George Duffield (film-maker)

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.^{[citation needed]}

He is the grandson of Sears plc founder Charles Clore

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.^{[citation needed]}