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Paul Atkins

Camera

Biography

From Antarctica to the tropical Pacific, Paul Atkins, ASC has filmed the world's wildlife and cultures for National Geographic, Disney, the BBC including such acclaimed series as Planet Earth, for IMAX screens and feature films. His cinematography and directing have earned numerous awards including Emmys, British Academy Awards and a prestigious Telluride Film Festival Tribute. Paul's passion for the ocean brought him to Hawaii in 1974, where he pursued a Ph.D in marine biology at University of Hawaii and began working in the film business as an underwater and wildlife cinematographer. With his wife and producing partner, Grace Atkins, Paul filmed and directed groundbreaking documentaries that challenged our myths and inspired protection of the natural world, including the Emmy-winning Hawaii: Strangers in Paradise (Nat Geo/BBC), Great White Shark (BBC/Nat Geo) and Dolphins: The Wild Side (Nat Geo). Paul was director of photography on Jean-Michel Cousteau's Voyage to Kure, the film that persuaded President George W. Bush to declare the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a National Monument in 2006. More recently, his work includes Disneynature's Dolphin Reed and Nat Geo's America's National Parks. Paul's narrative filmmaking spans numerous commercials, television series and feature films and he has worked with some of the world's most renown directors including Peter Weir on Master and Commander, Alejandro Inarritu on The Revenant, and Terrence Malick on The Tree of Life and other features. On a 40-day epic voyage around Cape Horn, he filmed for Master and Commander, which won the 2004 Academy Award for cinematography for Russell Boyd, ASC. His 2nd Unit shooting on The Tree of Life contributed to an Oscar nomination for cinematography, and Paul has continued to work with Malick on To the Wonder, Knight of Cups and as director of photography on his IMAX documentary about the evolution of the universe, The Voyage of Time.

Known For

Natural World
7.4

Natural World is a nature documentary television series broadcast annually on BBC Two and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history brand. It is currently the longest-running series in its genre on British television, with more than 400 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World is produced by the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol, but individual programmes can be in-house productions, collaborative productions with other broadcasters or films made and distributed by independent production companies and purchased by the BBC. Natural World programmes are often broadcast as PBS Nature episodes in the USA. Since 2008, most Natural World programmes have been shot and broadcast in high definition.

Natural World

1983
The Revenant
7.5

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

The Revenant

2015
May December
6.6

Twenty years after their notorious tabloid romance gripped the nation, a married couple buckles under the pressure when an actress arrives to do research for a film about their past.

May December

2023
Point Break
6.0

A young undercover FBI agent infiltrates a gang of thieves who share a common interest in extreme sports. A remake of the 1991 film, "Point Break".

Point Break

2015
The Tree of Life
6.7

The impressionistic story of a Texas family in the 1950s. The film follows the life journey of the eldest son, Jack, through the innocence of childhood to his disillusioned adult years as he tries to reconcile a complicated relationship with his father. Jack finds himself a lost soul in the modern world, seeking answers to the origins and meaning of life while questioning the existence of faith.

The Tree of Life

2011
Bride Hard
5.6

Sam is a secret agent whose toughest mission to date is pleasing her bride-to-be best friend at a lavish destination wedding. When a team of mercenaries crashes the party and takes the guests hostage, Sam is thrown into a fight unlike any before — one where she can’t risk blowing her cover or ruining the big day. As she takes on the bad guys in a high-stakes battle disguised as a fairy-tale affair, she realizes the real threat might be closer than she thinks.

Bride Hard

2025
Knight of Cups
5.7

Rick is a screenwriter living in Los Angeles. While successful in his career, his life feels empty. Haunted and confused, he finds temporary solace in the decadent Hollywood excess that defines his existence. Women provide a distraction to his daily pain, and every encounter brings him closer to finding his place in the world.

Knight of Cups

2015
Trials of Life
8.3

Each of the twelve 50-minute episodes features a different aspect of the journey through life, from birth to adulthood and continuation of the species through reproduction.

Trials of Life

1990
The Life of Mammals
8.3

David Attenborough presents a nature documentary series looking at why mammals are the most successful creatures on the planet.

The Life of Mammals

2002
Heatstroke
3.0

An ex-model teams up with a soldier to thwart aliens who are propelling global warming to make Earth habitable for their species

Heatstroke

2008
Wild Hawaii
7.7

Seven millions years ago Hawaii rose from the sea a volcanic wasteland, how these islands transformed themselves into paradise is a story that defies the odds and challenges our expectations. Nat Geo WILD takes us on an untamed journey to Hawaii, a place that through an alchemy of fire, ice and water has become an experiment in creation.

Wild Hawaii

2014
Voyage of Time: Life's Journey
6.3

A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.

Voyage of Time: Life's Journey

2017
Tyrannosaurus Azteca
4.8

The Aztecs summoned a Tyrannosaurus Rex to keep Cortes and his army out of Mexico. Now they need the Conquistadors' help to stop the T-Rex from killing them all.

Tyrannosaurus Azteca

2007
Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience
6.9

A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.

Voyage of Time: The IMAX Experience

2016
Tides of War
4.6

In the cold, dark waters off North Korea a U.S. Navy fast attack submarine meets with a mysterious disaster - it's attacked and nearly sunk by an ominous stealth submarine resulting in the deaths of the Executive Officer and the Engineering Officer.

Tides of War

2005
The Big Bend
N/A

Follows the Prices and the Talbotts, two families that meet in the remote Texas desert, as they test the boundaries of marriage, friendship, and parenthood, doing their best to survive, while exploring one of the wildest places in America.

The Big Bend

2021
Night Orchid
5.3

Clay Doyle, a drifter haunted by the ability to see violent events from the past, wanders into a small Florida town and falls in love with the ethereal Sarah Miller, despite increasingly disturbing visions of murder and decay.

Night Orchid

1997
The Trials of Life
9.2

Each of the twelve 50-minute episodes features a different aspect of the journey through life, from birth to adulthood and continuation of the species through reproduction.

The Trials of Life

1990
The Land Has Eyes
5.8

Coming of age story about Viki a young pacific islander attempting to escape the stifling conformity of island culture. Inspired by the myth of the Warrior Woman, Viki recovers from the death of her father and fights for justice and freedom for her community.

The Land Has Eyes

2004
Aliens From Inner Space
N/A

An incredible look at cephalopods – squids, octopi, and cuttlefish, from the Wildlife on One series. Filmed from Hawaii to the Gulf of Mexico, and using computers, scientists study the shape and color-changing abilities of these bizarre animals. Narrated by David Attenborough. (This film was shown on BBC as Season 12, Episode 2 of Wildlife on One. This listing is for the 16mm film release.)

Aliens From Inner Space

1983