MEET THE TEAM
ANDREW GRAHAM-BROWN
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Company and Creative Director
Executive Producer, Director and Cameraman
Wildlife and Observational DocumentaryAndrew has made documentaries on every continent, in over 50 countries. His films and series for AGB Films - and work on series for the BBC, BBC Worldwide, Channel 4, PBS, Disney, Discovery, National Geographic and Animal Planet, have won over 45 international awards including multiple BAFTA, Emmy, Grierson, Jackson Hole, Wildscreen (‘Green Oscars’) and Royal Television Society Awards.
Andrew cut his teeth on news and magazine series, such as West Country Live, Good Morning with Anne and Nick and the BAFTA-winning, The Clothes Show and Top Gear.
He and his company has worked with David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, Nile Rogers, Kangaroo Dundee, Naomi Campbell, ABBA, Robert Macfarlane, Juliet Stevenson, Keith Richards and extensively with Ray Mears on his Ray Mears’ Extreme Survival series for the BBC, and with Michael Eavis in the making of his BBC observational documentary, Glastonbury Man. He, through his company, AGB Films, has executive produced and directed nine BBC Natural World films, all distributed by BBC Worldwide.
Highlights of his wildlife filmmaking career include long stints with polar bears, kangaroos, pandas, Komodo dragons, jaguars, hyenas, harpy eagles, muskrats, beavers, lions and African and Antarctic penguins.
With the assistance of his film crew, two daughters and their mother, he sailed twice across the notorious Drake Passage, through hurricanes and icebergs, to reach Antarctica for six months of filming penguins, leopard seals, whales and melting icebergs for the BBC Natural History Unit’s Natural World documentary strand. With Director Ruth Peacy, and his daughters, Daisy and Amy, he Executive Produced My Life: Penguin Post Office for CBBC.
Andrew has filmed man-eating lions and people living in fear of being eaten alive. He and Tom Mustill co-directed Kangaroo Dundee, a smash hit series, multi-award-winning series, produced by AGB Films for BBC / BBC Worldwide. Andrew was the principal cameraman on this series, achieving a ‘world-first’, filming the birth of an embryonic ‘pinkie’ red kangaroo and its journey of life inside its mother’s pouch, to taking its first, Bambi-like hops on land. To film inside a marsupial’s pouch, without causing harm or stress, Andrew developed a camera and lighting system, built to withstand extreme heat and humidity, recording intimate wildlife sequences.
Andrew has loved his privileged experience of filming and directing indigenous peoples, living in some of the most inhospitable environments on earth. Highlights include the people of Arnhem Land, NT Australia, the Swagap crocodile hunters of Papua New Guinea, Mongolian nomads, Arctic Inupiat whale hunters and the San hunter-gatherer people of the Kalahari Desert.
He is fascinated by the anthropological side of documentary filmmaking; specifically, the relationship between humans and non-human animals. Andrew filmed and directed The Hyena Men, spending 3 months living in Nigeria on a garbage dump in gangland Lagos. He travelled the length and breadth of the country to record the Hyena Men’s involvement with black magic, drug dealing and Dambe, a back street ‘fight club’ deeply entrenched within the Hausa people’s culture.
Andrew directed an eight-camera shoot for the BBC landmark series, Human Planet, in the 50C+ heat of the Mali desert, filming the chaotic spectacle of a ritual involving 3000 Dogon fishermen ‘going nuts’ in an annual competition to catch as many fish as they could in just 10 minutes, amidst a constant barrage of gunfire.
He helped innovate, and subsequently direct, a 90-minute ‘special experiment’ for Channel 4 called Elephant: Life After Death, charting the death and afterlife story of a 4-tonne Tusker in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. The film shoot involved 40+ crew, day and night filming, for 28 days.
His knowledge and passion for music have allowed him to work on three BBC landmark music documentaries - Walk on By: The Story of Popular Song, Lost Highway and the Seven Ages of Rock. Andrew has recorded interviews and music with many stars including Thom York, Keith Richards, Nile Rogers, Sir Paul McCartney, K D Lang, Al Cooper, Johnny Rotten, Phil Collins and Kylie Minogue.
He directed one of the first 3D wildlife films, Meerkats 3D, filmed in the Kalahari Desert, South Africa.
Andrew has been a Wildlife Judge at The Grierson Documentary Awards, celebrating excellence in documentary filmmaking.
In 2019 the Chimpanzee Trust, Uganda, honoured Andrew with an Outstanding and Lasting Contribution to Chimpanzee Conservation Award.
TOM MUSTILL
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Author, Producer and Director.
Tom co-produced/directed with Andrew Graham-Brown on the AGB Films’, multi award winning production of Kangaroo Dundee, a BBC2 Natural World Special. He runs his own Independent Production Company, Gripping Films, but continues to partner AGB Films, initiating ideas and developing future documentary projects together.
He has collaborated with science and nature personalities including David Attenborough, Greta Thunberg, Stephen Fry and George Monbiot. He co-hosts a podcast, So Hot Right Now, with journalist Lucy Siegle in which guests discuss topics related to climate change and conservation.
His AGB Films’/Gripping Films’ documentary, Giraffe: Africa’s Gentle Giants, narrated by David Attenborough, was nominated for an EMMY AWARD (Best Wildlife Film). It won Best Feature at the American Conservation Film Festival, Best International Film at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival, Best Director at Waimea Ocean Film Festival and has been screened to the European Parliament.
More recently he has focussed on short form and viral work aimed at galvanising rapid change, better treatment of and connection to the environment. He is fascinated by the opportunities for connecting people with nature that modern technology have created. Tom is a 'Low-Carbon, High-Impact' pioneer: making films with maximum impact, while working to limit their environmental footprint to help get the industry to meet its 2030 carbon goals. He was recognised for this work by being made an Ambassador for the BAFTA ALBERT Film and Television Sustainability scheme.
At his company, Gripping Films, Tom directed and produced #Nature Now, a viral film featuring Gretta Thunberg and George Monbiot released for the Global Climate Strike, displayed at Time Square, New York and seen by over 80 million people.
With a degree in Natural Sciences from St John’s College, Cambridge - and extensive experience in field science from the Russian arctic to the Mauritian jungle, his knowledge and passion for Science and Natural History add significant strength and flair to the creative hub of AGB Films, from pitch through to production and post production.
Tom produced and directed several episodes of the BAFTA, ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY and BROADCAST AWARD WINNING series, Inside Nature’s Giants (Windfall Films for Channel 4) including Inside Nature’s Giants Special: Sperm Whale and the Giant Squid special. His film How To Win The Grand National (OSF for C4) was nominated for an RTS award, Natural World; The Bat Man of Mexico won a Wildscreen Panda and Jackson Hole WFF awards for best People and Nature along with other awards.
He has worked as producer, director, assistant producer and specialist researcher on a diverse and exciting range of factual television productions that have a specific focus on humans and their relationship with the natural world. Tom has done major stints of working for Windfall Films, Dragonfly Productions, the BBC and Darlow Smithson Productions.
Excited by the possibilities of producing content specifically for online, Tom directed two of the groundbreaking ‘Cambridge Ideas’ films followed by 'NanoYou’, narrated by Stephen Fry and winner of the SCINEMA Best Short Award. Tom has also made online films for Wellcome Trust, Microsoft Research, Guerrilla Scientists, Kew Gardens, Universal Music and CIFF. He’s made interactive animations, a computer game about Nanoscience for the EU, a viral short narrated by David Attenborough about Margaret Thatcher and the ozone layer and a bunch of music videos.
He worked as a director on the x2 BAFTA-winning BBC landmark series, Human Planet.
His first book, How To Speak Whale: A Voyage into the Future of Animal Communication was published in 2022 and was selected as one of Amazon's 'Best Books of The Year'.
"One of the most exciting and hopeful books I have read in ages"
Sy Montgomery, author of New York Times bestseller The Soul of an Octopus"A scary, important and brilliant book... enthralling and revealing"
Philip Hoare, author of Leviathan, and Albert & the Whale
NEIL RETTIG
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Specialist Wildlife Cameraman and Photographer
Neil is is a world renowned, 6 x EMMY AWARD WINNING cinematographer with over 50 years experience filming rare and endangered species the world over. Rettig has contributed to the production of hundreds of films, including IMAX Productions, notable BBC Natural History Unit films, National Geographic Specials and Science Documentaries.
Neil Rettig is regarded as one of the finest natural history filmmakers in the world. He received one of his EMMY AWARDS and a ROYAL TELEVISION SOCIETY AWARD for his cinematography on the AGB Films' Production, Mississippi: Tales of the Last River Rat.
Rettig’s work has resulted in numerous awards for outstanding cinematography and conservation. He has also published popular articles in National Geographic, Audubon, and other high profile magazines.
His knowledge of raptors, especially the rare forest Eagles, has resulted in scientific publications and a greater understanding of critically endangered species such as the Philippine and Harpy Eagles.
His fieldwork has been instrumental in the conservation of rare and threatened animals, the establishment of protected ecosystems around the world, and breeding projects for endangered species.
NIGEL BUCK
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Film Editor
AGB Films gives big credit to Nigel Buck, an alchemist and MULTI BAFTA AWARD-WINNING, master film editor. He has won and been nominated for multiple other awards including RTS, Grierson, Jackson Hole and Wildscreen Pandas.
Nigel has edited many of AGB Films most successful documentary productions, including: Mississippi: Tales of the Last River Rat, Earth Pilgrim, The Wild Places of Essex, Kangaroo Dundee (co-editor) and Panda Makers: narrated by David Attenborough.
Nigel recently won an outstanding editing award from the Hollywood Professional Association.
Critically acclaimed documentaries and dramas for theatrical release, streamers and broadcasters such as Disney+, BBC, Netflix, National Geographic, ITV, Channel 4, and Discovery Channel. His natural history credits include America the Beautiful, Our Planet, Blue Planet 2, Planet Earth 2, The Hunt, Frozen Planet 1&2, Life Story, Life and Disneynature’s Elephant, alongside documentaries and dramas such as
Last Flight to Kuwait, The Great Escape, Moonshot – The spirit of ’69, and A World in Arms.He has edited feature films for cinema, giant screen release and documentaries for BBC, ITV, Channel Four, Discovery, National Geographic and Animal Planet.
CHERRY DORRETT
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Head of Production
Cherry is the bedrock of AGB Films. She is a multi-talented Head of Production and Line Manager. Teaming with Ingrid Tennessee, she continually strives to make AGB Films a more equitable, inclusive and diverse company. Cherry has been at the forefront of zero-carbon filmmaking and aims to significantly reduce the company’s carbon footprint.
Cherry is Head of Impact and Production at former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton’s Independent Film and Television Production Company, Hidden Light.
She has worked in the film & television industry for over 25 years on dramas, feature films, documentaries, factual entertainment and natural history.
She graduated from the Central School of Speech and Drama and the University of London (English & Drama) — and worked for several years in post-production on a number of award-winning dramas including Band of Brothers for HBO and The Hours, directed by Stephen Daldry.
She has worked on numerous high-profile Emmy, BAFTA, Grierson and Academy award-winning dramas, documentaries, features and installations. Notable credits include The Batman of Mexico, H is for Hawk, Inside Nature’s Giants and AGB Films’ three Kangaroo Dundee series, as well as The Hunt for Escobar’s Hippos.
Cherry is a Member of the Production Guild & BAFTA
JOHN MATTHIAS
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Composer and Consultant
John Is a Doctor of Philosophy with a PhD in Theoretical Physics. He spent 14 years as Associate Professor of Sonic Arts at the University of Plymouth. He co-wrote the film score for AGB Films', The Hunt for Escobar's Hippos.
John is an award-winning musician and composer having released eight albums via Accidental, Ninja Tunes, Nonclassical, Village Green, Sony, Welfare State and Cognitive Shift. Along with writing film scores for AGB Films, John has collaborated with many artists including Radiohead, (The Bends) and Coldcut (Man in a Garage) and has had his music remixed by many artists including Thom Yorke, Matthew Herbert and Jem Finer (The Pogues).
In 2008, John was the co-winner of the UK PRS Foundation New Music Award (The ‘Turner Prize for Music‘) for the neurological sonic installation, The Fragmented Orchestra which led to the development of the Neurogranular Sampler software and the Plasticity sound installation at the BFI and Google Campus Building, London.
John has performed his music internationally at many venues including The Royal Opera House (London), The Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris) and Le Poisson Rouge (New York City), and has contributed music to 12 feature film scores and written several works for dance theatre including collaborations with Rambert, Company Chameleon and Exim contemporary dance companies.
In 2023, Matthias partnered with regular collaborator Jay Auborn, who also works with AGB Films, to release Ghost Notes via Cognitive Shift Recordings. The album was released as a Limited Edition and was celebrated as an “impressive, compelling and slightly terrifying experiment” by Loud & Quiet. Their score to The Kraken Wakes Game, released on the STEAM platform, was selected as Best of British at the London Games Festival. The score works to emphasise the groundbreaking interactive elements of the game by adapting in intensity to the emotion in the language between player and character.
John is Head Of Research at dbs-i, a Research and Innovation Lab for Sound and Music. Their mission is to initiate and develop cutting-edge research and explore, create and deliver innovative and unique sound-based solutions that elevate and evolve the quality of life. All projects are human-centred, focusing in particular on how relationships between humans and technology can create better lives, particularly for those who live in socially challenging conditions.
DAVID JALENGA
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Sound Recordist
AGB Films is fortunate to have David as a key player in all Africa-based productions. He is a fantastic team player and adds a wonderful degree of calm to any documentary film shoot. His diplomacy and knowledge of African countries and their people is invaluable.
David is based in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. He is one of the best sound recordists we have ever worked with. He goes the extra mile to achieve excellent quality sync sound and stereo wild tracks.
EWAN HAMILTON DRYBURGH
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Wildlife and Documentary Cinematographer
Ewan is an exceptional team player, and has been a big team player in AGB Film’s productions. He is passionate about the natural world, having studied for a degree in Wildlife and Environmental Photography.
Ewan was a principal cameraman on Netflix’s highly acclaimed, Chimp Empire.
Credits include: Eggs, presented by David Attenborough (Mike Birkhead Associates/BBC NHU), Human Planet (BBC NHU), H is for Hawk - The Next Chapter, Giraffes: Africa’s Gentle Giants (AGB Films/BBC NHU), narrated by David Attenborough, Kangaroo Dundee and Other Animals, narrated by Juliet Stephenson, (AGB Films/BBC NHU) and Diana In Her Own Words (Channel 4).
He’s worked on documentary and factual entertainment series including the Royal Television Society Award Winning, SAS Who Dares Wins (Minnow Films) and several drama reconstructions with Red Planet Pictures in which he also had an acting role.
When not filming, Ewan’s passion lies in ultra running, completing the Ice Ultra Marathon 2017 (230km in five days) and the 2016 Marathon Des Sables, raising over £8,000 for Hope for Children. In 2015 he won the Ben Nevis Half Marathon.
Ewan lived on top of a long wheel-base land rover in the African bush for a year. This chase gave him the opportunity to intimately know the animals he was filming — knowledge of tracking and understanding animal behaviour enabled him to create gripping stories and sequences.
He has shot numerous long lens behavioural scenes and time lapses for the BBC and National Geographic. Ewan is a CAA approved Drone Pilot with a Permission for Commercial Operations (PfCO).
While working in Botswana, Ewan acquired bush driving skills and a knowledge of car mechanics, essential when filming in remote places. He assisted with Shot Over work, from loading the pay load, to filming from helicopters and driving the Shot Over crew on the ground.
Ewan has an understanding and respect for sound. He’s worked on many BBC Natural Worlds and Horizons as a sound recordist.
BILL RUDOLPH
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Sound Recordist
Bill is an excellent person to have around any weird, adventurous or ‘difficult’ documentary and dangerous wildlife situation. He’s an incredible sound recordist — a central figure on every production he works on because he is brilliant with people, super cool and very funny.
Based in London, he relishes travel and anything out of the norm, having worked in 60+ countries.
Bill has worked extensively with David Attenborough (over 10 films) and British Comedian, Richard Ayoade, on his “Travel Man: 48 Hours in…” series. (17 films). He’s worked with Queen Elizabeth 11 and King Charles 111 and lived and worked with indigenous peoples in Papua New Guinea, Nigeria, Mongolia, the Arctic, Brazil…
He’s been sound recordist on many BBC Landmark Music Documentary series.
His extraordinary list of film credits can be found here.
ALEXANDRA HOBBS
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Media Lawyer
Alexandra handles all of AGB Films’ legal matters. She is a freelance media/entertainment lawyer, working in the field for over twenty-five years, mainly for distributors, broadcasters, agents and independent producers in comedy, drama, natural history, factual entertainment, music and animation genres.
Her main skills are negotiation and drafting, creative and pragmatic contracts, problem solving, exercising good commercial judgement, establishing effective relationships, management and mentoring. She has various volunteer roles in the refugee and vulnerable women's career development areas.
Her legal back ground includes: Senior Lawyer, Fresh One Productions, Company Secretary and Trustee, He Equality Rights and Autonomy, Legal Associate, Rights TV, Acting Head of Legal, Optomen TV, Director and Head of Business, Calador Productions, Head of Business Affairs for Entertainment, Channel 4 and Business Affairs, BBC Worldwide.
CONRAD MORRIS
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Communications Strategist
Conrad joined AGB Films on work experience at the age of 14 after he was spotted solo-piloting a glider on the Somerset Levels. He’s worked on many AGB Films’ productions and tries hard to keep the older folk at AGB Films up to date with trends in communications.
With a First in Film and Media Studies from Goldsmiths, University of London, he is now a seasoned political communications strategist — a dynamic advocate, he supports megacity mayors globally, implementing strategic policies that align with the need for environmental stewardship and wildlife preservation, with a keen focus on the well-being of urban populations.
Conrad's media journey began with notable contributions to the production teams at the BBC, National Geographic, MTV, and the Smithsonian. Later on, he orchestrated productions for high-profile clients such as TikTok, the BBC, and Channel 4. Transitioning seamlessly into the political landscape, he further honed his skills in strategic communications, in countries across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the United States, working alongside partners including the United Nations. He is currently leveraging his extensive political and media experience for AGB Films.