James Byrne
Directing
Biography
From 2000 to 2012, James worked at National Geographic Television, producing and writing TV programs about wildlife, conservation, science and culture. In 2009, he made Nat Geo’s first film about Gorongosa (“Africa’s Lost Eden”). In 2012, he joined the Greg C. Carr Foundation / Gorongosa Project as Media Director and leads a small in-house team that documents the ongoing story of Gorongosa’s conservation and human development work. Amongst other long-form and short-forms films, he was the Executive Producer / Producer on the 6-hour PBS / National Geographic series “Gorongosa: Rebirth of Paradise”
Known For
In the heart of Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique, the waters of Lake Urema explode with the thrashing of a giant crocodile tail. Gorongosa was once known as the place where Noah left his ark: 1,500 square miles of lush floodplains in central Mozambique, packed with wild animals. All around, enormous buffalo, soaring fish eagles, and countless antelopes roam freely. But on closer look, something strange is going on. Fifteen years of civil war has taken a heavy toll and many species have been almost completely wiped out. All the usual top predators and prey are virtually missing, except for one - giant crocodiles and thousands of them. Discover what is being done to bring this African oasis back to its former glory, including perhaps the most ambitious restoration effort ever attempted, with elephants, hippos and scores of zebra, wildebeest, impala and buffalo, being relocated into the park.
Africa's Lost Eden
The film tells this hopeful story through Dominique Gonçalves, a young African elephant ecologist who strives to empower and inspire Africans, especially women, to become responsible stewards of the environment.
Our Gorongosa
The Serengeti sustains one of the biggest lion populations in Africa: approximately 3,500 lions in 300 prides. But this pride, residing in the central Serengeti, is an exception. 22 lions in all: they are a Super Pride. Few lion prides reach Super Pride status. Keeping cubs alive to maturity is the Super Pride's ultimate goal, but sometimes the greatest threats to a lion cub's life come from other lions...
Superpride
Produced by the National Endowment for the Arts, along with the Jerome Foundation, this showcase is hour-long collection of shorts from six prominent video artists, all commissioned to the state of Minnesota.