Executive Producer/Co-Director

BIOGRAPHY

Holly Stadtler

Holly Stadtler began her journalism career at NBC Nightly News in Washington, DC where she was a Production Manager until 1989.  In 1990 she joined Discovery Channel Pictures and worked as an Associate Producer, Coordinating Producer, and Producer on over 100 hours of programming for both Discovery and Learning Channel networks.   Her experience includes work in all genres from history to science and technology with the highest concentration of hours in natural history films.

In 1996 she directed and produced THE MAKING OF THE LEOPARD SON for Discovery channel and went on to create her own production company, Dream Catcher Films, Inc.  THE MAKING OF THE LEOPARD SON received high acclaim from the International Wildlife Film Festival, the renowned Jackson Hole Film Festival and the Chicago International Television Competition.

In 1997, Stadtler completed a one-hour science documentary titled COMA:  THE SILENT EPIDEMIC for Discovery Channel which premiered in November, 1997. This film won a CINE Golden Eagle, a Bronze Award from the National Education Media Network, and was nominated for a National Emmy in the category of Outstanding Background Analysis of a Single Current Story.  Also in 1997, Stadtler produced a one-hour natural history film about the bears of Kodiak Island in Alaska.  FOOTSTEPS OF A BEAR aired on Discovery’s Animal Planet network in January, 1998.   

Stadtler directed and co-produced a one-hour scientific and historical documentary,  BURIED ALIVE:  SECRETS FROM THE GRAVE for Discovery Channel US & International networks and won awards from CINE, Worldfest Houston and Worldfest Flagstaff.   In 1999, Stadtler completed THE MULTIPLE PERSONALITY PUZZLE which premiered on TLC and screened at the DC Independent Film Festival.  This film’s awards include a CINE Golden Eagle and a Gold Award for directing from the Aurora Awards.  In 2000 she directed TROUBLED WATERS, a story about the restoration of the Everglades for TBS Superstation and screened at the DC Environmental Film Festival.  TROUBLED WATERS received a Genesis Award Commendation and a Gold Award from Worldfest Houston among other awards. 

In 2002, Stadtler produced AMERICA’S LAST RED WOLVES for National Geographic Television about the recovery of endangered red wolves; this film aired on MSNBC’s EXPLORER.  The film won a bronze plaque from Worldfest Houston, was screened at the Telenature Film Festival in Pamplona, Spain, and was a finalist at the NY Film Festival.  In 2003, Stadtler wrote and produced an independent documentary, KILIMANJARO FOR HOPE about her climb of Africa’s highest peak.  Hikers and outdoor enthusiasts purchase this film over the internet.  In 2003, Stadtler wrote and directed a video for VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK in Minnesota to play in their visitor centers.  In 2005-2006, Stadtler was an adjunct teacher at American University and George Washington University teaching DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION to both undergrads and graduate students.  In 2006 Stadtler wrote and produced MIRACLE CURES which aired on National Geographic Channel’s IS IT REAL series.  Most recently, she produced STRUCK BY LIGHTNING for National Geographic Explorer and is currently releasing an independent feature documentary, FINDING OUR VOICES. 

                Director/Writer/Producer

Biography

Victoria Hughes

Born: Washington DC 18 May 1958

Education: Primary and secondary: Barbados, Great Britain, Canada, United States

University:  University of Virginia BA 1981

Vicki Hughes has been an independent Documentary Film maker for 12 years.  She arrived at her chosen profession by a circuitous route.  The child of a US diplomat, she spent her childhood and adolescence living all over the world. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in English and Religious Studies she took a year off from graduate school and went to teach at a Scottish high school in Tel Aviv, Israel.  The year turned into four years.  Throughout her childhood and early adulthood Vicki had been a keen student of natural history and as well as observing various cultures and religions in the Middle East, she continued to nurture that interest and spent countless hours watching wildlife. She returned to US in 1985 determined to combine her love of writing and fascination with wildlife, cultures and religions into a creative and beneficial way of life.  After teaching in the Washington area for a couple of years, she took a job in the film library at National Geographic… here, cataloguing footage and defining animal species and behavior, she learned about filmmaking and found an ideal way of combining her interests and training.  While still working in the library, she researched, wrote and directed documentaries for the Educational Films division of the Society, and made her first independent film.  In 1996 she left National Geographic to become a full time independent film maker.  In the past 12 years she has produced, written and directed over 60 hours of broadcast programming for the Discovery Channel, BBC, PBS, National Geographic, and GA&A Productions (Italy).    She sees her work as way of helping audiences to understand the wonders of the world around us, using compelling story telling as a way to inspire appreciation for the lives of other species and cultures, and in so doing encouraging care for, and nurturing of the incredible diversity of life.