James Frankham

In the last four years James Frankham has visited 25 countries on five continents, writing filming and photographing the world’s diversity, largely as Media Specialist aboard the WWF-sponsored expedition vessel Starship. He has tramped through the wettest rainforest, crossed the driest desert, navigated 40,000 nautical miles of open ocean and mixed with the most remote cultures on the planet. His book, Wildlands, released last year, documents the experience.

In 2002 James filmed the elections in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea. His current affairs feature Pigs and Politics won Australia’s coveted Walkley Award. James then directed, scripted and edited Tanim, a one-hour documentary about change in the lives of indigenous Papua New Guineans, which screened primetime on Australia’s SBS Television in October 2003 and is currently being distributed from the United Kingdom by TVF International.

His extensive traveling experience, ability to work short-crewed and special discernment when dealing with unfamiliar cultures lends him to the unique Pacific Solution project. James Frankham is the first recipeint of the DOCNZ Forum/AIDC Best Pitch Project Award for his latest work in progress Waka Moana which has earned a guaranteed spot at the highly contested AIDC Pitchin Forum in Brisbane in February of 2007.