention worth more than £4 million.[11][12] Among the places it has been screened are 10 Downing Street,[13] the United Nations General Assembly,[14] and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.[15]

He produced the 3D IMAX film Jerusalem with Daniel Ferguson (Writer, director, Producer), Taran Davies (Producer) and Jake Eberts (Executive Producer). The film is narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch[16] and focuses on the cultural, political and religious importance of Jerusalem.[17] It was released in 2013.[18]

Other films produced by Duffield include the 2009 documentary Wild Art: Olly & Suzi that was made for the BBC and is about two contemporary artists – Olly Williams and Suzi Winstanley – who travel the world to meet and paint predators in their natural environment, often at risk to themselves.[19] He also produced Dot the i starring Gael García Bernal[19] which was premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and won the 2003 Deauville Film Festival Audience Award.[20]

Duffield is on the board of trustees of the Grierson Trust which promotes documentary film-making and celebrates the work of John Grierson.[21][22]

Aside from documentary films, Duffield is a wildlife photographer. In 2005 he won the Underwater Worlds category of the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year.[23][24]

Blue Marine Foundation

George Duffield and Chris Gorell Barnes, the executive producer of The End of the Line, co-founded the Blue Marine Foundation as a legacy project of the film.[25][26][27] It was formed with the aim of fixing what it describes as "the largest solvable problem on the planet – the crisis in the oceans".[28][29]

Personal life

George Duffield is married to actress Natasha Wightman.

References

  1. ↑ Grice, Elizabeth (28 May 2008). "Dame Vivien Duffield: 'You're lucky if you have one good relationship'". The Telegraph.
  2. ↑ "Dame Vivien Duffield - the £400 million philanthropist". standard.co.uk.
  3. ↑ "Article in Tower of David Museum". towerofdavid.org.il.
  4. 1 2 "United States/United Kingdom - Arcane Worlds". screendaily.com.
  5. ↑ Ramnarayan, Abhinav; Smithers, Rebecca (8 June 2009). "Film prompts Pret a Manger to change its tuna". The Guardian.
  6. ↑ "M&S lines up behind ban on endangered bluefin tuna". standard.co.uk.
  7. ↑ "Article in Sunday Times". thesundaytimes.co.uk. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
  8. ↑ "Article on Green Party (New Zealand) site". greens.org.nz. Archived from the original on 20 February 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  9. ↑ "Forget pirates". chicagotribune.com.
  10. ↑ "PUMA.com - Down for Maintenance". creative.puma.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  11. 1 2 "Fish2Fork - The campaigning restaurant guide for people who want to eat fish – sustainably". www.fish2fork.com.
  12. ↑ "Link to the study". tippingpointfilmfund.com.
  13. ↑ "Blog on Greenpeace UK site". greenpeace.org.uk.
  14. ↑ "Greenpeace USA". www.greenpeace.org.
  15. ↑ "ICCAT - Sustainable Sushi". sustainablesushi.net. 22 March 2013. Archived from the original on 22 March 2013.
  16. ↑ "Benedict Cumberbatch-voiced film "Jerusalem:" Inside the making of the IMAX movie". cbsnews.com.
  17. ↑ "Film producer Jake Eberts to receive award from Canadian Friends of The Hebrew University of Jerusalem". www.newswire.ca.
  18. ↑ Religion News Service, Lauren Markoe (15 November 2013). "'Jerusalem,' a tribute to the holy city, comes to the giant screen" – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  19. 1 2 "George Duffield". IMDb.
  20. ↑ "Deauville Film Festival (2003)". IMDb.
  21. ↑ "Article on Grierson Trust site". griersontrust.org. Archived from the original on 18 June 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  22. ↑ "Terry Pratchett assisted suicide documentary Choosing to Die wins Grierson British Documentary Award". The Telegraph. 7 November 2012.
  23. ↑ "What's on - Natural History Museum". www.nhm.ac.uk.
  24. ↑ "Article on Grierson Trust site". griersontrust.org. Archived from the original on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  25. ↑ Cash, Laetitia (16 April 2013). "The Importance of Being Ernesto". spearswms.com. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013.
  26. ↑ "Andrew Winch Designs creates unique 'whale' suite". superyachttimes.com.
  27. ↑ "Chris Gorell Barnes - SLOW LIFE Symposium". www.slowlifesymposium.com.
  28. ↑ "Belize declares new marine reserve around Turneffe Atoll - International Coral Reef Initiative". www.icriforum.org.
  29. ↑ "Blue Marine Foundation". Blue Marine Foundation.
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