Peter von Puttkamer – Writer/Director/Producer; B.A. Film & TV- University of British Columbia
Sheera von Puttkamer – Producer; M.F.A, University of Southern California
Peter von Puttkamer has been producing international award-winning films worldwide over the last 26 years. The production company, Gryphon Productions Ltd., jointly run with Sheera von Puttkamer, has created documentaries for Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, History Channel, BBC, Discovery Channel Europe/International/HD, The Learning Channel (TLC), Can-West Global, C.B.C., CTV and various Canadian specialty channels. These programs, conceived and produced by Peter and Sheera, have won more than 70 international awards. Peter von Puttkamer’s fascination with indigenous peoples, anthropology, archaeology, mythology, music and wildlife has led to unique and imaginative projects around the world. Whether working on heart-felt personal stories, socio-political issues or broad adventure-based entertainment documentaries, filmmaking for von Puttkamer has always been a blend of mind, body and spirit. Peter’s climbed through ancient caves used for human sacrifice in Mexico, filmed then eaten giant 12” tarantulas with Venezuelan blow-gun hunters, filmed sacred mask rituals and dances of North American natives, recorded soul music classics with legendary recording artists, worked with AIDS survivors, searched for Arthur Conan Doyle’s Lost World in South America, chased Caribou herds on the Arctic Circle, joined a hunt for Bigfoot and documented the heart-wrenching tales of terminally-ill patients. Gryphon films have inspired the creation of Festivals and retrospectives in Italy and Brazil. Gryphon films/series have helped inspire whole TV genres. Programs for TLC/Discovery Channel/CTV such as “Sasquatch Odyssey” and “Monster Hunters” revealed the strange world of cryptozoology. “Sasquatch Odyssey” won several awards and was selected for the prestigious 1999 IDA Doctober Festival screenings in Los Angeles- qualifying it for Academy Award nomination. “Monster Hunters” produced for TLC screened at the New York International Independent Film Festival in New York and LA and has won 2 Platinum Awards at the 2002 Worldfest Houston. In 2003-04, Gryphon created & wrote/directed/co-produced an 8 hour, 24 segment series “Beyond Invention” for Discovery Channel which aired worldwide and is currently running on Discovery’s Science Channel in the US. Winner of 3 American Indian Film Festival Awards, Peter von Puttkamer enjoys a special relationship with Native Indian and indigenous people: these films have had a major social, cultural and political impact where ever they are shown. As partners they have produced a prolific body of work and created a legacy of award winning and meaningful documentaries seen by hundreds of thousands in countries all over the world. They are currently developing a series with National Geographic Channel and Niall McCann.
