Why I fell in Love with Film: It all started with a little Kodachrome camera i was given as a 4 year old – and I tried to capture images of my ever distant Mother. The camera was the only tool that allowed me to somehow capture something I could not really have, and I never forgot the strength of the feeling that gave me. At the age of 11 I was cast in an American feature film and found myself on a working film set. This was a huge experience for a curious lad: attentive make up women, ‘tough’ looking crew with all sorts of interesting tools, and free food all day. It seemed to me the people behind the camera were having much more fun than us in front of it so I decided there & then to become a filmmaker, To the director’s surprise I wanted to start immediately. I got my chance many years later after film production studies at Amsterdam Film Academy – the NFTVA. Since then I’ve had the good fortune to work with some great filmmakers on major wildlife films. In 2000 my dream came true, and I had my first chance to write and direct Television & Film productions.
I started out film making as a camera assistant in Tanzania with Discovery channel in 1990, and have had work experience since in just about every film crew task, from loading 35mm film, to sound recording on a Nagra, to directing cutting edge documentary crew’s with all the latest gadgets. I firstly describe myself as film Director / Producer, but am also active as freelance crew for line producer projects, script writing and conceptual creative tasks, where I’m often called to produce content that involves bringing film crews in and out of difficult to reach locations. Whether on a feature set, a wildlife documentary or a commercial assignment, my job is really simple: Bringing home the best film footage available, and engaging viewers with new perspectives of the Human experience.
Why I make films: I love using film to bring people together that will never meet, and show them places in the World they might never find. I’m London born, yet grew up in the Middle East & Africa. I worked in many places including Asia, the USA, Australia and the Netherlands. The life of a traveller taught me to get by in many ‘challenging’ situations, and gave me the ability to communicate in several languages. I’ve always been curious about the World, and the pure versatility of creating film content in new and ever changing situations has created many opportunities to satisfy and manifest this curiosity. In each film I find it important to respect those in front of the camera – so that the surface where they face those in front of the screen reflect true Human stories, neither distorted by the camera lens or the distances between us all.
For 30 years my home has been in the Heart of Amsterdam’s Jordaan. While living here I’ve traversed the planet many times, to film in African townships and deserts, South American jungles, the Indonesian sea or travelling with the Kalahari Bushmen. In the last few years i’ve worked extensively in both Palestine & Israeli conflict zones. Films I’ve worked on have been broadcast on international television, and seen by many millions of viewers, and have received some International prizes.
What’s next? After travelling the World during the very cusp of monumental global change, I feel inspired to go back to my first film love; ‘Wildlife – and Humanities Relationship with the Natural World’. Despite years working in film and gaining experience of the World – I feel like only now am I able to truly distill what I can do with all this experience, what is important in what I want to show & tell, and how to express that.
Paul King
2024 – Amsterdam