Paul Venton

Paul Venton

Independent Filmmaker

Areas of Focus: Documentaries

Biography

 
 
 
 
 

The concept for the film The Search for Hope was born from Paul’s disaster resilience leadership over the last 25 years in over 25 countries. It is also strongly influenced by an even more personal determination to support the restoration of nature and the climate, witnessing how these crises emotionally impacted his children. In particular, his 9-year old son’s wish to “Save the Arctic”.

Paul’s love of nature began in his small English garden and was magnified by his enthusiasm for the natural history films emanating from the BBC Natural History Unit close to his home. His love of nature and the wild took him in search of adventure – such as canoeing the 2,000-mile length of the Yukon River and twice crossing the stormy Atlantic on a replica medieval caravel, “The Matthew”. These were the green shoots that propelled him into his humanitarian career, helping local communities around the world mitigate disaster, including through nature restoration and protection. Paul has a PhD in community-based disaster risk management and teaches about disasters at Harvard University.

With incredible support from funding partners, Karen Ketterer and Steve Samuels, The Search for Hope in the Arctic is close to production as an independent film in collaboration with Andrew Mudge. With a strong global network of scientific and practical support and connections, the goal is to expand the project to all regions of the world, demonstrating how interconnected we are to one another and the natural world.

Andrew Mudge

Andrew Mudge is a writer/director with a passion for original, character-driven storytelling. A Sundance alumnus, his music video Knights of Bostonia won the MTV viewer’s choice award, and his short film The Perfect Gooseys was acquired by HBO, and won him the Chrysler Million Dollar Film Festival. His debut feature film, The Forgotten Kingdom (Kino Lorber, distributor) was selected for the prestigious IFP Narrative Filmmaker Labs, and has garnered top awards at over ten international film festivals, as well as seven nominations and three wins from the African Movies Academy Awards (AMAA). He has recently completed his second feature, The Arborist.

 

The concept for this film was born from Paul’s disaster resilience leadership over the last 25 years in over 25 countries. It is also strongly influenced by an even more personal determination to support the restoration of nature and the climate, witnessing how these crises emotionally impacted his children. In particular, his 9-year old son’s wish to “Save the Arctic”.

Paul’s love of nature began in his small English garden and was magnified by his enthusiasm for the natural history films emanating from the BBC Natural History Unit close to his home. His love of nature and the wild took him in search of adventure – such as canoeing the 2,000-mile length of the Yukon River and twice crossing the stormy Atlantic on a replica medieval caravel, “The Matthew”. These were the green shoots that propelled him into his humanitarian career, helping local communities around the world mitigate disaster, including through nature restoration and protection. Paul has a PhD in community-based disaster risk management and teaches about disasters at Harvard University.

With incredible support from funding partners, The Search for Hope in the Arctic is close to production as an independent film in collaboration with Andrew Mudge at Watershed Films. With a strong global network of scientific and practical support and connections, the goal is to expand the project to all regions of the world, demonstrating how interconnected we are to one another and the natural world.

The concept for this film was born from Paul’s disaster resilience leadership over the last 25 years in over 25 countries. It is also strongly influenced by an even more personal determination to support the restoration of nature and the climate, witnessing how these crises emotionally impacted his children. In particular, his 9-year old son’s wish to “Save the Arctic”.

Paul’s love of nature began in his small English garden and was magnified by his enthusiasm for the natural history films emanating from the BBC Natural History Unit close to his home. His love of nature and the wild took him in search of adventure – such as canoeing the 2,000-mile length of the Yukon River and twice crossing the stormy Atlantic on a replica medieval caravel, “The Matthew”. These were the green shoots that propelled him into his humanitarian career, helping local communities around the world mitigate disaster, including through nature restoration and protection. Paul has a PhD in community-based disaster risk management and teaches about disasters at Harvard University.

 

With incredible support from funding partners, The Search for Hope in the Arctic is close to production as an independent film in collaboration with Andrew Mudge at Watershed Films. With a strong global network of scientific and practical support and connections, the goal is to expand the project to all regions of the world, demonstrating how interconnected we are to one another and the natural world.

 
 
 

The concept for this film was born from Paul’s disaster resilience leadership over the last 25 years in over 25 countries. It is also strongly influenced by an even more personal determination to support the restoration of nature and the climate, witnessing how these crises emotionally impacted his children. In particular, his 9-year old son’s wish to “Save the Arctic”.

 

Paul’s love of nature began in his small English garden and was magnified by his enthusiasm for the natural history films emanating from the BBC Natural History Unit close to his home. His love of nature and the wild took him in search of adventure – such as canoeing the 2,000-mile length of the Yukon River and twice crossing the stormy Atlantic on a replica medieval caravel, “The Matthew”. These were the green shoots that propelled him into his humanitarian career, helping local communities around the world mitigate disaster, including through nature restoration and protection. Paul has a PhD in community-based disaster risk management and teaches about disasters at Harvard University.

With incredible support from funding partners, The Search for Hope in the Arctic is close to production as an independent film in collaboration with Andrew Mudge at Watershed Films. With a strong global network of scientific and practical support and connections, the goal is to expand the project to all regions of the world, demonstrating how interconnected we are to one another and the natural world.

The concept for this film was born from Paul’s disaster resilience leadership over the last 25 years in over 25 countries. It is also strongly influenced by an even more personal determination to support the restoration of nature and the climate, witnessing how these crises emotionally impacted his children. In particular, his 9-year old son’s wish to “Save the Arctic”.

Paul’s love of nature began in his small English garden and was magnified by his enthusiasm for the natural history films emanating from the BBC Natural History Unit close to his home. His love of nature and the wild took him in search of adventure – such as canoeing the 2,000-mile length of the Yukon River and twice crossing the stormy Atlantic on a replica medieval caravel, “The Matthew”. These were the green shoots that propelled him into his humanitarian career, helping local communities around the world mitigate disaster, including through nature restoration and protection. Paul has a PhD in community-based disaster risk management and teaches about disasters at Harvard University.

With incredible support from funding partners, The Search for Hope in the Arctic is close to production as an independent film in collaboration with Andrew Mudge at Watershed Films. With a strong global network of scientific and practical support and connections, the goal is to expand the project to all regions of the world, demonstrating how interconnected we are to one another and the natural world.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are grateful for the generous support of our sponsors:

National Endowments for the Arts
Massachusetts Cultural Council
Lowel Cultural Council
Cabot Family Charitable Trust
Liberty Mutual Foundation
City of Boston Arts and Culture
Melrose Cultural Council