Archipelago Films is a New York based film and television production company.[1][2][3] It was founded in 1991 by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmakers Andrew Young and Susan Todd.[4][3][5] Together, they have produced, directed, and provided cinematography for dozens of documentaries on social and environmental topics. In addition to their documentary work, Young and Todd have a filmography that include 3D Giant Screen/IMAX® films, short narrative films,[6] museum exhibit pieces,[7] and films for nonprofit NGOs and corporations.
In addition to traditional documentary techniques, which include interviews and cinema verité-style shooting, they also use a variety of digital cinematography techniques such as utilizing miniature cameras, probe lenses, aerial mounts, underwater housings, and remote control cameras to visualize the perspectives of their subjects.[8]
History
The name of the company is associated with its first film, The Spirit of Kuna Yala, made in 1991. The film features the Kuna Indians of Panama's San Blas archipelago as they "unite to protect their rainforest homeland, Kuna Yala, and the tradition it inspires." The film is told entirely in the words of the Kunas.[9]
In 1996, Young and Todd produced, directed, and photographed Cutting Loose, a feature-length documentary about the New Orleans Mardi Gras, for French and German television.[16]Variety described the film as "impressive on a technical level, and engrossing..."[17] It also won the Filmmaker Trophy for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.[18]
In addition to contributing to various nature series and productions, Archipelago has produced a number of nature films. Archipelago's Madagascar: A World Apart was featured as part of the PBS series Living Edens.[23] Archipelago Films has also had an ongoing collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society'sBronx Zoo, working on the media components of new exhibits, including the film at the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit.[7][24]
Archipelago Films has been filming wildlife in Eastern North America. Their footage of the breeding rituals of the North American wood duck was used in the PBS Nature show An Original DUCKumentary, which won the 2013 Emmy Award for Outstanding Nature Programming, and was nominated for Best Factual Series.[25][26]
In 2018, Archipelago Films made their first 3D Giant Screen project, Backyard Wilderness, produced through Andrew Young and Susan Todd’s 501(c)3 organization Arise Media, SK Films, and Tangled Bank Studios.[27] Young and Todd directed the film together with Young as Director of Photography. The film follows a young girl who “gradually discovers the intricate secrets that nature has hidden so close to her front door,” captured with cameras “mounted inside dens and nests, and moving along the forest floor and pond bottom.”[28] It earned accolades from the Giant Screen Cinema Association, the Beijing International Film Festival, The Jackson Hole Science Media Awards, and International Wildlife Film festival. The release of Backyard Wilderness was also accompanied by an impact campaign consisting of programming at more than 50 libraries and science centers, as well as an app titled “Seek.”[29] Seek “encourages kid-friendly citizen science” and is the work of the iNaturalist group.[30]
Recently, Archipelago Films has continued their work in IMAX cinema, with SK Films distributing Wings Over Water in 2022.[31] Young was director, producer, and director of photography, and Todd was a producer.[32] The film tells the story of the “triumphs and challenges” of three bird families: the Sandhill Crane, the Yellow Warbler and the Mallard Duck.[33] The conservation narrative is heavily focused on prairie wetlands, where 200 species of migratory birds rely on its ecosystem. Called “one of the most epic bird films ever produced” by Forbes, the production was also supported by the National Audubon Society, the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation, Delta Waterfowl, and Ducks Unlimited.[34][35] It features narration from actor Micheal Keaton, as well as music from Huey Lewis, who have both expressed passions for conservation.[36] Like Backyard Wilderness (2018), Wings Over Water (2022) also had educational materials released along with the film, and had exhibitions in museums and science centers across the United States, including the American Museum of Natural History and Denver Natural History Museum.[37] From the Giant Screen Cinema Association
Filmography and awards
Film and Television
Year
Film
Awards
Notes
1990
The Spirit of Kuna Yala (59 min.)
Golden Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival Red Ribbon, American Film and Video Festival Earthwatch Film Award Finalist, USA Film Festival
Academy Award Nomination, Best Documentary Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival Cinematography Award, Sundance Film Festival Grand Prix, Cinéma du Réel Silver Centaur, Saint Petersburg International Film Festival Golden Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival Best Documentary, Ft. Lauderdale Film Festival
Cinemax
1993
Lives in Hazard (57 min.)
Directors Guild of America Award Nomination Golden Apple & Best of Classroom, Nat. Educational Film Festival
NBC
1996
Cutting Loose (90 min.)
Filmmaker Trophy, Sundance Film Festival Cinematography Award, Sundance Film Festival Golden Spire, San Francisco Film Festival
Smithsonian Channel
1997
It Ain't Love (58 min.)
Best of Festival, Windy City Documentary Festival George Stoney Award, Cinema Arts Center Golden Apple, National Educational Film & Video Festival
Audience Choice, Beijing International Film Festival
Best Creativity Film Beijing International Film Festival
Best Film Short Subject, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Big Idea Award, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Film For Lifelong Learning, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Cinematography, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Visual Effects, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Science Media Award, Jackson Wild Media Awards
Best Children's Film, Missoula International Wildlife Film Festival
Gold Remi Award , WorldFest Houston
2022
Wings Over Water (45 min.)
Best Film Short Subject, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Film For Lifelong Learning, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Visual Effects, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Sound Design, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Cinematography, Giant Screen Cinema Association
Best Giant Screen Film, Beijing International Film Festival
Best Scientific Communication Film, Beijing International Film Festival
Best Children's Film Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam