
Directing
Alastair Fothergill (born 10 April 1960 in London the United Kingdom) is a producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the executive producer of the multi-award winning series The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006) and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth. Fothergill attended Harrow. He studied zoology at St Cuthbert's Society in the University of Durham and made his first film, On the Okavango, while still a student. Fothergill joined the BBC Natural History Unit in 1983, working on The Really Wild Show, Wildlife on One and David Attenborough's The Trials of Life. He was appointed head of the Unit in 1992, and during his tenure he produced Attenborough's award-winning series Life in the Freezer. In June 1998, he stood down as head of the Unit to concentrate on his work on The Blue Planet. He has also presented several television programmes, including The Abyss and is the author of three books. He was awarded the "Clean Energy Award" by BMW during the Cinema for Peace award ceremony on 11 February 2008. In 2008, he signed a multi-picture deal with newly formed Disneynature, and now spends six months each year on sabbatical from the BBC developing feature documentaries as an independent producer. The first two titles under the Disneynature deal will be Big Cats and Chimpanzee, which he is co-directing with Keith Scholey and Mark Linfield respectively. He is also producing a new seven-part natural history series for the BBC called Frozen Planet, due for completion in 2011. The series will feature the struggles of charismatic animals during a time of rapid climate change in the polar regions. David Attenborough will again narrate. Fothergill currently lives in Bristol with his wife Melinda and his two sons, Hamish and William.

A behind the scenes look at the Planet Earth Series.

A witty and tenacious team of filmmakers brave the Antarctic to film Disneynature's "Penguins."

Peter Snow presents highlights from today's three deep-sea dives around the world. In 2002 BBC organized three concurrent dives , first in Monterey Bay where unmanned submersible is lowered into underwater canyon which is over mile deep. Second dive is in Grand Cayman where submersible Atlantis will explore life at the spectacular Cayman Wall , Kate Humble reports . During the dive, the crew used bait to attract a deep-water giant, the six-gill shark. Third dive takes place in middle of the Atlantic 1200 miles west of Portugal, which is also deepest of the three dives, divers will descent in Russian submersible Mir from research vessel Keldish and the Mir will dive in the bottom of the ocean in 2300 metres .

An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales.

An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey across our planet – polar bears, elephants and humpback whales.

Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.

Some of the world's most majestic birds display delightfully captivating mating rituals, from flashy dancing to flaunting their colorful feathers.

The film Journeys alongside the filmmakers behind Disneynature’s “Polar Bear” as they face profound challenges 300 miles from the North Pole. The team, who created a revolutionary arctic camp on site, navigated virtually impassible snow drifts and tenuous sea ice, garnering unprecedented footage revealing adaptive behaviors that surprised even this veteran team of filmmakers.

A nature documentary centered on a family of chimps living in the Ivory Coast and Ugandan rain forests. Through Oscar, a little chimpanzee, we discover learning about life in the heart of the African tropical forest and follow his first steps in this world with humor, emotion and anguish. Following a tragedy, he finds himself separated from his mother and left alone to face the hostility of the jungle. Until he is picked up by an older chimpanzee, who will take him under her protection.

A nature documentary centered on a family of chimps living in the Ivory Coast and Ugandan rain forests. Through Oscar, a little chimpanzee, we discover learning about life in the heart of the African tropical forest and follow his first steps in this world with humor, emotion and anguish. Following a tragedy, he finds himself separated from his mother and left alone to face the hostility of the jungle. Until he is picked up by an older chimpanzee, who will take him under her protection.

African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.

A behind the scenes look at the Planet Earth Series.

Over three very personal films, Sir David Attenborough looks back at the unparalleled changes in natural history that he has witnessed during his 60-year career.

